https://sm.britsafe.org/uncertain-climate-business-risk-resilience
Proportionate risk management begins by identifying what you can afford to lose and yet still meet your business objectives. The same is true in the context of climate change. There is no need to get precise predictions about future weather patterns – much can be achieved by looking at the here and now.
The article includes several examples of making the appropriate measure of resilience. For example, how many successive days of downtime can you afford, how late can a key delivery be, how far from spec can a new component be. Some of these are obviously affected by weather. A flood can cause shut-down and delayed delivery.
Once you have measured your resilience you need to decide how much you should invest, or insure, to reduce that hazard to acceptable levels. High capital infrastructures probably need to be defended, highly mobile businesses don’t need to be defended but do need to know to where they can relocate.
Climate predictions are very poor at the moment but if you are vulnerable to a 10 cm rise in sea level then you know that you have only 50 years left to use that asset with confidence. If the worst case occurs it might be only 20 years. If that really matters to you, do something about it! Build a levee and install a pump. If not, be prepared to move when the time is right.
