Risk Mitigation
Definition
Risk Mitigation (also Risk Elimination, Risk Prevention) denotes any activities pursued for the purpose of reducing or eliminating perceived risks. The lessening or minimizing of the adverse impacts of a hazardous event.
Frequently risk mitigation aims to enforce an agreed Risk Appetite level and thus entails a Residual Risk.
Approaches
Implementation of measures to deter specific threats to the continuity of business operations, and/or respond to any occurrence of such threats in a timely and appropriate manner. Activities taken to reduce the severity or consequences of an emergency.
The available actions and tools for risk mitigation vary significantly by Risk Type. Very broadly all strategies involve a combination of:
- Attempting to modify the Risk Profile (changing the conditions or factors that contribute to likelihhood of the risk)
- Obtaining some form of Insurance (leaving the underlying conditions unchanged but aiming to mitigate the impact)
Examples
Mitigation may include for example, engineering techniques and hazard-resistant construction as well as improved environmental and social policies and public awareness.
Issues and Challenges
- The adverse impacts of hazards, in particular natural hazards, often cannot be prevented fully, but their scale or severity can be substantially lessened by various strategies and actions.
- In climate change policy, “mitigation” is defined differently, and is the term used for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that are the source of climate change.
