clara - a guide for business advisors

8/13/2019 CLARA - A guide for business advisors

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Climate Ready

CLARA: Climate AdaptationResource for Business Advisors


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Introduction 1

CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors 2

Making the business case 4

Business impacts of a changing climate 6

Supporting SMEs 10

Mainstreaming adaptation 14

CLARA resources 16

Contents


3/21CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors 1

Adapting to the changing climate therefore presents a

particular challenge to the small business community.

CLARA is aimed at those people and organisations that

have a professional relationship with or are trustedadvisors to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Originally developed by UKCIP, CLARA has been updated

and incorporated into the Environment Agencys Climate

Ready Support Service.

Introduction

The changing climate could have many implications for small

businesses, but busy managers of small businesses often

find it difficult to plan for a future climate that seems

so uncertain and far off.


4/212 CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors

CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resourcefor Business Advisors

CLARA was originally developed by UKCIP. Since

then, the Environment Agency has taken on the role

of the governments support service on climate change

adaptation. A subset of the UKCIP tools have been

updated and transferred to the Environment Agencyto form part of Climate Readys advice and guidance.

This includes this 2013 version of CLARA.

CLARA does not cover issues relating to measuring or

reducing carbon footprints or improving energy efficiency.

BackgroundMany SMEs have not considered the impacts of the

changing climate on their operations and are reluctant to

pick up and use tools without support. They often require

additional information and support before they can takeactions to adapt or make an informed decision to do

nothing more at present.

There is a large existing business support community with

experience in providing high quality advice to SMEs in the

language they understand. Climate change impacts and

adaptation is, however, a relatively unfamiliar subject to

this community with few programmes that explicitlytackle this subject.

This resource aims to help business advisors incorporate

adaptation into existing programmes. This approach

is favoured because busy managers of SMEs often

have preferred sources of advice and may be wary of

new information from an unknown source. It was also

consistent with the Department for Business, Innovation

& Skills Business Support Simplification Programme,

which sought to streamline the existing amount of

publicly funded business support schemes.

The design and structure of the resource is based on

feedback from the business support community.

This resource is primarily aimed at helping business advisors to

support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in understanding

and preparing for the impacts of the changing climate.



Climate changeThe changing climate in the UK may bring:

hotter, possibly drier summers

milder, wetter winters

more extreme weather events

less frequent cold snaps

rising sea levels

Over the next few decades some changes are

unavoidable due to historic influences on the climate.

The risk of further changes to the climate can be limitedby reducing global emissions of greenhouses to the

atmosphere. Adaptation to the changing climate means

taking steps towards understanding and preparing for the

impacts these changes will bring.

This guidance will help business advisors provide useful

advice and accurate information to SMEs on climate

change impacts and adaptation.

SMEs are a broad audience, so this resource is

designed to be flexible, accessible and concise with

links to more in-depth information where required.

It covers some of the key concepts as well as providing

delivery materials and a range of factsheets that canbe given directly to businesses.

For further enquires relating to climate change impacts and

adaptation for business, please contact the Climate Ready

Helpdeskwww.environment-agency.gov.uk/138603.aspx.

Introduction to adaptationFor an SME, the changing climate usually brings to

mind the need to improve energy efficiency and reduce

emissions. This sort of activity often referred to as

mitigation tackles the causes of climate change andis often driven by resource efficiency considerations,

customer requirements or government policy.

Adaptation is another response to the changing climate.

In order to adapt an SME will need to respond to the

potential consequences that the physical impacts of

climate change will have on their operations

or strategic objectives.
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/138603.aspxhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/138603.aspx



1Pearson, G. and Woodman, P. (2012), Planning for the Worst. The 2012 Business Continuity Management Survey March 2012.

Chartered Management Institutewww.managers.org.uk/sites/default/files/u28/4354BCMreport2012v3.pdf

This trend is likely to continue as our climate continues

to change. Preparing for the impacts of the changing

climate can have direct and immediate business

benefits. However, many SMEs are still sceptical

about whether climate change is happening at all.The section below on raising awarenessprovides

advice on introducing adaptation into discussions

of core business issues. There is also advice below

on dealing with climate change sceptics.

