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Differences Between a Business Continuity Plan and a Sustainability Plan

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Differences Between a Business Continuity Plan and a Sustainability Plan

Business Continuity Plan (BCP) and Sustainability Plan (SP) are two crucial components

that help manage a crisis in organizations. Although both components aim at ensuring the

survival of an organization during tough times, they have different strategies, methods, and

objectives. A BCP outlines the steps an organization needs to take to keep its key business

functions running during and after a crisis. The steps are meant to minimize the risks of a crisis,

keep the employees safe, and keep the operations running. It is long-term planning that creates

room for prevention and recovery in face of disasters such as cyberattacks, power failures,

floods, or fires (DB, 2021). One of the key concerns of BCP is managing operational elements to

keep the business running normally to avoid suffering losses. In BCP, standards are

implemented, protocols are developed, and recovery systems are created to mitigate disasters.

To restore normalcy in the organization using BCP, there is a series of steps and

procedures involved to see the process successful. The disaster has to be mitigated with

maximum speed and minimum effects on operations. The steps involved in the formulation and

execution of BCP include identifying, and managing the risk, creating a planning committee,

ranking the recovery needs, obtaining a commitment from the top-level management,

formulating and implementing a plan, testing it, and finally evaluating the business continuity

phase (DB, 2021).

A sustainability plan on the other hand is a detailed strategy that outlines the

organization’s long-term objectives and goals of maintaining or becoming more economically,

socially, and environmentally sustainable. SP involves constantly reviewing the current

processes and systems to identify areas that may need improvement to reduce wastage, and
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emissions, and encourage proper utilization of resources (Miller, 2011). It comprises metrics and

targets that measure progress and steps that should be followed to attain sustainable practices.

Sustainable practices in organizations are essential because they reduce the probability of

threats. For instance, if an organization speculates that its emissions are leading to an increased

carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, it will look for ways to reduce the emissions. SP

begins and ends by assessing the internal and external environment to keep the organization

sustainable in all aspects. Sustainable practices include measures such as using renewable

sources of energy and reducing waste (Miller, 2011). A sustainability plan helps reduce the

impacts on the environment, minimize risk exposure, and improve overall performance in the

long term. It is a crucial component of organizations because it ensures that there is a plan to

promote long-term survival and success.

One of the key differences between BCP and SP is the focus on outcomes. The primary

aim of BCP is to keep the organization running after a crisis and also help in the recovery

process. On the other hand, SP seeks to improve the social, economic, and environmental

performance of the organization. Another key difference is the duration of time they focus on.

BCP does not need long-term planning because it deals with short-term emergencies such as

natural disasters or abrupt disruption of key business operations. A sustainability plan on the

other hand focuses on the long-term objectives that seek to ensure that an organization remains

sustainable. Also, SP ensures that an organization remains socially responsible while BCP keeps

the organization running even when things get tough.

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References

DB. (2021). Difference Between Business Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan |

Difference Between. http://www.differencebetween.net/business/difference-between-

business-continuity-plan-and-disaster-recovery-plan/

Miller, H. (2011). Integrating sustainability into business continuity planning. International

Journal of Business Continuity and Risk Management, 2(3), 219.

https://doi.org/10.1504/ijbcrm.2011.042301