Despite best efforts, environmental accidents happen to good companies. When they do, the results can be catastrophic to public health and the environment, to a company’s reputation, and to its ability to survive and prosper.
Most companies prepare and maintain elaborate emergency response plans to address the harm to public health and the environment caused by an environmental crisis, but few are prepared for the strategic and management challenges that follow. This is where most post-crisis mistakes are made and where effective planning can help. To prepare, a company must first understand the core principles of legal crisis-management and then develop a management response plan to guide it through the crisis. Several of the more important principles are set out below.