Why prepare for something that mightnot happen?We know that the climate is changing and we know

the direction of change. But there are still uncertainties

relating to the rate and extent of these changes.

More importantly, a business can never know preciselyhow these changes will translate into consequences

and how various adaptation measures will perform.

A risk-based approach allows you to make changes

when it is most likely to be worthwhile. Risk is the

combination of the likelihood of occurrence and

the magnitude of the consequence.

Preparing for catastrophic events can be costly, which

can be viewed as money wasted if the worst doesnt

happen. Therefore, building resilience to high likelihood,

low magnitude risks may be a preferred strategy for SMEs.

Another way of making sure a business benefits

regardless of uncertainties is to look for win-win

situations, for example, focusing on weather impacts

that have already been experienced. More examples

of win-win situations can be found below under

business impacts of a changing climate.

Making the business case

According to the Chartered Management Institutes 2012

Business Continuity Management survey,149% of managers

report that severe weather caused disruption to their

organisation over the last year, making it the leading cause

of business disruption for the third year running.
http://www.managers.org.uk/sites/default/files/u28/4354BCMreport2012v3.pdfhttp://www.managers.org.uk/sites/default/files/u28/4354BCMreport2012v3.pdf



Why take a planned approach?Some adaptation is possible without long lead times,

but you should be aware of the following issues.

There are difficulties in recognising the climate

change signal.

Climate is defined as the average weather experienced

over a long period (usually 30 years), whereas weather

(what we actually experience) is by its nature very

variable. It is tempting to wait for changes to take effect

and respond to them as they happen; however, a passive

approach is likely to put each successive extremeweather event down to natural variability, without the

organisational memory to pick up on the long-term trend.

The fact that it may be more cost-effective to make

changes now is unlikely to be detected solely on the

basis of past experience.

There are lag times and arrangements that need to be

made between detecting the change, deciding what to

do and then implementing that decision.

Efficient adaptation requires the right institutional and

organisational conditions, known as adaptive capacity,

to be in place. For example, information may be neededto figure out the best way to adapt, policies, plans or

procedures may need to be re-written, and roles and

responsibilities to be assigned. All of this requires a

certain amount of forward planning.

Retrofitting can be significantly more costly

than allowing for change in line with natural

replacement cycles.

Maintenance programmes, new buildings or the

replacement of old equipment present opportunities to

take account of the future climate even if no impacts arecurrently being felt. The associated costs are likely to

be less in the long term than waiting for the weather to

become a problem, when changes could be awkward,

disruptive and less effective.

Short timescales versus long-term phenomenaMany SMEs are not adapted to current climate, so there

could be immediate benefits to building resilience to

weather. Moreover, many adaptation measures will

also contribute to other unrelated business priorities

(seeexamples of win-wins). Therefore considering

weather and climate can be beneficial to those with

short planning horizons.

I have other priorities!There will be many things more important to an SME than

the potential impacts of the changing climate, but it isnot possible to reach this conclusion without at least a

superficial assessment of the climate risk. There may also

be some interactions between climate and non-climate

risks that are not immediately obvious, such as climate

change influencing raw material prices.

A quick initial scoping exercise can be undertaken so

that little time is wasted and more time can be spent on

priority impacts if required. These could possibly be dealt

with using existing business functions and procedures in

order to minimise additional effort. Seemainstreaming

adaptationfor more details.

Even for impacts that do not seem particularly

significant, there may be win-winadaptation options

that are worth considering.



Extreme weather events can cause disruption leading to

loss of business continuity.

They can also affect working conditions and staff

comfort, resulting in health and safety concerns and

loss of productivity. The performance of some industrial

and agricultural processes is dependent on climate or

weather, as are consumer tastes and requirements.

