WASHINGTON, D.C.- October 2, 2008 - Immediately following recent hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Business Roundtable's Partnership for Disaster Response, a cross-industry initiative comprised of CEOs from the nation's leading companies, efficiently mobilized its members to help meet the urgent needs of affected communities in Texas and Louisiana. The Partnership aims to galvanize the business community to contribute its vast resources "“ beyond financial contributions "“ to accelerate on-the-ground relief activities following major disasters.

Thanks to a successful partnership between Business Roundtable and the American Red Cross, companies received rapid, accurate information from the Red Cross on the most critical needs and stepped up within days to provide generators, ice, water, trucks, fuel cards for emergency response vehicles, and other supplies to expedite the relief effort.

"The American Red Cross is proud to partner with Business Roundtable to help disaster victims," said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. "The generous support of some of the nation's largest corporations helps us provide immediate care, comfort and hope to individuals and families who have lost so much."

"Companies can be counted on to play a pivotal role in responding to disasters as we have seen in the Gulf," said Michael Dan, chairman, president, and CEO of The Brink's Company and chairman of the Partnership for Disaster Response. "Through this groundbreaking initiative, the business community is able to contribute its diverse products and expertise to the relief effort in a coordinated manner, helping provide solutions to people in a crisis."

To date, Business Roundtable member companies have offered more than $26 million in financial and in-kind contributions to a variety of charities involved in the hurricane relief efforts, including

• Supplies and products, including nutritionals from Abbott Laboratories, Tide(R) from The Proctor & Gamble Company, trucks, generators, ice and water from Ryder System, Inc. and Chapstick(R) from Wyeth.
  
• Financial and insurance assistance, including mobile catastrophe teams to aid affected policyholders deployed by Freddie Mac, MetLife, Inc., Nationwide, Prudential Financial, State Farm Insurance and Wachovia Corporation.
  
• Fuel cards from American Express Company, Chevron Corporation and MasterCard Worldwide.
  
• Financial support from Abbott Laboratories, Alcoa Inc., ALLTEL Corporation, BP America Inc., ConocoPhillips, The Dow Chemical Company, Exxon Mobil Corporation, General Mills, Inc., Office Depot, Inc., Pfizer Inc, The Proctor & Gamble Company, Verizon Communications and Xerox.
  
• Ongoing support to the American Red Cross from American Express Company, Alltel, AT&T, FedEx, Merck & Co., Morgan Stanley, State Farm Insurance Companies and Verizon Communications.

Business Roundtable member companies have long been recognized as corporate leaders in the area of disaster relief. In 2005, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, member companies contributed more than $362 million to immediate relief and recovery efforts. Last year, member companies provided millions of dollars in financial support and, in-kind contributions, including fuel cards, to assist with recovery from the California wildfires.

Partnership for Disaster Response (www.respondtodisaster.org) aims to bring together the many resources and capabilities of the private sector to enhance and accelerate on-the-ground relief and recovery following major natural disasters in the United States and abroad. The Partnership works to foster public-private collaborations to prepare for the health, social and economic burdens that disasters can create and to ensure that the business community’s response efforts address the most critical needs and mobilize the unique technologies and resources of its member companies.

About Business Roundtable:
Business Roundtable (www.businessroundtable.org) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with $4.5 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and represent more than 40 percent of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal government. Collectively, they returned $114 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy in 2006.

Business Roundtable

Business Roundtable

Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with more than $5 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 10 million employees. Member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock markets and pay nearly half of all corporate income taxes paid to the federal government. Annually, they return $133 billion in dividends to shareholders and the economy. Business Roundtable companies give more than $7 billion a year in combined charitable contributions, representing nearly 60 percent of total corporate giving. They are technology innovation leaders, with more than $70 billion in annual research and development spending é¢â‚¬â€œ more than a third of the total private R&D spending in the U.S.

More from Business Roundtable