Weathering the storm: building business resilience to climate change

This report takes an in-depth look at whether and how companies are responding to the increased risks and pressures presented by climate changes and extreme weather risks, such as cold and heat waves, droughts, floods, hurricanes, cyclones, storms, wildfires. It examines how companies perceive and manage these risks as well as potential business opportunities, describes common business practices for evaluating and building resilience to physical impacts, and presents a framework for emerging best practices used by leading companies to manage the risks of extreme weather and climate-related impacts.

Specifically, it examines: (i) the extent to which companies acknowledge risks from the physical impacts of extreme weather and climate change; (ii) drivers motivating companies’ actions to build resilience to climate change impacts; (iii) steps taken by companies to assess potential vulnerabilities; (iv) actions undertaken to more effectively manage the risks and maximize any opportunities; (v) tools and methods used by companies to assess risks and opportunities; and (vi) barriers preventing companies from taking more focused and forward-looking action. It also outlines a set of more detailed findings on prevailing attitudes and practices among S&P Global 100 companies and details case studies of six companies in diverse sectors: American Water, Bayer, The Hartford Group, National Grid, Rio Tinto and Weyerhaeuser.