The business case for adaptation can be made in terms of:

avoiding unexpected costs and increasing revenue,

for example, as a result of disruption caused by extreme

weather events, changes in productivity, lost or gained

sales, changes to input prices (for more information

seeimpacts of weather and climate)

making the most of strategic opportunities,

for example, through new market opportunities,process capabilities or first mover advantage

(seestrategic implications)

Strategic implicationsAs well as directly affecting profits, the impacts of the

changing climate may have some strategic implications

for SMEs:

opportunities to grow or diversify arising from new

markets or ways of marketing (for example, shift from

winter to summer oriented products or products and

services that help others deal with the adverse effects

of climate change)

new locations (for example, northwards or away from

urban centres)

recruitment issues arising from migration or new skills

requirements of the new climate

competitive advantage by being the first mover on a

threat (for example, maintaining business continuity

or anticipating regulatory or contractual requirements)

Business impacts of a changing climate



Impacts Business consequences The bottom line

Excessive internal

temperatures

Server failure Business interruption

Impact on reputation

Drop in productivity Potential lost sales

Impact on future sales

Uncomfortable working conditions Drop in productivity

Increased cooling or

refrigeration required

Increased overheads through higher

energy costs in summer

Potential for regulation on upper

temperature limit

Fine or cost of litigation if requirement

not met

Milder winter temperatures Reduced need for winter heating Lower overheads through reduced

heating costs

Flooding of manufacturing

premises

Loss of access for deliveries

Business interruption


Drop in productivity

Potential lost sales


Flooding of high street Customers cannot access shops

and services Lost sales

Fewer people go shopping in

stormy weather or heatwaves Fewer customers in high street

shops and services Lost sales

Water shortages Increased water rates

Not water for cooling


Increased raw material costs



Extreme weather causes

transport disruption

Staff encounter travel difficulties

Customers encounter travel difficulties


Lost sales

From impacts of weather and climate to the bottom lineBelow are a few examples to show how the changing climate can directly affect an SMEs bottom line.

The Business Areas Climate Impacts Assessment Tool (BACLIAT see the practical resources pages on

www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready) can be used to carry out a simple scoping exercise on

a business or business sector.

Examples of how climate change can affect the bottom line
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climatereadyhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready



Impacts Business consequences The bottom line

Extreme weather can result

in difficult outdoor working

environment, e.g. for

construction or agriculture

Business disruption

Failure to complete job on time





Global changes, such as

increased frequency of

tropical storms will

disrupt international

manufacturing interests

Disruption to supply chain of

key component




Impacts on agriculture or

extraction activities

Increase in raw material prices Increased raw material costs

Climate becomes better suited to

certain crops Increased productivity

New tastes in clothes, food

and leisure time pursuits in

the new climate

Increased/decreased demand for

certain goods and services

Increase or decrease in sales

Examples of win-winsThe changing climate is unlikely to be the sole factor in

a decision being made by an SME. However, resilience

to the impacts of climate change and weather can be

built while achieving other objectives by looking out

for win-win situations.

An SME carries out business continuity planning.

This will help it prepare for a range of potential

business disruptions, including those causedby extreme weather events, which could increase

in frequency and intensity as the climate continues

to change.

A family farm opens a B&B. As well as providing

additional income, this will exploit the opportunity

presented by potentially more reliable summer weather

and increases in domestic tourism.

An SME improves provision for home working. The main

driver for this is to improve worklife balance but it will

also provide resilience in the event of extreme weather

by reducing the need for staff travel.

A restaurant switches to an English wine for its house

wine. This fits with its reputation for locally sourced

food, though as the climate changes, it may be that

good quality English wines become easier to source.

A business develops and markets energy management

systems in response to the growing demand for

increased energy efficiency. However, good quality

systems could also mean that customers will benefit

from more effective summer cooling as the climate

changes and heatwaves become more frequent.



Raising the issueAwareness of the need to prepare for the impacts of the

changing climate is currently very low within the small

business community there may be little opportunity

for business advisors to begin making the business

case for adaptation.

Several core business functions are likely to suffer the

impacts of weather and climate so it may be possible to

raise the issue during the types of discussions business

advisors regularly have with SMEs. For example, advice

relating to the choice of new contractors, equipmentor business location should take account of their

vulnerability to climate and weather.

Seemainstreaming adaptationfor more information and

ideas of the types of discussions that consideration of

climate and weather could be incorporated into.

