Page 19 - Sphere No.29 (Jun 2011)

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Sphere
The number of weather-related catastrophes around the globe has tripled in
the past 30 years, according to German reinsurance giant Munich Re. Last year it identified a
total of 950 natural catastrophes worldwide, the second-highest number since 1980 and nearly
20 per cent more than the annual average over the past decade. They caused losses of around
US$130 billion.
Many employees of Hutchison’s widely-dispersed businesses experienced last year’s weather
extremes first hand: from Russia’s blistering heat wave and choking forest fires in the summer,
to northern Europe’s record-breaking snowfalls in the winter. In other instances, Hutchison
employees were left, literally, dealing with the fallout.
Such was the case when an Icelandic volcano with the tongue-twisting name of Eyjafjalla-
jokull erupted in mid-April 2010, ejecting a plume of ash about 6 km into the sky and catching
the world totally off-guard. As the ash cloud drifted south, there were fears it could cause engine
failure in jets traversing Europe’s busy air corridors. Abruptly, the whole of British airspace shut
down. Other European countries soon followed suit.
Volcanic disruption
Among the first to feel the volcano’s impact were reservations staff at Hutchison’s Harbour Plaza
Hotels in Hong Kong, halfway round the world. There was a sudden flurry of cancellations from
guests booked to arrive from Europe. At the same time, hotel guests and other tourists about to
fly west were forced to extend their stay in Hong Kong.
“Our guest services and front office staff dropped everything to give affected guests their
immediate attention,” said Benedict Chow, General Manager of Harbour Grand Hong Kong.
“Information was sketchy so we took the initiative to follow up daily with the airlines and tried
to find out more for our guests. Some of them were very stressed by the situation. We really
empathised with them and tried to make their extended stay as comfortable as possible.”
At 3 UK, about 100 employees abroad on business or personal trips were unable to return as
the ash cloud disruption spread. While European travel started returning to normal a few days
later, there were lessons to be learnt by businesses everywhere.
“We have budgeted for a more comprehensive capability to track and report on where our
employees are travelling for work,” said Jemimah Parnell, 3 UK’s People & Property Director.
“We’re also encouraging more proactive risk awareness among all employees, whether they are
travelling for business or going away on holiday. It’s really about ensuring our staff stay safe and
don’t take unnecessary risks, whether that’s a case of advising against people driving to work
when it’s snowing heavily, or keeping one eye on the news so they are aware of disruption events
and can make contingency plans to get home.”
This heightened capability was put to the test by yet another volcanic eruption in Iceland in
late May this year. The Grímsvötn volcano sent a plume of smoke and ash about 19 km into the
sky, temporarily grounding air travel in parts of northern Europe. “We were ready,” added Ms
Parnell. “We were immediately in touch with all our travelling executives and able to work out
the best contingency plans for their safe return.”
We live in an era of headline-grabbing weather and natural
disasters. Tornadoes, hurricanes, typhoons, blizzards, fog,
earthquakes and volcanoes – Hutchison’s far-flung businesses
are exposed to them all. Contingency plans keep operations
running as smoothly as possible in all conditions – with people
and their safety always coming first.