More than 600 businesses, with annual revenues of more than £2trn and employing more than 10 million people across 150 countries, are joining a new collaboration between think tank, The Resilience Shift and Resilience First.

The new network brings together disparate industries – from finance, to retail, technology, engineering and the built environment – to help governments and businesses promote economic recovery and shape post-pandemic stimulus that builds resilience and accelerates global decarbonisation efforts.

Nigel Topping, recently appointed by the UK Government as climate action champion for the COP26 UN climate talks, said he was delighted so many businesses had “answered the call” and that this new platform would help firms to decarbonise and build their own resilience and that of their industry.

Businesses involved include Arup, WSP, Dar Group, NBC Universal International, Tesco, Intel and the Lloyds Register Foundation.

“The next five years are critical to the future of our planet and resilience will be central to helping us survive and thrive,” says Seth Schultz, executive director of The Resilience Shift. “We need to be able to withstand and adapt to changing conditions and recover positively from shocks and stresses. Today’s announcement is the beginning of many radical shifts that will more appropriately prepare us to meet the challenges of the coming decade. We invite organisations to join us in our mission for a more resilient world”.

Simon Collins, chairman of Resilience First, said resilience has been brought into sharp focus by COVID, but that it needs to be a permanent priority. “The strategic partnership between these two organisations creates a platform with substantial convening power, reach and voice to help build resilience in businesses and the communities in which they operate,” he explained.

Dame Jo da Silva, global sustainable development leader at Arup, added: “Over the last year, the importance of resilience has been made starkly clear; from firms enabling us all to adapt to online work or adapting to online product and services, through to healthcare services responding to the massive increase in intensive care cases, and even energy and transport networks operating on a skeleton staff. This ability to adapt to and recover from crisis or change will only become more critical as we navigate the implications of climate change, digital transformation, a growing population and less resources over the next 20 years. I am delighted that today the Resilience Shift joins forces with Resilience First bringing business and infrastructure providers together with a shared ambition to create a safer world.”

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