Dealing with climate change scepticsEven where it is not possible to link human activities

to changes in the climate, the changes themselves

can provide the impetus to understand and manage

the impacts.

The benefits of adaptation at an SME are mainly private,

that is, reducing business risks/costs and exploiting new

opportunities rather than benefitting wider society or the

local community. If an SME chooses not to recognise that

the climate is changing then only they are likely to suffer

or miss out on an opportunity.

There is little point getting drawn into

arguments about the scientific evidence when neither

side is an expert. Instead, focus your efforts on workingwith those who do recognise that the climate is changing

whatever the reason.

If you wish to better understand the arguments that maybe put forward by climate sceptics, the following sources

might be useful:

Real Climate

www.realclimate.org

a commentary site on climate science by working

climate scientists for the interested public

and journalists

Skeptical Science

www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php website exploring the arguments of climate change

sceptics contains a useful list of the arguments

commonly used by sceptics

YouTube video How it all ends

www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=mF

_anaVcCXg a US science teacher takes 10 minutes

to explain how taking a risk-based approach to climate

change might just save the planet

Making sense of weather and climate

www.senseaboutscience.org/resources.php/10/making-sense-of-weather-and-climate

this document, by the charity Sense About Science,

explains some of the misconceptions relating to

predicting weather and climate

Remember that the science does not equate to a business

case, so even those who recognise that the climate is

changing may need further persuading that preparing for

its impacts is worth spending time on.
http://www.realclimate.org/http://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.phphttp://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=mF_anaVcCXghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=mF_anaVcCXghttp://www.senseaboutscience.org/resources.php/10/making-sense-of-weather-and-climatehttp://www.senseaboutscience.org/resources.php/10/making-sense-of-weather-and-climatehttp://www.senseaboutscience.org/resources.php/10/making-sense-of-weather-and-climatehttp://www.senseaboutscience.org/resources.php/10/making-sense-of-weather-and-climatehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=mF_anaVcCXghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&hl=en-GB&v=mF_anaVcCXghttp://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.phphttp://www.realclimate.org/



SMEs make a large contribution to the UK economy and play

a key role in promoting flexibility and innovation aspects

that are likely to be important in coping with the consequences

of a changing climate.

But smaller businesses could also be more vulnerable

to the impacts of the changing climate than larger

organisations as they have fewer resources to prepare

and respond. The impact of a single severe weather event

could also be consequential for smaller businesses.

This section provides some information and resources

to help you with awareness raising initiatives or provision

of advice to SMEs on preparing for the impacts of climate

and weather.

Which SMEs to targetgives some advice on choosing

where to target your support.

Find out if there are any other relevant initiatives

in your area (regional initiatives).

An overview ofkey messagesfor working with

SMEs.

Which SMEs to targetVirtually all businesses will feel the impacts of the

changing climate in some way, so will benefit from

advice on adaptation. However, not all businesses are

equally vulnerable to climate change. Similarly, differentareas of the UK rely on different business sectors for

their economic prosperity. In some cases the benefits of

adaptation at an SME will be felt more widely than just

within the business.

It is up to the strategic priorities of business support

organisations to decide which SMEs to target. However,

as a guide, focusing on the following is likely to achieve

the most benefit.

Sectors whose products, services or processes areweather dependent

These include anything that relies on the natural

environment or outdoor activity such as agriculture,

high street shopping, tourism and leisure. The sales of

certain products are linked to the weather, such as some

food and clothing. Similarly, demand for some services

such as cleaning, building, insurance or consultancy

may be linked to the weather or climate. Some industrial

processes and equipment are temperature sensitive;

IT server rooms, waste management and printing

technologies are just a few examples.

Supporting SMEs



Companies involved in making decisions withlong-term consequences

Examples include those involved in construction or

large-scale infrastructure projects, farmers of crops

or animals that take a long time to mature, or those

developing new products or services that will take a

long time to get to market. Also, those companies that

are considering relocating or purchasing new equipment

may want to consider the climate that these new

arrangements will need to function in.

