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Companies could be given business continuity incentive
Despite the much-publicised fears of terrorism, flu pandemics and the global impact of the credit crunch, a new study has found that a majority of UK enterprises feel that climate change is likely to pose the greatest threat to the long-term continuity of their businesses.
Released just prior to this year's Business Continuity Expo, to be held at the start of April in London, figures compiled by Marsh found that 87 per cent of businesses see climate change and its related effects as the single biggest threat in terms of risk assessment on their future growth.
In addition, 83 per cent of the UK and European companies polled stated that they felt their businesses could be put at risk as traditional sources of energy, such as oil and gas, rise significantly in price over the next five years and beyond, with 60 per cent admitting that they are not prepared for this eventuality.
Furthermore, the study found a worrying discrepancy between the numbers of businesses identifying potential future threats and the number who have actually taken action to allow their operations to continue in the case of a worst-case scenario becoming a reality, with 40 per cent of small manufacturing firms and 50 per cent of large retailers recognising the potential implications of adverse weather but not having an appropriate business continuity plan in place.
Martin Caddick , leader of Marsh's Business Continuity Management team, commented: "Climate change and energy risk consistently rank among the biggest challenges facing global businesses in 2008.
"While the majority of firms surveyed have accurately identified the major risks that could affect their businesses, fewer seem to be successful in tackling them head on. This lack of preparedness continues to be a major issue for European firms in today's turbulent times."
One solution to this lack of action could lie in the introduction of a new national standard for business continuity, which has recently been developed by the British Standards Institution (BSI).
With such a kitemark in place, businesses will not only be able to protect themselves in the case of systems down-time or natural disasters but would also be able to enhance their reputation among their peers and clients, thereby giving them an incentive to spend money on a resource many hope they will never need.
"Certification will provide a faster way of proving organisations' resilience to potential customers as well as making them more attractive to insurers and potentially qualify them for preferential rates," the BSI's global product manager told Computer Weekly.
Given that the likes of Boeing, General Motors and the Royal Mail have all given their support to the introduction of the BS 25999, it looks likely that the carrot method is already working better than the stick method ever could.
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