MICRO, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines are urged to use a free online tool to assess their disaster preparedness, identify resilience gaps and strengthen their ability to withstand disruptions, including climate-related risks.
During the webinar, Laurent Giezendanner, head of corporate security at global agricultural technology company Syngenta, called on Filipino businesses to assess their resilience using the Resilience Maturity Assessment (ReMA) tool to prepare for potential El Niño-related disruptions.
The webinar, titled “Preparing Business for a Very Strong El Niño,” was held on Oct. 13, 2026, and organized by the OCHA-UNDP Connecting Business Initiative and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation.
Developed by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Corporate Chief Resilience Officers network, ReMA enables organizations of all sizes to evaluate their resilience through a browser-based self-assessment.
The tool benchmarks an organization’s resilience maturity according to its sector, size and geographic location, generating a score that can guide improvements in disaster preparedness, risk reduction and business continuity.
“Whether you are a micro enterprise, a small business, or a global corporation, ReMA equips you with the insights needed to measure, improve and disclose your resilience,” Giezendanner said.
The assessment covers six pillars: policy and governance, leadership and culture, organization, capacity, operating model and value chain. These areas help businesses examine whether resilience measures are informal and reactive or supported by established policies, systems and continuous improvement practices.
ReMA classifies organizations into four maturity levels: Baseline, Adaptive, Evolved and Optimized.
Baseline organizations generally rely on occasional, informal or reactive resilience practices. Adaptive organizations are beginning to implement structured plans and document their actions. Evolved organizations have formal processes, established standards and regular reporting, while Optimized organizations integrate continuous improvement, innovation and resilience performance into their operations.
The results help businesses identify weaknesses and determine practical steps to improve their preparedness. ReMA also provides a curated library of templates and expert recommendations to support these efforts.
Using the tool involves entering basic organizational information, answering questions across the six pillars, reviewing the relevant benchmark and accessing the assessment results and recommended actions. A user guide is also available to help organizations complete the process.
UNDRR has emphasized that resilience is essential for enterprises operating in an increasingly complex and volatile environment. The ability to adapt to disruptions, it noted, benefits not only businesses but also their stakeholders and surrounding communities.
For Philippine MSMEs, strengthening resilience can be particularly important in managing disruptions that affect operations, supply chains, employees and customers. / PHILEXPORT