Companies that are already affected by extreme weatherBuilding resilience to extreme weather events can

create benefits even in the absence of climate change.

This is particularly true where the business has already

been affected by a recent event, such as flooding, a

heatwave, subsidence or stormy weather. The frequency

and intensity of these types of events may increase

as the climate changes, so there is a strong argument

for adaptation.

Companies that are in a position to provide adaptation

solutions to society or increase the resilience of the

local communitySome adaptation measures are public goods in that they

will have benefits beyond the party who pays for them.

The private sector will have a role to play in providing

these as well as delivering the products and services

that the public sector will require to create a resilient

society. Flood defences, improved drainage, cooling and

ventilation technologies, safe and comfortable public

transport and urban design are all examples where SMEs

could contribute.

Sectors highlighted as strategically important tothe locality

These include regional economic strategies or data on the

relative contribution of different sectors to productivity

and employment in the area. Focusing on SMEs in these

key sectors will increase the benefit to the regional or

local economy.

Raising awarenessThere is evidence to suggest that awareness of this

issue is currently very low. SMEs in particular rarely

link the threat of climate change to impacts on their

own operations or business priorities. Making a strong

business case is therefore extremely important in any

awareness-raising initiatives.

Experience of working with business has shown that, for

companies to begin to see climate change impacts and

adaptation as an important issue, they first need a good

grounding on what is meant by adaptation, how it differsfrom mitigation, and why it is important.

An interactive workshop usingBACLIATcan be effective in

encouraging people to think about the business impacts

of the changing climate. More details about BACLIAT

and how to run a BACLIAT workshop can be found on the

Climate Ready website

www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready

Thekey messagessummarised below may also be useful.



Business awareness and adviceA study3published by AXA Insurance in 2006 on climate

change effects and SMEs found that:

70% of businesses in high risk areas are not concerned

about flooding

although 85% of small businesses thought that

climate change was a serious problem for the world,

only 26% thought it to be a real and serious threat

to their business

69% do not have a practical contingency plan

Climate South Easts SME director due diligence study4

in 2007 found that:

54% of respondents had been affected by at least

one extreme weather event in the past two years

most did not associate weather events with

climate change

climate change was a low priority

The Chartered Management Institutes 2007 Business

Continuity Management survey reported that:

73% of managers stated that business continuity

management is important in their organisation

small organisations are less likely to have a specific

business continuity plan 66% of those from small

organisations said they had no plan

since 2006, those affected by extreme weather

events had risen from 9% to 28%

BACLIATBACLIAT is a resource to help scope the impacts of the

changing climate on a business or sector. The aim of the

BACLIAT exercise in this context is to generate as long a

list as possible of potential impacts. For more information

on running a workshop, see the BACLIAT resource found

on the Climate Ready website


After the exercise, it may be necessary to:

Delete duplicates.

Put to one side suggestions that do not describe

impacts but are features of the business (or sector)

that make it more or less vulnerable. For example:

Our industry has long planning horizons so will

be affected by climate change or Our company is

completely dependent on a single supplier so it would

be disastrous if they were disrupted.

Rephrase some of the impacts so that they are all in the

same format and include the climate variable and the

business consequence.

Re-categorise the impacts into headings that make

more sense to the particular sector.

The key priority impacts that require a response can then

be selected from this long list. Deciding on a response will

require consideration of all alternatives and then making

a judgement on which is the most appropriate based on

the business objectives.

For an overview of climate change impacts and adaptionfor business, see A Changing Climate for Business.

3Crichton, D. (2006), Climate Change and its Effects on Small Businesses, AXA Insurance PLC,

www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/AXAClimateChange.pdf(910KB).

4Norrington, N. and Underwood, K. (2008), Climate Change and Small Businesses: How directors are responding to the challenges of climate change,

report prepared by Step Ahead Research Ltd for Climate South East,

www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/CC_and_Small_Businesses.pdf(560KB).
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climatereadyhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/AXAClimateChange.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/CC_and_Small_Businesses.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/CC_and_Small_Businesses.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/AXAClimateChange.pdfhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready



Climate vulnerability assessmentA site visit to an SME can be used to carry out a climate

vulnerability assessment. This will only be a superficial

overview but may be the starting point for a business to

begin managing the climate risk.

