Building Resilience Index: A financial tool to measure and mitigate disaster risk for real estate

Natural disasters have been on the rise and are hitting rapidly urbanizing areas in developing countries the most. Damages from floods, winds, and earthquakes, among others, range from $300 - $900 per m2 of space, resulting in billions in property damages and thousands of lives lost. How can these climate change related disaster risks be assessed and quantified for real estate projects? What tools can help the real estate industry build climate resilience?

The World Bank Group is launching stakeholder consultations for the pilot phase of the Building Resilience Index. The Index is a risk assessment tool for the real estate industry, which standardizes and quantifies disaster risk, and creates a system of reporting on adaptation and resilience.

In this pilot phase, IFC will present the current framework of the free, web-based tool available from https://www.resilienceindex.org/ as well as vision for near- and long-term improvements. IFC will also present the business case for building resilience built around a cross-industry standard for construction projects, increased transparency and accountability, and decreased risk by providing a clear, quantifiable assessment of resilient construction and a standardized letter grade of risk. IFC is actively seeking feedback on the pilot framework and tool from investors, governments, NGOs, and technical experts in this space, through continued feedback and active participation in an advisory group.