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Project Title

Building Resilient Communities: Advancing Standards for the Built Environment

Project Year

2025

Project Number

SCSC_201_2025A

Project Session

Session 2

Project Type

Standard

Project Status

Project in Implementation
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Project No.

SCSC_201_2025A

Project Title

*
Building Resilient Communities: Advancing Standards for the Built Environment

Project Status

Project in Implementation

Fund Account

*
APEC Support Fund

Sub-fund

ASF: Human Security

Project Year

2025

Project Session

*
Session 2

APEC Funding

112,115

Co-funding Amount

20,000

Total Project Value

132,115

Sponsoring Forum

*
Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC)

Topics

Standards and Conformance; Emergency Preparedness; Infrastructure

Committee

Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI)

Other Fora Involved

Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved

 

Proposing Economy(ies)

United States

Co-Sponsoring Economies

Canada; Indonesia; Japan; Peru; Philippines; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand

Expected Start Date

01/02/2026

Expected Completion Date

30/06/2027

Project Proponent Name 1

Elvin Chia

Job Title 1

Director of Outreach, Asia

Organization 1

ASTM International

Telephone 1

+6587784200

Email 1

echia@astm.org

Project Proponent Name 2

Craig Updyke

Job Title 2

Senior Director, Global Policy and International Trade

Organization 2

ASTM International

Telephone 2

+1.2027901276

Email 2

cupdyke@astm.org

Declaration

Elvin Chia

Project Summary

The Asia-Pacific region accounts for 70% of global disasters including storms, floods, earthquakes, wildfires, and other shocks which are inflicting damage on buildings and infrastructure, costing economies billions and threatening community well-being. It is increasingly important to design and construct buildings and infrastructure to limit, prevent, and withstand exposure to hazards and foreseeable risks, and to equip communities to rapidly recover and restore services after an incident. This project aims to raise awareness of resilience standards and their critical role in safeguarding communities and the built environment.

A survey conducted in March 2026 will identify priority topics for the workshop. The workshop will facilitate dialogue on challenges and solutions, and build capacity and knowledge on resilience standards. A summary report will capture the survey findings, workshop insights, and a list of key resilience standards, providing a practical guide for APEC economies to build safer and more resilient communities.

Relevance

Region

The Asia-Pacific region accounts for a disproportionate 70% of global disasters. According to a World Bank estimate, APEC economies have been incurring disaster- related losses of over US$100 billion annually for the last ten years. Damage and disruption to buildings and infrastructure can cause major adverse economic effects and significant harm to the well-being of citizens – especially the poor and vulnerable in developing economies. With hazards and risks becoming more manifest, and construction intensifying across the region, incorporating resilience and adaptation measures is vital to safeguarding communities and reducing vulnerabilities. The return on investment is also clear: every US$1 invested in resilience and disaster preparedness saves US$13 in economic impact, damage, and cleanup costs after the event (2024 Climate Resiliency Report, U.S. Chamber of Commerce).

Standards play a critical role in translating resilience goals into actionable steps. This project will therefore raise awareness of technical standards that support infrastructure and community resilience; increase understanding on the application of standards in codes, policies, and regulations; encourage alignment of national policies with best practices; foster collaboration; and facilitate information exchange on resilience innovations and solutions among APEC economies. By aligning with recognized resilience frameworks, APEC economies can mitigate economic losses, improve livelihoods, and protect the wellbeing of communities from disaster-related incidents.


Eligibility and Fund PrioritiesThis project focuses on resilience standards that strengthen emergency and disaster preparedness, and community resilience, which reduces disruptions and vulnerabilities. Therefore, the project directly supports the “Emergency Preparedness” funding priority of the ASF Sub-Fund on Human Security. The project includes a capacity-building workshop for all APEC economies (developing and developed) to increase knowledge and cooperation on resilience standards, measures, and best practices. This activity fulfills the eligibility criteria of the ASF.


