Efforts made to anticipate and manage risks before they occur are “risk management.” Within this, “disaster prevention and mitigation” aims to protect employee safety and company assets. Efforts to minimize the impact of risks that have already occurred are “crisis management.” BC is included in “crisis management,” but risk analysis and consideration of countermeasures when formulating BCPs fall under risk management. BC can be described as a consistent initiative, from prevention to incident response.

Within the Group, BC risks to be considered are defined as those that can cause significant damage to management resources^* and seriously affect business continuity (Figure 1). Disaster management requires multifaceted consideration and preemptive countermeasures. If consideration begins only after a disaster occurs, the response may be delayed. It is vital to formulate a BCP during normal times and improve its effectiveness through training.

BC’s role is to contribute to Groupwide risk management by preparing for large-scale natural disasters (such as earthquakes and typhoons) and to establish taskforces and handle Groupwide crisis management when disasters occurs. For natural disasters, efforts for “disaster prevention and mitigation” to protect employees’ safety are essential. To achieve business continuity, measures to strengthen the supply chain and prevent production stoppages are also required. When extensive damage occurs, such as suspension of operations at multiple locations, each business division allocates management resources necessary for recovery to high-priority businesses, and restoration proceeds according to procedures defined in the BCP to minimize confusion. BC efforts are coordinated closely with “disaster prevention and mitigation” efforts and play a complementary role by bridging routine risk management and crisis management after disasters occur.