Looking to the future: How to climate-proof your business

The climate emergency is the biggest economic, social, and environmental threat facing the planet. Climate-related disasters have almost doubled compared to the previous twenty years.

• Cyclones: Under 2.5°C of global warming, the most devastating storms are projected to occur up to twice as often as today. (Bacmeister et al., 2018)
• Drought: The number of people suffering extreme droughts across the world could double in less than 80 years (Pokhrel, 2021).
• Floods: For each 1°C of global warming, extreme daily precipitation events may intensify by about 7% (IPCC, 2021).
• Heatwave: Heat stress from extreme heat and humidity could annually affect 1.2 billion people by 2100 (Li, Yuan & Kopp, 2020).
• Infectious diseases: By 2050, mosquitoes that carry vector-borne diseases like Malaria could reach an estimated 500 million more people (Ryan et al., 2019).
• Sea level rise: Coastal flooding events could threaten assets worth up to 20% of the global GDP by 2100 (Kirezci et al., 2020).
• Wildfire: By 2030, fire season could be three months longer in areas already exposed to wildfires (Ross, Gannon & Steinberg, 2020)

But how does this affect you? How can organisations look to climate-proof their businesses in the face of increased natural disaster scenarios?

• Have a long-term plan to be a net zero business and ensure that your company is doing everything possible to minimize its carbon footprint in the short term.
• Develop a business continuity plan to ensure employees on site and employees at home have enough water, food and other supplies to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours following a major emergency.
• Develop a plan with supply chain partners to mitigate risk by making sure communication with partners is strong, making sure to have a buffer of products in reserve and having backup suppliers in case products are no longer available from primary sources.
• Engage employees in co-creating a plan of action in the case of a climate disaster.
• Lead with empathy and respond with compassion to employees and their families who are impacted directly. This includes considering additional paid leave, providing backup support at work and providing access to PTSD counselling and support.
• Develop partnerships with local agencies such as the United Way that can provide support to communities during a crisis. This could include donations, employees participating as volunteers, and in-kind donations of essential products and services.

In an era marked by uncertainty, the ability to adapt and prepare for climate-related emergencies is a distinguishing factor for successful organisations. By taking these steps you are not only protecting your business but also contributing to the global effort to address climate change and build a more resilient and sustainable future.

How can Locate Global Help?
Locate Global is an incident management platform, developed specifically to ensure your organisational resilience and to keep your people safe. Our mobile application and cloud-based platform give organisations the tools to locate, monitor and respond to their workforce in emergency situations. When faced with a natural disaster scenario our app allows stakeholders too:

• Locate individual employees, aiding response, and providing detailed information on individuals, such as medical information and emergency contacts.
• Escalate panics raised by employees, allowing for a targeted response to those in dangerous situations, and informing key stakeholders
• Communicate clear instructions to response teams and employees, via mass communications, or via to individual users.
• Monitor and define high-risk zones – and designate areas that are off-limits – keeping users informed with automatic updates upon entry.

To find out more about how we can help you, book a demo or contact us at info@locate.global.

SOURCE: The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction – https://www.undrr.org/climate-action-and-disaster-risk-reduction