Capacity Building

This project supports sustainable growth and equitable development in the Asia- Pacific region, ensuring that economic disparities amongst APEC economies are reduced from the impacts of disasters and hazards. The project aims to build capacity of APEC economies so that they can better prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies, disasters, and natural shocks. The capacity building workshop will enable APEC economies to develop technical knowledge on resilience standards and their application, and facilitate regional dialogue and cooperation on resilience best practices, solutions, and innovations. The summary report will include insights from the workshop and information on resilience standards that APEC economies can apply and adopt, offering a practical resource and guide for regional regulatory convergence and for APEC economies to build safer and more resilient communities. The project is relevant to all APEC economies, especially Australia, Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Thailand, The Philippines, and Viet Nam as these economies have high disaster risk.


Objectives

The objective of this project is to build capacity of APEC economies to strengthen resilience in communities and the built environment, enabling economies to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters. This will be achieved through increasing knowledge and understanding of technical standards that support infrastructure and community resilience, facilitating knowledge exchange on best practices and innovations, and promoting regional cooperation and alignment on standards in regulation to enable regulatory convergence where appropriate.

Alignment

APEC

Consistently, APEC host economies have recognized the need to proactively strengthen the built environment and community preparedness. This project responds to calls for action as highlighted in the following Visions and Declarations.

The project advances the Putrajaya Vision 2040 for a resilient Asia-Pacific community by strengthening the built environment and community preparedness. It supports the “Strong, Balanced, Secure, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth” driver of the Aotearoa Plan of Action which has the objective of ensuring that the Asia-Pacific region is resilient to shocks, crises, and other emergencies, as well as promoting cooperation to address environmental challenges, including extreme weather and natural disasters. The project also aligns with various declarations and goals. The 2022 Bangkok goals on Bio-Circular-Green Economy highlights enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability through including adaptation measures into policies, strategies and planning, as well as disaster and emergency preparedness and management. In addition, the 2023 Golden Gate Declaration focuses on creating a resilient future and welcomes the Disaster Risk Reduction Framework and Action Plan, which supports APEC economies’ efforts to build sustainable, inclusive, and resilient Asia-Pacific communities by reducing disaster risk and strengthening emergency preparedness for disasters. Furthermore, the 2024 Machu Picchu Declaration recognizes the importance of confronting challenges posed by extreme weather and natural disasters. This project will contribute to the achievement of these mandates and goals by equipping APEC economies with the tools and knowledge to apply resilience standards and measures in communities and the built environment.


Forum

The key focus of this project is to raise awareness, build capacity and foster cooperation on international resilience standards, and this directly advances SCSC’s goals to harmonize standards, align each economy’s standards with international standards, and promote good regulatory practices in the preparation, adoption and application of standards. With disasters and shocks increasing in frequency and magnitude, inflicting larger damage on communities and the built environment, and with no prior SCSC project on this topic, this project is a timely and critical next step for SCSC.

Beneficiaries and Outputs

Output


1) Pre-Workshop Survey

The Pre-Workshop Survey will be conducted online and distributed to all member economies prior to the workshop. Findings from the Desktop Research and responses collected through the Survey will be used to shape the agenda and discussions for the Workshop.

Key findings from the Survey will be shared during the Workshop, as well as incorporated into the Summary Report.


2) Workshop

This one-day in-person workshop, scheduled on the margins of the Third Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM3) in 2026, provides a forum for members to gain and exchange knowledge on resilience standards aimed at strengthening the built environment and community resilience. The workshop will feature expert presentations on key resilience standards that APEC economies can adopt. The workshop will also include the sharing of best practices by government agencies, international organizations, and non-government organizations on the application of resilience standards.

The workshop survey will be conducted immediately following the workshop to capture feedback from participants. The project overseers will ensure that participants and attendees are connected following the workshop. Participants will be encouraged to share experiences, seek assistance, and collaborate with peers to sustain momentum and reinforce workshop learnings, fostering a supportive environment conducive to continuous improvement and long-term success.


