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Investigate what other institutions are doing to increase their resiliency                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Discussion and Collaboration Are the First Steps

It is safe to say that the effects of climate change are on the minds of most URMIA members. If nothing else, the increasing frequency and impact of severe weather events have resulted in rapidly increasing property premiums. But how do institutions of higher education really begin to address the risks posed by climate change and make increasing resilience in the face of the attendant disturbances a priority?

The Disaster Resilient Universities Network (DRU) held a roundtable last December focused on elements of this question, and has released a white paper summarizing the discussion and key takeaways. For anyone unfamiliar, the DRU is an organization focused on sharing best practices for ensuring the safety, resilience, and emergency preparedness among higher education institutions. I was lucky enough to represent URMIA at this event, along with representatives from nine other higher education institutions, a commercial property insurance company, and a couple of consulting firms. Amina Assefa of the University of California and André Le Duc of the University of Oregon facilitated the discussion. The roundtable focused on three main topics.

Incorporating Hazard Vulnerability Assessments

The first topic discussed was how a fundamental tool in the emergency management realm could be modified to better consider future climate impacts. Hazard vulnerability assessments (HVAs) are, at their most basic, an evaluation of the hazards an organization faces, ranking those hazards based on likelihood and potential severity. The HVA often drives how much of an organization's emergency management efforts are applied to each hazard.

Results of the University of California’s efforts to incorporate climate change considerations into their HVA were presented. Their approach included both a "climate change coefficient," related to future climate impacts by geographic area, and an "equity" coefficient, looking at the disparate effects of climate impacts on various campus community populations. These coefficients were based on publicly available and standardized data and resulted in HVA scores for particular climate hazards that varied based on the geography and population characteristics of each of their campus communities.

Working Collaboratively Across Campus

The second discussion topic involved how to work effectively on climate issues with various stakeholders and teams across campus. The University of California presented information about focus groups they conducted related to climate impact concerns, and the University of Oregon shared a case study related to a large infrastructure project contributing to decarbonization efforts.

These presentations kicked off a discussion of the key steps in developing equity-centered climate-resilience planning. The group discussed the advantages to this approach, including fully identifying the needs of their communities (supporting the "whole community" approach to emergency management) as well as reducing barriers to post-event resources. Related to decarbonization and climate projects generally, there was a robust discussion of how to balance such efforts within an institution’s mission overall, especially on a campus where climate action is demanded by various stakeholders.

Increasing Climate Resiliency Broadly

The third and last topic of discussion revolved around institutions’ role in increasing climate resiliency broadly. This part of the discussion covered a lot of ground that would likely feel very familiar to risk managers. How should such efforts be prioritized, both among competing climate resilience projects as well as other priorities? What are the most significant barriers to the implementation of such efforts? How can institutions cultivate partnerships in this arena?

Your Part in Improving Climate Resilience

The DRU Network Climate Resilience Roundtable White Paper that resulted from this roundtable includes several key recommendations covering the three areas of discussion. Improving climate resilience at institutions of higher education will not be quick or easy. However, it is discussions like this among various professionals engaged in the issue that will hopefully speed up the process.

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