1. The Sustainable and Resilient
Enterprises Platform

2. Building ‘resilience” in SMEs will help deliver the SDGs
The development challenges we face today are unpreceded in nature. Climate change is producing more natural disasters, with crippling effects for societies. While conflict between nations are less frequent than they were, conflict within states is increasing. The world is a more violent place than ever before.

3. According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, in 2016, the economic impact of containing or dealing with the consequences of violence was 12.6 per cent of the world GDP or approximately $14 trillion. To put this in perspective, the impact of violence is equivalent to the combined GDPs of Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

4. In parallel, the frequency and severity of disasters has increased and is forecast to continue rising. Between 1996 and 2016, almost 8,500 disasters were recorded across the globe, compared to over 4,000 disasters in the previous 20 years, a rise of over 100 per cent.

5. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The new global framework for development, the “Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” has responded to these challenges in four new ways.

6. First, the importance of decent work as a means of supporting families and communities is explicitly highlighted (SDG 8).
Second, building and promoting positive peace is a central objective, rather than just containing conflict and its consequences (SDG 16).
Third, preventing crisis along with building resilience to face them, are guiding implementation principles.
Finally, the role of the private sector in making these objectives a reality is newly accentuated.

7. These four issues are connected
Conflict, disasters and other crises aggravate poverty, unemployment and informality, creating a vicious cycle leading to even greater fragility. In fragile and conflict-affected States poverty rates are generally 21 percentage points higher than in other States. In societies where peace is stronger, developmental goals are more likely to be achieved as these societies are more resilient when faced with crisis.

8. But it’s no longer enough
The ILO has long promoted the concept of “Sustainable Enterprises” which is related to the general approach to sustainable development i.e. forms of progress that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This is an approach predicated on the fact that all enterprises are part of society; they shape and are shaped by the communities in which they operate.
But it’s no longer enough
Lama: I would appreciate if you could tell me further how to access the BCP training and accreditation package

9. Enterprises increasingly need to be resilient against a myriad of threats from natural disasters to conflict. Resilience is the ability to adapt to disruptions, maintain enterprise operations and protect workers, assets and enterprise reputation. Resilience against crises not only refers to reducing risks and damage from disasters or conflicts (i.e. loss of lives and assets), but also the ability to quickly bounce back to a stable state.

10. The workplace is the one place that needs to be neutral, where every worker, regardless of their background or ethnicity or religion can meet for a common goal. That means creating an environment that is resilient to outside forces that can impact on the business environment, be they political; ethnic; tribal; or religious. It entails creating a safe and inclusive environment that is accepting of all and free of discrimination. These are also critical components of a “resilient enterprise”.

11. The ILO is working to support SMEs in building resilience measures through the support tools from its Sustainable and Resilient Enterprises (SRE) Platform. The SRE Platform has been designed as a space to bring together multiple partners to promote decent work and sustainable & resilient enterprises and is built around the twin concepts of ‘resilience’ and ‘sustainability’.
Through investment in resilience measures, enterprises, in particular small ones, their workers and families and communities can be better equipped to face and manage the increasing threats from both natural disasters and conflict.

12. Where to find us https://conflictdisaster.org/
Gary Rynhart Senior Specialist on Employer’s Activities ACTEMP