Are Businesses Prepared For More Extreme Weather?
January has been another record breaking month. Storm Chandra set daily rainfall records in January, and Devon and Somerset both saw record river levels early in the new year. The southwest is currently experiencing a period of 35 consecutive days of rainfall, and the impact is being felt within business and local communities.
More extreme weather is inevitable for the UK, particularly in winter months, as the impacts of climate change start to be felt across the region. The impact on business activity and the economy is starting to become better understood, too. Local authorities are having to react to the impact this is having on infrastructure more than in previous years, detracting from the investment they can make in regional improvements, and this is having an impact on many sectors, impacting buildings, supply chains, business travel, and school closures, all of which disrupt vital commercial operations.
This has sparked much thought into whether businesses are properly prepared for the changes coming down the road from climate change. Devon and Cornwall can expect an increase in rainfall of around 16% over the next 25 years leading to more frequent and severe flood events, and when the frosts come, they’re expected to be much colder than we are used to. In the summer months, high temperatures are expected to increase by up to 3.8˚C over the same time period, presenting different challenges, particularly for workforces who don’t benefit from inside, air conditioned spaces.
Extreme weather is likely to impact three main areas for businesses to consider; the built environment, supply chain, and operations. Damage to infrastructure from freeze-thaw, intense rainfall and flooding will increase maintenance budgets required to maintain buildings that are fit-for-purpose. More extreme weather not just locally, but across global trade routes will squeeze supply chains, and lead to delays and greater cost variation when incidents occur. Local weather patterns, particularly flooding and snow events will lead to more downtime in operations, particularly where it effects staff commuting, customer travel, disruption to networks, and health and safety risks.
As with other business risks, its important to consider how these impacts can be mitigated effectively. With valuable information published by government in the Climate Change Risk Assessment report, due to be updated in 2026, and a wealth of data made available from the Met Office and the Climate Change Resilience Programme, it is now possible to map specific risks to businesses, and plan mitigation efforts and back-up operating scenarios for when extreme events occur. Mapping regional risks onto specific operations allows businesses to prioritise effectively, planning for where impacts are most relevant to them, and allow procedures to be implemented that can ensure business continuity, long-term. Alongside this, businesses can define clear, measurable KPIs that track risks on an annual basis, allowing them to react as risk ratings evolve.
Addressing these risks usually requires a three-stage approach:
Identify and quantify climate-related risks – use KPIs that genuinely measure impact, and rate risks in line with other business risks, based on the specific impact to your business.
Mitigate risks in order of priority – this applies not just to your climate-related risk, but business risk in general. There is no need to treat climate-related risks any differently to other business risk, so long as your method of prioritisation is effective.
Define responsive measures – even with robust risk mitigation, the nature of extreme weather means sometimes impacts are unexpected. Business continuity relies on organisations to implement back up procedures should disruption occur, including alternative space arrangements, working from home options under specific circumstances, and alternative supply options for critical products or services (amongst many!).
It’s important businesses don’t reinvent the wheel in addressing climate risk. Many businesses have existing risk registers that already work really well; climate-related risks can be dropped into these mechanisms to ensure they’re treated alongside existing risk mitigation.
Kurb have developed a proven, evidence-based approach to mitigating climate-related risk to your business. If you’re interested in understanding more about what this can mean for you, specifically, please reach out at info@kurbcarbon.co.uk.