Building Disaster Resilient businesses in Philippines

Futureproofing businesses in the Philippines from climate-related disasters.

August 20, 2025

2024 was a record year for typhoons and tropical cyclones in the Philippines.

According to official reports, there were a total of 17 tropical cyclones that occurred in the Philippines.

Notably, a rapid succession of 6 back-to-back cyclones impacted Luzon within a span of 25 days.

This was soon followed by 5 typhoons that devastated barely recovered areas of Bicol, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Cordillera Administrative Region & Ilocos Region.

In February 2025, Philippines authorities officially announced the decommissioned 8 domestic typhoon names.

This made 2024 the year with the most number of decommissioned names since the current naming scheme began in 2001.

A typhoon name is retired if a tropical cyclone's passage results in at least 300 deaths or causes damages of at least PHP 1 billion.

In December 2024, a study by World Weather Attribution released their main findings to assess to what extend are the recent extreme weather events influenced by climate change.

They found that current models significantly underestimated the observed impacts and the attributable projection of potential intensity in a 2.6°C warmer world, are a conservation estimation of climate change’s role.

To quantify the role of human-induced climate change we also analyse climate models.

The change in potential intensity attributable to human-induced climate change is smaller in the models than in the observations.

When combining both, we find that the potential intensity as observed in 2024 has been made more likely by a factor of about 1.7, due to warming caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels. The intensity has increased by about 2 m/s (7.2 km/h).

These changes are projected to increase with further warming, meaning that in a 2.6°C warmer world the expected increase is another 2 m/s: this reflects projected conditions by the end of the century given currently implemented policies.

As all models significantly underestimate the observed change, these numbers are assumed to be a conservative estimate of the role of climate change.

There’s also the economic losses to consider when it comes to climate change related hazards.

The Swiss Re Institute analysis from 2024 ranked the Philippines as the most impacted country among 36 surveyed, as they face an annual economic losses from four major weather perils (floods, tropical cyclones, winter storms, and thunderstorms) at 3.0% of GDP

The recent extreme weather events and year-on-year economic losses due to weather disasters highlight the importance of the Philippines’s Disaster Risk Reduction & Management plan.

The framework was updated by the authorities to cover the period of 2020 - 2030, reframed through the lens of resilience-strengthening, and an all-hazards approach, both natural & human-induced.

The revised approach recognises the dynamic nature of hazard risks, its intensity of impact can change overtime, due to its increasing interconnectedness to global warming, the country’s existing vulnerabilities and current capacity to plan and respond.

What can businesses do to be more disaster resilient?

Official IPCC 6th assessment report stated that “Human activities, principally through emissions of greenhouse gases, have unequivocally caused global warming”.

The climate-change we are experiencing today is primarily caused by human activities.

Hence it’s imperative as corporate citizens to have at least a high-level understanding of how climate change works & how human activities are causing the ongoing climate crisis.

A Climate Fresk workshop that we organised for SM Prime in the Philippines

The macro perspective would offer context on the proximity, magnitude and likelihood of the adverse climate-related risks you should consider, due to its tangible and indirect impact on your business assets & supply chain.

Equipped with the new knowledge, you can adopt the proactive approach of increasing your capacity to plan, reduce and or spread your risks, adapt and overall strengthen your business resilience against natural and human-induced hazards.

The capacity can also be built through professional trainings, workshops or engaging a fractional CSO service to look into your organisation’s resilience plan.

Get started: Join our new ESG leadership series dedicated to Philippines-based businesses, to boost your corporate sustainability knowledge.

Join our pay-as-you-wish workshops for the upcoming topics:

ESG Leadership in Philippines: Climate Change impact & Supply Chain decarbonisation

In the face of climate change, ESG leadership is more critical than ever. Join us for a deep dive into how climate change is impacting businesses in the Philippines and key action steps you can take.

Book now

  • Impact of Climate Change on Supply Chain & Decarbonisation: 27th & 28th Aug, 26th Nov

  • Impact of Climate Change on Public Health: 29th Sept

  • Climate Change & Social Inclusivity: 30th Sept

  • Climate Risks & Financial Materiality: 1st Oct

  • Sustainable Tourism: 27th Oct

  • Decarbonising your Tech stack: 29th Oct

You can also speak to us to help you plan your Climate-Disaster adaptation & mitigation strategy, which covers disaster risk mapping, resilience strategy planning, leadership training and internal capacity building.

Email to: [email protected] 

Alternatively, you can also book a free non-obligatory speed consulting call 👇

Save the Dates: AlterCOP 30 Philippines will be here on 7 - 30 November 2025.

After a successful 1st edition of AlterCOP 29 in Singapore last year, AlterCOP 30 will be back this year, bigger & bolder!

Bringing to the Philippines for the first time, AlterCOP 30 Philippines embodies the bayanihan (spirit of community and mutual support), anchored to the country’s realities & ambitions, inviting Filipinos to contribute to the COP30 objectives, right in the heart of Manila.

Capturing the local voices, priorities and solutions of the Filipinos, AlterCOP 30 is a citizen-owned movement, led by the people for the people.

Subscribe to the AlterCOP newsletter for the full conference line-up and to be notified of when bookings are open.

About AlterCOP:

Founded in Singapore by The Transmutation Principle & The Matcha Initiative, AlterCOP is an independent citizen-owned movement that complements COP.

The Singapore flagship summit & regional events, aim to democratise and decentralise climate education for corporates and citizens, keeping the public informed of COP discussions and outcomes, localisation of climate impact knowledge and foster collaboration between businesses, policymakers, academia, NPOs, youth, community groups and citizens to inspire action.