Financial Times

Tsunami brings business closer to communities
An international business group, after a recent visit to Sri Lanka and other tsunami-affected countries in Asia, has said it believes the tsunami has “kindled a greater sense of corporate citizenship among national and local business.”

Michael Garrett from Nestle and co-leader of the IBLF international business Task Force, said business has clearly played a key role in relief and recovery alongside the authorities and NGOs in these tsunami-hit countries. “The key challenge now is to ensure a transition to recovery underpinned by economic development where business skills and resources will be vital.”

The International Business Leaders’ Forum (IBLF) is a UK-based body. The team visited Sri Lanka, Thailand and India from August 29 to September 3. It comprised managers and executives from 15 companies, all of whom do business in the region and supported post-tsunami relief. The Task Force met with local IBLF partners and business contacts to assess what lessons could be learned and how business can contribute to rebuilding and recovery, according to a statement issued last week by the group.

Participants visited over 30 projects and met with representatives from NGOs, agencies, businesses and the media, including many local people in tsunami-affected communities and villages. The IBLF Task Force and its local contacts agreed that business can offer new approaches and skills to recovery efforts that complement those of governments, agencies and NGOs, as well as play a key role in partnerships for recovery.

It said local and international businesses contributed significantly and in many unrecognised ways to rescue and relief. Businesses and their employees made massive donations and in-kind contributions - IBLF corporate supporters alone committing over US$60 million.

The report said the team was deeply struck by how communities were proving resilient and had ‘got back on their feet’ in spite of continuing poverty and need. In some countries the response to the tsunami also had the effect of reducing tensions and conflicts. Among the most enduring contributions is where businesses and business people supported locally-based organisations, or those with partners on the ground with local knowledge, providing expertise, skills, project management assistance and vital business resources beyond cash.

The CEO of Sarvodaya was quoted in the report as saying that, “Pre-tsunami business was not seen as being engaged – more an exploiter of resources than a good corporate citizen – the tsunami has created a response from business…”

The team said the critical need now is to support longer-term local recovery efforts that demand different approaches, skills and resources, and where enduring partnerships can make a real impact on communities and countries affected and their prospects for sustainable recovery and development.
The Task Force said national and international business should consider the following:

• Engage and maintain the momentum, committing business skills and resources

• Listen to local units with on–the-ground contacts and knowledge

• Build back the local economy and markets

• Support capacity building and project management for chambers of commerce and business recovery activity.

• Facilitate microfinance for local entrepreneurs, accompanied by mentoring

• Examine and facilitate local supplier infrastructure for the core business

• Involve young managers

• Offer business skills (finance, project management, logistics etc) to NGOs, governments and agencies

• Focus donations on those NGOs that have demonstrable local knowledge, experience and resources, either directly or through partnerships with local NGOs

• Recognise the key role played by ‘social entrepreneurs’ within communities, businesses and organisations that can facilitate growth and change

• Encourage other companies to become involved.

• Monitor and communicate results to ensure continuing learning and improvement

• Ensure that the motivation for involvement and support is clearly articulated and transparent

• Develop a process and plan to enable the company to respond anywhere, quickly and effectively, in the future.

• Recognise that anything built has to be allowed for the ‘soft infrastructure’ and has to be maintained and sustained – one-off donations need to be accompanied by a plan for the ‘soft infrastructure’, ie building or equipping a school should also include training for the teachers and supplying building materials should be accompanied by vocational training.

The Task Force participants were business executives drawn from companies with an active engagement in the region and in tsunami relief including Abbott Laboratories, Accenture, Alcan Inc, Cadbury Schweppes, Deloitte, ERM Group, InterMatrix Group, Manpower, Nestlé and Standard Chartered together with the Disaster Resource Network and IBLF staff supplemented by local management of the Taj Group, Adopt Sri Lanka and local advisers.

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