Getting Ready: Company Primer on Preparedness and Response Planning for Terrorist and Bioterrorist Attacks

What should you do to protect your employees, your organization, and its stakeholders from a terrorist attack? Employees, and the public, assume that businesses are being proactive in working with government agencies to develop adequate health and safety programs, crisis prevention plans, and post-incident response systems that address the myriad of risks that exist in today’s world. Corporate emergency preparedness and response initiatives are becoming commonplace, where procedures regarding the safety of all employees are an integral part of overall company policy.

Companies of all sizes need guidance on what constitutes an emergency preparedness and response plan (EP&R) for potential emergency situations. The EP&R is much more than a traditional continuity of operations plan: it focuses on all elements of the emergency management cycle (mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery). This company primer is intended to raise the awareness of company leaders about terrorist threats, as well as other all-hazard emergencies, and to provide policy and procedural guidance for the development of overall corporate EP&R plans, policies, and procedures.