James Curtis Quoted in BNA's Corporate Accountability
“Recent BP, Other Corporate Crises Highlight Necessity for Proactive Emergency Planning”

James Curtis was quoted in BNA's Corporate Accountability July 23, 2010 in the article, “Recent BP, Other Corporate Crises Highlight Necessity for Proactive Emergency Planning. ” The article discussed recent high profile corporate crises that have served as potent reminders to public company boards that it is critical to be proactive and have a comprehensive crisis management plan in place.

According to Jim, it is important that the entire board maintain communication with the division that is responsible for managing environmental and health safety issues for the organization. He explains key steps in designing an effective catastrophic response plan. Jim suggests that boards "designate a special catastrophe response team," identify steps that should be taken in the days after the occurrence of a crisis, and "create a plan for dealing with insurance matters, media and public relations." He concluded, “The board needs to be able to inform any concerned party that it has in place a safety auditing committee that audits, on at least an annual basis, all of the organization’s environmental safety and health compliance practices and reports to the board on a regular basis.”