3) A 3-5 page summary report (excluding annexes) will provide a comprehensive overview of the insights, presentations, and findings of the one-day workshop. It will begin with an executive summary highlighting the key points discussed and the main conclusions drawn from the workshop. The report will then provide a detailed account of the topics covered and may include appendices with supplementary materials such as presentation slides, workshop agendas, and participant lists. The report will also include a list of key resilience standards. Overall, the summary report will serve as a valuable resource and practical guide for APEC economies to build safer and more resilient communities. This report will not be an APEC publication.


Outcome

1) Enhanced Knowledge – the workshop equips participants with knowledge of resilience standards that they may use as tools to strengthen resilience measures within their respective economies.


2) Increased Awareness – the workshop promotes awareness of innovative approaches, solutions, and applications of resilience standards that economies may adapt and implement.


3) Policy Development and Alignment – Insights shared during the workshop may inform the developmentof policies, regulations, and systems supported by resilience standards. This may also lead to efforts to align standards and promote regulatory convergence across APEC economies.


Beneficiaries

Economies will be invited to identify and/or recommend participants who represent national and regional standards bodies, regulators, and government ministries or agencies responsible for building codes and standards, public works, housing, urban development, environment, and disaster-risk management. Since the project is also relevant and beneficial to industry representatives, testing and certification bodies, and academic and research institutes in the building and construction sector, these will also be sought. Participants may be asked to identify topics of interest or invited to join the program as speakers or moderators. Finally, all participants will be invited to provide feedback through the post-workshop survey.

Dissemination

The target audience for the Summary Report will be regulators, government officials, standards developers, and private-sector stakeholders focused on resilience. The Summary Report will be circulated to relevant APEC forums including SCSC and EPWG. The Summary Report can be distributed via APEC’s social media platforms, APEC project database, and direct email distribution to member economies.

Gender

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Work Plan

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Risks

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Linkages

While a previous SCSC project addressed battery energy resilience, this project aims to widen the scope on resilience to address the built environment. The project is relevant to the APEC Emergency Preparedness Working Group (EPWG). Stakeholders from EPWG will be invited to provide inputs and participate in the workshop as speakers or attendees. Outside APEC, expert speakers will be invited from relevant international organizations such as the International Code Council, and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies.

Sustainability

The summary report, which will include information on resilience standards, will be disseminated to multiple stakeholders in APEC economies. Economies will be encouraged to use the report as a reference for their domestic resilience planning. POs will explore the creation of a platform for continued collaboration and exchange of ideas if it is of interest. POs will also provide resources, support, and capacity building for the adoption and implementation of resilience standards in APEC economies. The main mechanism for evaluating the project outputs and outcomes will be through the post-workshop feedback forms. The POs will analyze the post- workshop feedback to plan future initiatives, including a potential follow-up resilience workshop.

Direct Labour

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder (if applicable).

Are there any supporting document attached?

Yes
Project No.
Project Title
Project Status
Fund Account
Sub-fund
Project Year
Project Session
APEC Funding
Co-funding Amount
Total Project Value
Sponsoring Forum
Topics
Committee
Other Fora Involved
Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved
Proposing Economy(ies)
Co-Sponsoring Economies
Expected Start Date
Expected Completion Date
Project Proponent Name 1
Job Title 1
Organization 1
Telephone 1
Email 1
Project Proponent Name 2
Job Title 2
Organization 2
Telephone 2
Email 2
Declaration
Project Summary
Relevance
Objectives
Alignment
Beneficiaries and Outputs
Dissemination
Gender
Work Plan
Risks
Monitoring and Evaluation
Linkages
Sustainability
Direct Labour
Are there any supporting document attached?
hdFldAdmin
Project Number
Previous Fora
Secretariat Comments
Reprogramming Notes
Consolidated QAF
Endorsement By Fora
PD Sign Off
Batch
Forum Priority
Committee Ranking Category
Committee Priority
PDM Priority
Priority Within Funding Category
Monitoring Report Received
Completion Report Received
PMU Field 1
PMU Field 2
PMU Field 3
On Behalf Of
Proposal Status
Originating Sub-Forum
Approval Status
Attachments
Content Type: Standard Proposal
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