According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, as of November, there have been 24 confirmed weather or climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each in the United States in 2024. The 17 severe storms, four tropical cyclones, wildfires, and two winter storms killed more than 400 people and significantly impacted local businesses and the economy as a whole in each affected area.
Last year, Forbes stated, “The growing threat of disasters is considered by companies to be closely linked to climate change and nearly 90 percent of company executives expect climate change to significantly affect their businesses over the next five years.”
In fact, 53 percent of businesses surveyed have expanded the number of disasters they respond to, and 61 percent of organizations have increased their philanthropic disaster relief efforts.
As natural disasters inevitably continue to impact communities in the United States and around the globe, businesses will remain an invaluable resource in executing efficient and effective alleviation efforts.
The Importance of Support
While any individual or group of individuals can positively impact communities by offering relief aid, corporations have the unique opportunity to assist the affected residents on a larger scale while also investing in causes that align with the brand’s beliefs, strengthening local economies through financial backing and offsetting any potential environmental impacts.
Together, these components contribute to the rapidly growing idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). According to Harvard Business School Online, it is the belief that a corporation must support the society it exists within through environmental, ethical, philanthropic, and economic means.
From a modern consumer perspective, 70 percent of patrons are interested in knowing how the brands they back are contributing to social and environmental causes, and 46 percent closely monitor CSR efforts when supporting a business, according to public opinion firm Certus Insights.
Today, most organizations incorporate corporate social responsibility into their goals and values, but it can be challenging to turn goals into digestible, completable actions and subsequently measurable results.
As with any other aspect of business, every organization has a different understanding of what “social responsibility” means and how the brand can implement action.
Regardless, the most essential idea remains: brands must positively impact society by supporting social and environmental efforts locally and globally.
How to Support
The best way for any organization to support disaster and other relief-related efforts depends on the company’s capacity, nature, location, and resources.
Support comes in various sizes and shapes and is crucial before, during, and after the emergency phase of disaster response, so there is space for every company to assist with relief efforts in a format that is conducive to it and its community.
Red Cross and World Vision encourage organizations to consider the following:
- Providing emergency financial assistance
- Distributing financial aid to households that need extra help in the long term
- Providing grants for community-based recovery services
- Donating products such as hygiene items, cleaning supplies, bedding, tools or clothing
- Encouraging employees, customers, and vendors to donate to crucial relief organizations with matching and other incentives
Companies can also encourage team members, stakeholders, and customers to leverage their unique skill sets as relief resources.
One example of a corporation providing valuable relief to impacted communities is The Root Brands, which creates products designed to support the body’s natural detoxification and overall well-being through natural pathways. In collaboration with Dr. Christina Rahm’s Rahm Foundation, the Southern-based brand donated tens of thousands of dollars worth of health and wellness products to assist recovery teams and residents in and around Asheville, NC, who were recently affected by Hurricane Helene.
Amazon is a more large-scale example. Recently, the e-commerce giant constructed and launched its first wildfire disaster relief hub in the United States. Located in a fulfillment center in Southern California’s San Bernardino Valley, this necessity-filled hub will equip Amazon with the ability to mobilize and provide relief to wildfire-ravaged communities nationwide quickly.
Amazon notes, “The more than 6,000 stored items include wildfire mitigation equipment such as axes, goggles, masks, rakes, shovels, smoke pumps, and soil sifters; and personal supplies including fire-safe rubber boots, high-particulate matter filtration respirators, hydration packets, neck gaiters, specialized gloves, trauma kits and more.”
Who to Support
Whether natural disaster relief is provided after a wildfire, hurricane, earthquake, flood, or other devastating event, it is crucial to remember that volunteers and first responders, along with community members and victims, need support.
When victims are provided with aid, organizations directly equip the community with the items it needs to heal; however, a robust network of volunteers, paramedics, firefighters, and other responders and officials is required to ensure this is executed efficiently and effectively. By factoring this network into the equation and uplifting them while they work to uplift others, corporations can exponentially strengthen relief operations and, in turn, produce remarkable results.
Often, corporations focus on profits, but by discerning who to support and how to support relief efforts best, organizations can pivot their focus to something just as lucrative and even more meaningful — profit, people, and planet.
As natural disasters continue to increase in the coming years, organizations must continue to back up their words with actions and measurable results and support communities and economies worldwide.
