Building a bridge between COP26 and the launch of UNDRR’s new report on “Focus on prevention: Increasing SME uptake of disaster risk reduction: recommendations for policymakers, financiers and the broader business community”, the ARISE Network hosted an interactive live panel on November 11th. The focus of the panel was on “Supporting Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Practices in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises” and it was conducted as part of the International Chamber of Commerce's Make Climate Action Everyone’s Business Forum.
The purpose of this event was to build awareness among SMEs, large corporations, business associations, financiers, and policymakers about critical ways to support SMEs with the mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction practices into their operations.
The panel aligned with the key findings referenced in the above-mentioned report. Speakers included the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and UNDRR Head, Ms. Mami Mizutori, and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change of the Parliament of Bangladesh, H.E. Saber Chowdhury, who discussed opportunities to build long-term resilience of SMEs to multi-hazard risk.
Exchanges focused on:
-
Supporting policy frameworks that address specific needs of SMEs including from a regulatory, financial, and fiscal perspective;
-
Providing access to finance and financial products tailored to SMEs;
-
Addressing interdependencies and inequities across the supply chain including through contracting models;
-
Combining enterprise risk management and business continuity plans to increase focus on risk prevention through enhanced accessibility, awareness raising and incentives.
Watch the recording of the live panel here.