• Planning for emergencies helps reduce a company’s economic losses from property damage, lost work time, insurance, direct and indirect costs, and more.
• Preparing for unplanned events requires commitment at all levels of an organization.

Whether the threat is natural, weather-related, manmade, or technological, planning can make the difference between the life and death of employees as well as a business’ survival or closure. Property damage, lost work time, low employee morale and productivity, increased workers’ compensation payments, medical expenses, and insurance costs are just some of the economic losses employers incur when they fail to plan ahead.

Preparing for, mitigating, responding to, and recovering from an unplanned event requires commitment at every level of an organization, including upper management. The chief executive or plant manager sets the tone by authorizing planning and directing senior management to get involved.

When presenting the “case” for an emergency management and business continuity plan, it is often more productive to emphasize the positive aspects of preparedness. Specifically, being prepared:

• Helps a company fulfill its moral responsibility to protect employees, the community, and the environment.
• Facilitates compliance with regulatory requirements of federal, state, and local agencies.
• Enhances a company’s ability to recover from financial losses, regulatory fines, loss of market share, damages to equipment or products, or business interruption.
• Reduces exposure to civil or criminal liability in the event of an incident.
• Enhances a company’s image and credibility with employees, customers, suppliers, and the community.
• May reduce insurance premiums.