Public Sector Asset Management Planning To Mitigate Climate Change Driven Natural Disasters - A Study Of Uk Disaster And Business Continuity Planning

This paper describes the current climate change predictions and the likely consequences for European building assets. It addresses the role of Public Sector Asset Managers with particular emphasis on UK practice. It highlights the need for asset managers to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and prepare for extreme weather events and other associated natural disasters.The paper is based on a literature review of current climate data and best practice public sector asset management. The role of property managers and strategic property planning is becoming increasingly important as climate change is predicted to have a significant effect on the frequency of extreme weather events and the occurrence of natural disasters. This will have adverse effects on the ability of buildings to withstand these events and for the resilience of the organisation to continue its core service delivery function.A survey of public sector asset managers working at senior levels in their organisation was designed and distributed to gather data on the current levels of disaster and business continuity planning. The survey design sought to establish the level of risk assessment across the organisations and illustrate the integration of property management into governmentís disaster planning process. The results reveal that asset managers need to mitigate and prepare for future events, however, current practice, shows that little risk assessment is currently undertaken. A significant number of authorities are not preparing integrated disaster management plans nor business continuity plans. There is a need for further research into the impact on assets and the role of the public sector real estate manager in assessing the risks and developing strategies to prepare the organisation to mitigate the effects of natural disasters and severe weather events.