Where Do Disasters Fit into Sustainability?

With the increasing effects of the climate crisis—such as forest fires, floods, and droughts—and major destruction caused by earthquakes in high-risk countries like Turkey, the physical resilience of institutions has come to the forefront. However, the degree of preparedness for such risks is often not reflected in sustainability reports.

Yet disaster preparedness is a component of environmental, social, and governance performance. Corporate resilience—under headings like business continuity, employee safety, and supply chain robustness—can indeed be reported.

1. Where Does Disaster Risk Appear in Regulations?

While disaster risk is not a direct reporting category, it is addressed under the heading of “physical risk” within both the ESRS and TSRS frameworks.

Standard	Relevant Area
GRI 201/305	Economic impacts and capacity to respond to environmental events
TSRS	Analysis of climate-related physical impacts on assets and operations
ESRS	Identification of physical climate risks and disclosure of their effects

However, this can be expanded to include corporate preparedness strategies for all high-impact events—not only climate-related disasters but also earthquakes, fires, and floods.

2. What Type of Information Can Be Reported?

Key areas of disaster preparedness that can be reported include:

Physical Asset Resilience:

• Earthquake-resistant building certifications
• Elevated infrastructure investments due to flood risk
• Fire sensors and sprinkler systems

Business Continuity Plans:

• Alternative production/sales locations
• UPS/generator systems for power outage scenarios
• Data backups and cybersecurity preparedness

Organizational Preparedness and Drills:

• Regular annual disaster drills
• Employee training (fire, earthquake, evacuation)
• Presence of a crisis communication plan

Supply Chain Risks:

• Risk profiles of critical suppliers
• Strategies to reduce single-source dependency
• Post-disaster supply prioritization planning

3. What If There Is No Data?

It’s true that many organizations have yet to collect such data. However, the lack of data should not prevent reporting.

Key principle: “If there’s a plan, state it; if a process has started, describe it; if not yet done, commit to it.”

Example narratives:

• “As of 2024, we have initiated ISO 22301 Business Continuity Management System certification for all our production facilities.”
• “We conducted disaster drills in two regions this year, with 85% staff participation.”
• “60% of our critical suppliers have declared that they have a disaster response plan.”

4. Practical Tools for Organizational Preparedness

Risk Maps:

• Matching facility locations with national disaster maps (e.g., AFAD in Turkey) is a first step toward awareness.

Emergency Checklist:

• Is there an emergency plan?
• Has at least one drill been conducted?
• Is a crisis communication plan in place?
• Have alternatives for critical processes been identified?

Drill Calendar and Participation Records:

• These records should be archived for both social security compliance and ethical performance reports.

5. Example: A Logistics Company in an Earthquake Zone

A cargo company can reflect its preparedness in the event of a major earthquake affecting its Istanbul-based distribution center as follows:

“As part of disaster risk management, a secondary operational hub has been established in Ankara as an alternative to our main logistics center in Istanbul. Additionally, a 12-member ‘crisis team’ has been trained for initial response. Two earthquake and fire drills were conducted in 2023.”

Such examples demonstrate not only awareness of risks but also active management strategies.

Conclusion: Organizational Resilience Against Crisis Is a Reportable Competency

Disaster preparedness is a marker of organizational maturity. While frameworks like TSRS and ESRS may not open a dedicated “disaster” heading, efforts to mitigate physical risks are critical—both financially and in terms of social impact.

At S4A, we provide guidance and corporate training services to help integrate disaster risks properly into your sustainability reports.