Climate Action 2011-2012

CA2011 GlobalCompact_1.pdf
186 climateactionprogramme.org
products and services. There is no doubt that against this
rapidly evolving backdrop shifting risks and opportunities,
competitiveness and successful adaptation will be two sides
of the same coin.
For those that take the challenge at hand seriously,
adaptation efforts must begin with a careful assessment
of their own vulnerabilities in order to build resilience
within their operations and their supply chain. And
while uncertainties about precise long-term climate
impacts remain, they should not prevent companies from
taking action. Many of these actions, such as improved
management of natural resources, will benefit both the
company and communities and ecosystems, which is why
they are often referred to as ‘low-regret’ measures. For
instance, companies can help their suppliers understand
and manage climate risk and facilitate their access to
information, equipment, and technology to help them
withstand climate shocks.
For those that take the challenge
at hand seriously, adaptation
efforts must begin with a
careful assessment of their own
vulnerabilities in order to build
resilience within their operations
and their supply chain.
Another option is sourcing from small and medium-sized
enterprises, which creates local jobs and strengthens the
overall economic base of local communities – and thus their
resilience to crises.
innovAtive employment
Much has been written and said lately about the potential
for green jobs that seek to reduce harmful greenhouse gas
emissions, such as those in the renewable energy and green
building industries. By comparison, jobs that also build
resilience to the impacts of climate change have received
far less attention. By innovating products and services that
address critical adaptation needs, the private sector can
create true business value while helping communities to
adapt. Building preparedness for climate change through
investments in adaptation can trigger new and expanded
economic activity, supporting both new and existing green
jobs in key sectors.
According to some estimates, nearly two million jobs in
the US alone contribute to building climate resilience
in the US and abroad – from agriculture to disaster
preparedness or water management. If business and the
public sector alike commit to adaptation, rapid growth
across all relevant sectors is likely. And indeed, there are
a good number of companies that have created value for
their businesses and for the vulnerable communities whose
resilience they are working to improve. From mobile water
treatment plants to drip irrigation to text-message flood
warning systems or weather-indexed insurance for crops,
examples of affordable, adaptation-related technologies
and services abound.
Building preparedness for
climate change through investments
in adaptation can trigger new and
expanded economic activity.
Both risk management and business development should
incorporate the adaptation needs of local communities.
Strategic climate change adaptation investments can increase
a company’s and a community’s capacity to respond to
climate change obstacles and opportunities. Companies can
partner with local communities to conserve natural resources
on which they both depend. They can also work with local
governments, civil society and citizens to design climateresilient
development and infrastructure plans and to prepare
for emergencies. Proactive, positive relationships with the full
range of local private and public sector actors – including
entrepreneurs, civil society groups, citizens and local
government officials – form a strong foundation for effective
corporate engagement on climate change adaptation.
Conversely, where business and communities are not
aligned in their efforts to build resilience, they often face
severe risks that can range from reputational damage and
loss of their social licence to operate to costly disruptions of
operations and supply chains.
AdAptAtion in the corporAte
context
As best practice in the adaptation arena is still emerging,
a 2011 survey among the nearly 400 corporate signatories
to Caring for Climate, the UN Global Compact’s climate
action platform, offers several useful insights.
First, there is a strong need to understand ‘adaptation’
in the corporate context. Even among those that have
joined Caring for Climate, the precise meaning and the
operational implications of climate adaptation are often not
clear. While certain climate risks – particularly related to
energy and water – are widely acknowledged, others have
yet to be interpreted in business terms. Among corporate
practices identified by the survey, three types of action
stood out:
Communicating adaptation imperatives as core business
priorities. For instance, for one global beverage company
climate adaptation meant making the security of its water
supply, a key input in its products, a strategic priority.
Here, adaptation was directly linked to the serious business
implications of water scarcity and enabled an integrated
strategic response.