Date: 2024-12-21 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00007204
DISASTER RISK AND RESILIENCE
Is the Private Sector Willing to be Measured When it comes to Disaster Risk Reduction & Resilience?
Original article:
http://bit.ly/1kDvgxB
AND
Link:
UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Burgess COMMENTARY
I like this collection of facts. They confirm to me that the way modern society and the modern global economy is being managed is a disaster waiting to happen ... which at some level, many thinking people are very much aware.
The question is how to get out of this mess, and I am not impressed by the conversation about solutions that might work, rather I simply see growth in the amount of conversation, with many of the key players in the corporate world on the sidelines and most of the really serious scientists and planners underfunded.
The infographic is good ... as is this writing, but it does use GDP as a core measure of economic performance, which is a mistake that everyone continues to make even though this measure was debunked over 50 years ago!
There is something wrong when nearly every government entity on the planet is to all extents and purposes bankrupt, and totally unable to fund the infrastructure upgrades needed (it cannot even do essential maintenance in most cases!!!) yet the corporate world is earning record profits and paying less tax than in most of the last hundred years!
I am unbelievably disappointed in the leadership of the private sector ... and especially those with responsibility for the metrics. This idea that a profitable corporate organization is the best way to have a sustainable society does not seem to be reality.
Peter Burgess ... TrueValueMetrics ... Multi Dimension Impact Accounting
Is the Private Sector Willing to be Measured When it comes to Disaster Risk Reduction & Resilience? Manager's Choice
Written by Debbra Johnson ...Sr. Leader, Strategic Marketing at DuPont Sustainable Solutions
To help answer this question let’s put Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) & Resilience in context. Nearly everyone would agree that the climate in many parts of the world is behaving differently. If we set aside the “why” of climate change and concentrate on how we deal with these changes, recent experience suggests that we should expand our thinking well beyond responding to disasters to mitigating and reducing the impacts from disasters.
For those who are tuned into the DRR & Resilience conversation, there’s a fast growing awareness building. At its core is an understanding that climate change, globalization and urbanization are actually combining in a way that magnifies the losses, destruction and, therefore, the costs and overall impacts of climate-related disasters today. Because of this, climate change is a catalyst that will bring individuals, companies and even countries together in ways that we’ve yet to imagine.
Here are 5 facts that are central to the DRR discussion:
- Disaster-related economic losses amount to hundreds of billions of dollars annually, and are projected to double by 2030. Since 1992, more than $2 trillion in damages have occurred;
- Between 70 and 85 percent of all new investment is generated from the private sector.
- Institutional investors currently manage assets worth more than 80 trillion US Dollars globally; much of this is given limited consideration to risk.
- In the years ahead, trillions of dollars will be invested in hazard-exposed regions. If those investments fail to take into account natural hazards and vulnerabilities, risk will continue to accelerate.
- Currently, the top 600 cities in the world account for half of the Global GDP and this is expected to increase to 60% by 2025.
The fact is, the private sector may already have some important elements of DRR embedded within their organizations. They may not reside in one function or be associated with the words “disaster risk reduction” or “resilience,” but they do exist and can be built upon. The key is to begin identifying these building blocks so that they can be pulled together and firmly connected to business strategy and operations.
One influential group looking at this are private investors who are coming together to discuss resilient investing and potential guidelines, standards and practical regulations that will help support the uptake of private sector solutions and innovations aimed at resilience & DRR.
Ultimately, where private investors choose to place funds in the future will largely determine how much disaster risk will build up and how underlying risk drivers will be defined and addressed. The private sector has an opportunity here to provide leadership, to guide and to innovate. Addressing increasing disaster exposure and helping to build sustainable and resilient communities cannot be accomplished by governments alone.
The private sector must engage. Inventorying and articulating what companies already do to support DRR would be a great start. Considering the relationships and synergies between DRR and sustainability is another good focus area. Importantly, private sector input and guidance are needed to help influence and define the metrics that are, and will become, crucial to DRR’s future.
So, what do you think – Is the private sector willing and ready to be measured when it comes to Disaster Risk Reduction & Resilience?
Meantime, you can find much more on DRR from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. There is a wide variety of information on the challenges and solutions surrounding DRR here: Link: UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction