As cleanup and recovery efforts begin in southwest Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian - and soon to follow in other areas as the dangerous storm moves through the Southeast U.S. - communities will be turning to major businesses for the resources to rebuild. Some major corporations are well-equipped to handle the aftermath of extreme weather events, while other companies are not.
If you would like more context on this matter, please consider Jorge Rivera, professor of strategic management and public policy at GW. Rivera’s research focuses on studying how external environment factors are associated with business sustainability management strategies. He studies how nature’s adversity conditions affect corporate adaptation and mitigation to climate change. Rivera’s research indicates most companies are not proactive in preparing for hurricanes and other natural disasters.
“They prepare just a few days before the hurricane is about to hit and by then it is too late. At that point, their response options get limited to very costly in recovery,” Rivera says.
“To be more resilient to natural disasters exacerbated by climate change like Hurricane Ian: Companies need to – years in advance – proactively adopt preparedness strategies that involve building partnerships with government agencies (e.g. FEMA, NOAA), other companies, and non-profit organizations that have developed expertise in how to prepare for disasters (e.g. US. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, The Red Cross).”
If you would like to speak with Prof. Rivera, please contact GW Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].
-GW-