New NACS Guidance Helps C-store Retailers Prepare & Recover From Disasters

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, is offering convenience store retailers new resources to develop or enhance their disaster planning procedures.

The NACS Convenience Store Emergency Planning and Job Aids is a result of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Infrastructure Protection Program Challenge, which was awarded to NACS in 2018 to identify and enhance how c-stores can boost their resiliency as they plan, prepare and recover from natural or man-made disasters.

"These resources are designed to help convenience retailers quickly and efficiently determine the best course of action for their teams to plan for an emergency such as a hurricane or bring their stores back into operation after events that happen with little to no warning, like a tornado or earthquake," said Carolyn Schnare, NACS director of strategic initiatives. "After curating emergency plans and insights from our convenience industry community, we have developed useful and practical resources that retailers can adapt for their own businesses."

The customizable resources include a plan evaluation document and 17 Job Aids of tasks and checklists for specific functions that store employees perform during disaster planning and recovery. The Job Aids can also be used during on-boarding training, refresher training or immediate training when emergency conditions approach.

NACS worked with 20 convenience retailers across the country, including single-store operators and chains with 1,000-plus locations, to develop the NACS Convenience Store Emergency Planning and Job Aids, and incorporated information supplemented by government regulatory requirements and professional association recommendations, according to the association.

"Communities and emergency response teams depend on their local convenience stores in times of need, especially for much-needed food, water and fuel," Schnare said. "These new NACS resources can help retailers evaluate their internal processes for reopening quickly and returning to normalcy."

To download the NACS Convenience Store Emergency Planning and Job Aids, click here.