5 stories on climate risk in business terms, and how to act on it, from the FuturePlanet community and network.
This week we are diving into 5 stories on the business case and returns of climate resilience; measuring climate impact costs and the payback of adapting; preparing for a strong El Niño; and bringing physical risk into your financial decisions.
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1! The financial case for climate resilience and how to access the opportunity
Natural hazards' impact on infrastructure cost low- and middle-income countries an estimated $390 billion a year. If you're thinking about climate adaptation and resilience, IFC and AXA Climate make the business case for embedding that into infrastructure, with a focus on private operators and investors. See how they have gone extremely deep for a specific sector that touches all of us, thinking about things like co-benefits. Discover the framework, which can help you prioritise investment from one asset to a portfolio. In the report's modelled Brazil case studies, every $1 invested protected $2.2 to $8.6 of asset value. [Read more]
2! Businesses estimate $8 back per $1 spent acting on environmental risk
Nearly 4,000 companies reported a total of US$3 billion in financial losses from extreme weather in a single year, according to CDP research. A real thing that is hitting companies on a daily basis. CDP's Disclosure Dividend 2026 gives you the hard numbers from over 11,000 companies on the benefits of disclosing and acting on environmental data. Companies' own estimates put the median return at US$8 for every US$1 spent responding to environmental risk, including avoided losses, cost savings and operational efficiencies. Discover the three other key findings in the report's infographic, including the return on emissions reduction. [Read more]
3! Six steps to measure climate costs and the payback of adapting
Climate change is here and now, and it is costing London's organisations in multiple ways, including damage to property, productivity losses and rising insurance premiums. You're a business in London, so what can you do? The London Climate Ready Partnership's Climate Costs Guide helps you begin to understand how to track and measure the financial aspect of climate risk. Discover its six-step process, including how to calculate the avoided costs and payback periods of adaptation measures. Its case studies include Guy's and St Thomas' NHS trust, where a heatwave caused £1.4m of out-of-plan spending. [Read more]
4! What to do and ask before a strong El Niño impacts your business
A strong El Niño is building this winter, an unusually foreseeable source of disruption for many businesses. It can disrupt operations through drought, flooding, extreme heat, supply chain interruptions, asset damage and commodity price shocks. For example, drought in Ivory Coast and Ghana in 2023-2024 helped push cocoa prices from around $3,000 a tonne to more than $10,000. A lot of the resilience for El Niño is broader climate change resilience. This short advisory from a UN-convened network of corporate chief resilience officers gives you the conversation every business leader needs to have now. Here's what to do and what to ask, whether you run a multinational or a smaller business. [Discover here]
5! Identify what keeps physical risk out of financial decisions, then act
Physical risk is increasingly visible to companies, but it still does not show up consistently in the financial analysis behind business decisions. So a company may assess or disclose its exposure to flood, heat or water stress without changing how it plans, invests or insures. WBCSD's discussion paper names the six points where turning physical risk into financial information breaks down. It looks at the business case and the physical risk, and how to quantify the climate resilience piece. Use its 18-statement self-assessment to place your company on a five-level maturity model and choose proportionate next actions. [Read more]
Have thoughts or story to share? Tag Carl and Gian on LinkedIn.
To collaborate with fellow changemakers solving challenges and sharing solutions. Apply to join the FuturePlanet community here ⬇
