Large companies lead the way in pandemic preparedness

Large and publicly held companies appear to be more advanced than their smaller counterparts in their preparations for a possible avian flu pandemic, according to a study by The Conference Board, a New York-based, global research centre.
The report was co-authored by Amy Kao of The Conference Board and David J. Vidal, the research director in The Conference Board’s Global Corporate Citizenship section.
Nearly 75% of the 553 global companies surveyed (including companies of all sizes from all world regions except the Middle East) either have a plan or are well into developing one, the study found. Nearly 85% of the survey participants began their planning efforts within the last 12 months.
But larger companies may have a step up on smaller companies, the study observed. “Large and publicly held companies appear to be the most advanced in their preparations for a possible avian flu pandemic,” the executive summary reads.
“Approximately 95% of companies with more than US$5 billion in sales either have an up-to-date preparedness plan or are in the process of planning. But, 65% of companies with less than US$100 million do not yet have any plans specifically in place addressing the impact of an influenza pandemic.”
“Small and privately held companies represent the majority of those without an avian flu plan and are therefore the organizations most vulnerable to the risks of a pandemic,” say Kao and Vidal.
Of the one quarter or so responding companies without a specific avian flu pandemic preparedness strategy, about half of them simply do not see such planning as a current business priority, while 20% feel their existing business continuity plan is adequate to manage the threat.