Introducing a new tool for BC businesses: the Business Continuity Plan

If you’re a business that has been impacted by the pandemic, forest fires, flooding, or any other type of hazard outside of your control, this tool is for you.

We know how tough the past few years have been on businesses. That’s why we created the Business Continuity Planning Tool.

The tool was recently launched for businesses across British Columbia to help them prepare for and mitigate the impact of disasters that affect their business.

The BCP is absolutely free to sign up for and use, and business owners will end up with their very own custom plan for dealing with disaster upon completion.

Why we made this tool

This tool was developed in collaboration with Colin O’Leary, of O’Leary & Associates.

O’Leary has worked with businesses across B.C. for over a decade helping them create the same plan that is in the BCP. His wealth of knowledge and experience of disaster preparedness has helped hundreds of businesses save their operations over the years.

Now, after extensive research, planning, and execution, Community Futures is helping to bring this valuable tool to the business community, completely free of charge.

Disasters are becoming more common

2021 was a sobering year for B.C. businesses. Our province experienced heat domes, atmospheric rivers, forest fires and flooding, forcing many businesses to leave their livelihood behind. And of course, the pandemic has had a lasting impact on businesses.

There is a need, now more than ever, for business owners to take the time to plan for disasters. We want to give every business the best chance possible to survive and thrive, no matter what mother nature throws at it.

How this tool helps BC businesses

The goal of the Business Continuity Plan is to help businesses prepare for and respond to unexpected disruptions.

You’ll be able to protect your employees better and have a great understanding of how your business could continue to operate, even during a disaster.

With the tool, we’ll walk through the following items together:

The possible hazards your business faces;
- These hazards are external to your business and are beyond your control. Hazards come in the form of fires, flooding, smoke, disruption to the business networks, a critical employee loss, or a pandemic.

Your business's core functions and assets;
- Your core functions and assets are the things that your business needs to have in order to generate revenue.

What impacts the loss of these core activities will have; and
- How long could your business last without those core functions and assets?

Identify which hazards pose the greatest risk to your business operations.
- We assess if those losses of core activities would have financial, organizational, operational, or social impacts.

Armed with this information, you’ll be able to take on unexpected emergencies and mitigate any negative impacts.