In the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Risks Report 2019, extreme weather events as well as failure of climate-change mitigation and adaptation are two of the top three risks for both likelihood and impact. The report expressed a strong concern on the lack of collective geopolitical will and the failure of environmental policy.
The world is on track to exceed the 2°C of warming target by as early as 2040, and there are no simple or near-term solutions in sight. It is a clear and present danger. Temperatures will continue to rise, catastrophic weather will become regular occurrences, terrestrial and marine ecosystems will be harmed, communities will be threatened by heatstroke and insect-transmitted diseases, and food security will be at risk.
The current United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly proclaimed climate change as an “existential threat” to humanity. The situation is grim – CO2 emissions reached an all-time high in 2018, which was the world’s fourth hottest on record while incessant freak weather events devastated homes and took lives.
The question asked to each BCM Professional should be: What does this mean for BCM professionals whose responsibility is to safeguard organisational resilience and core business activities from climate change? Is this something that is beyond the scope of BCM?
First and foremost, they need to keep abreast of the latest climate change developments and effects, and think about how climate change can impact the organisation’s operating environment and business strategy. Each organisation’s context is unique. When I was working in Sentosa Development Corporation, we looked at how the increasingly unseasonable weather was disrupting visitorship patterns. This led to an understanding on planning for more shelters and indoor attractions in the future, while safeguarding the island’s greenery to mitigate the urban heat island effect.
Second, the risk analysis and Review (RAR) and business impact analysis (RAR) that are part of BCM professionals’ toolkit must consider the immediate challenges brought about by climate change. Past trends may no longer be a good gauge of threats to come. There will be heightened risks such as increased rainfall and flooding, hotter weather that can stress cooling systems and trigger fires, and shifting weather seasonality that would disrupt diverse industries from agriculture to tourism. Consequently, risk assessments must build in a larger margin of safety and scrutinize the increased probability of black swan events.
Third, climate change is an emergent and unprecedented crisis in the making, and how organisations respond will go beyond the traditional domain of BCM professionals. Progressive organisations will look at reducing their carbon footprint, as well as exploring business innovation and new opportunities that climate change can unlock. It would be opportune for BCM professionals to tap on their discipline's structured methodology, participate actively in cross-functional conversations, and step up to make their organisations climate change-ready.
Chan Mun Wei is the founder of SustainableSG, a consultancy that works with private, public and people sector organizations to integrate sustainability with corporate strategy and operations. He can be contacted at: munwei.chan@alumni.stanford.edu
