The report, Adapting for a Green Economy: Companies, Communities and Climate Change (pdf), said that even among firms participating in the UNEP-Global Compact initiative Caring for Climate, there is not yet widespread understanding of what climate adaptation means for the companies, their suppliers and the markets they serve. In a survey, only about a third of these companies said that their climate change strategy has a “strong emphasis" on the issue of climate change risks.
About one quarter have not been able to determine, or could not provide concrete information on, the percentage of their operating sites that are vulnerable to climate change. But 83 percent of the 72 responding companies said that climate change impacts do pose a risk to their products or services.
Climate risks confronting companies include physical, operational, regulatory, legal, financing, market, political and reputation risks, the report authors said. For example, companies face more stringent legislation related to climate risk management, more lawsuits in cases of infringement, and reduced consumer spending power due to the economic effects of climate change.
Each sector faces a particular set of risks, especially on the physical and operational side, the report said. In the survey, energy and utilities companies said they face not only the risk of peak demand outstripping capacity, but physical risks to personnel and equipment from extreme weather events. Construction and building materials respondents said that many of their plants are vulnerable because they are located in coastal areas. Read the full report here.
Source: Environmental Leader.
