GAR 2013 Pocket Version

Larger businesses are investing to strengthen their capacities and strategies for risk management. Institutional investors, with a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders to ensure prudence and sustainability, are now exploring regulatory and voluntary actions to increase the visibility of all risks, including those associated with disasters and climate change.

More important, if business becomes more risksensitive, governments will be encouraged to invest more heavily in disaster risk reduction. Effective disaster risk management will become a basic requirement for competitive countries and cities that are successful in attracting business investment.

Growing convergence of public and private initiatives to model and estimate disaster risks is beginning to underpin these efforts. Disaster risk management platforms and applications are now being developed to allow businesses to incorporate these data into their investment decisions. Accurate risk data, in turn, facilitate the development of insurance markets, with appropriate pricing that encourages risk-sensitive investment.

But above all, businesses now begin to perceive investments in disaster risk management as a compelling proposition to create shared value. Investments in climate change mitigation, sustainable water management and green cities directly address these underlying drivers and at the same time become increasingly important in value creation for businesses of all types.

Businesses are finding huge opportunities in disaster proofing new and existing infrastructure, buildings and supply chains, which are also critical to risk reduction and global sustainability.

Investing to reduce the vulnerability and strengthen the resilience of smaller businesses that are suppliers and partners of larger businesses not only strengthens the latter’s business sustainability but also generates shared value in securing local employment, increased productivity, tax revenue and welfare.

Disaster risk reduction, therefore, is a compelling shared value proposition for business. This component needs to be recognised in the formulation of the revised international frameworks for development and disaster risk reduction that will be adopted in 2015. ² It is also pertinent for future international negotiations around the challenge of climate change, if the world is to achieve a socially inclusive, low-carbon and resilient economy as laid out by the Secretary-General of the United Nations .³

GAR13 was produced in collaboration with a large number of partners. Financial resources were contributed generously by the European Commission, the Governments of Australia, Japan, Norway and the United States of America. Other countries and organisations coordinated, developed and supported research, studies, workshops and peer reviews.