Climate Related Business Continuity Model for Critical Infrastructures

Abstract

Climate change is more and more nowadays acknowledged to be associated with the natural hazards for which the society, and its Critical Infrastructures, need to anticipate and plan. The impact the climate-related hazards have to the functionality of different Critical Infrastructures (CI) is being discussed, focusing on the minimization of the disruption time of their critical services. This is achieved by means of a Business Continuity plan that is based on Business Impact Analysis and Risk Assessment of projected weather-related hazards. Business continuity planning is essential part of the resilience framework of the CIs, which EU-CIRCLE project proposes with regards to climate change. Guidelines are presented in order to provide a planned and controlled method for anticipating and responding to events that are likely to interrupt key business activities (Business Continuity Model) and suggestions upon adaptation of CIs to climate change are also given. For this purpose, information was collected from CI operators with regards to existing BC plans and adaptation measurements, by means of questionnaires, which is also presented herein.