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Private sector discusses the Resilience Dividend

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Geneva, 13-17th May, 2019

The sixth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2019) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from 13th to 17th May 2019, convened and organized by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and hosted by the Government of Switzerland. The session represented the last global gathering for all stakeholders before the deadline for achieving Target E of the Sendai Framework: to substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020. 

Under the theme “The Resilience Dividend: Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Societies”, the event aimed to shift the focus of the conversation on resilience to the multiple social, economic, financial and environmental fields benefits of managing disaster risk in different sectors and geographies, across all scales.

Disaster risk reduction is the outcome of systematic efforts to analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters through actions such as: lowering exposure to hazards, lessening vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land and the environment, and improving preparedness and early warning for adverse events.

Over 4000 participants, including ministries of planning, economy and finance, national and international regulators, and legislators, as well as members of the business and investor communities and international financial institutions joined the discussion to agree on concrete steps to enhance and accelerate implementation of risk informed public and private sector investment for resilience.

Gearing up the private sector

The key role of the private sector in building resilient communities is indicated in the Sendai Framework, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Climate Agreement, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the New Urban Agenda and the Agenda for Humanity.

The private sector was at the center of the program of GP2019 with a dedicated “Private Sector Day”, organized by ARISE - the UN Alliance gathering private sector actors for resilience.

The outcome of the event was a call to action for the integration of disaster and climate risks into business investment decisions, including the ongoing discussions towards the Climate Summit as well as recommendations and concrete action points on how to enhance the resilience of MSME to disaster and climate risk.

Alongside the event, a Board Meeting of ARISE was organized and Carlo Papa, Enel Foundation Director, took part in the proceedings.

Focusing on Resilience literacy

Enel Foundation, also, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), regularly offers training opportunities on Resilience-related themes to students of its Academic Partners.

During 2018/2019 academic years, more than 200 students in MSc, MBA and PhD programs benefited from this training to increase their sensitiveness on Resilience. In addition to the EU team of the United Nation Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, other partners in the capacity-building venture include Enel Group Companies, Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Bocconi, Sant’Anna and Luiss Universities. Serving Sendai Priority 1, the training is specifically designed for Master, MBA and PhD students to raise awareness and develop understanding of disaster risks.

The most recent training took place on April 17th targeting master students of Bocconi university involving Andrew Bower from the UNISDR Programme Management Office, Giovanni Valtorta, Head of Network Design, Construction and Standardization - e-distribuzione, and Christian Zulberti, Head of Relations with Universities and Research Centres, Enel Foundation.