Step 2 of the Adaptation Wizard can help you complete

a high level climate vulnerability assessment.

The assessment should cover:

background to the company including site details,processes, suppliers, products, services and customers

an overview of vulnerability to current weather and

aspects that provide resilience

a list of potential threats and opportunities of future

climate change

Follow-up support may be required to help the company

decide which potential threats or opportunities to pursue

and to develop an appropriate adaptation response.

Seedelivering advicefor further details.

Delivering adviceAdaptation to climate change essentially involves

making decisions (whether to adapt, when to adapt

and how to adapt). Therefore, the type of process

appropriate will depend on the decision-making culture

of the company. At SMEs this is often (but not always)

based on ad hoc methods and informal structures.

Efforts should be made tomainstream adaptation

into existing decision-making processes.

Consideration of any recent extreme weather events and

their impacts can be a powerful starting point beforegoing on to think about the future.

You may wish to carry out a climate impacts audit for the

business or, if you are able to get a group of managers

together, run a climate impacts workshop to begin

scoping the potential impacts of climate change at a

business or sector. Information on how to run a BACLIAT

workshop may be useful.

The Adaptation Wizard found on the Climate Ready

websitewww.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready

is a tool to help organisations, projects or strategiesadapt to climate change. It aims to be accessible yet

comprehensive showing the five steps required for

effective adaptation. The level at which each step is

engaged in will depend on finding a balance between

working within existing governance and organisational

structures (so as not to waste valuable time), and

adequately covering all significant areas of climate risk,

some of which may require new ways of thinking.

Not an easy task! The list ofCLARA resourceswill help.



Some of these are listed below. Where they exist, they

represent an opportunity for mainstreaming adaptation.

Risk management, business continuity planning,

disaster recovery or crisis managementThe risk of extreme weather events could already be dealt

with by risk management, business continuity planning,

disaster recovery or crisis management in which case all

that may be required is to revisit the level of risk assigned

or the priority allocated in light of the changing climate.

For example, has adequate consideration been given to

extreme weather events that there is no history of but

for which the risk is increasing? Note also that often the

focus is operational so that more strategic threats and

opportunities such as those arising from gradual changes

or the impact of climate change on lifestyles, skills andmarkets may need additional thought.

ContractsHow are contracts used to share risk between suppliers,

contractors and customers? Is there scope for explicit

mention of weather and climate related problems?

How does this affect relationships and reputations?

In some cases strategic partnering, strategic sourcing

or sharing information may be more effective adaptation

measures than adding extra clauses to contracts.

Health and safety arrangementsIssues include high temperatures in the office or other

considerations related to potentially uncomfortable or

dangerous working conditions, particularly for those

working outside. Existing Health and Safety (H&S)policy, risk assessments, responsibilities and reporting

mechanisms can be used.

Quality managementThere may be implications for the quality of the product

or service, for example, temperature sensitive products

could fail or stormy weather could hinder efforts to

keep to construction deadlines. Adaptation is not

strictly speaking an environmental concern since it is

concerned with the climates impact on the business

rather than the businesss impact on the climate.However, it may be possible to use existing mechanisms

for ensuring a consistent and high quality product or

service such as testing, reporting, production procedures

and customer feedback.

There are a number of business functions and management

systems that already attempt to deal with issues that have

similarities to the likely consequences of weather and climate.

Mainstreaming adaptation



Environmental managementAlthough few SMEs have environmental managers,

environmental management systems or other standards

or accreditations are increasingly being used. There

may be implications for the impact that a business has

on the environment, for example, increased odour from

production in hotter summers.

Business planning or strategic planningWhere there is some formal planning it is unlikely that

the planning horizons are consistent with the timescales

involved in climate change. However, these processes canbe used by either reconsidering timescales in light of the

changing climate, focusing on building resilience to the

weather, or an adaptive management approach.

Useful resources include:

Business in the Communitys report, Mitigation,

Adaptation and Resilience Linking Messages on

Climate Change.

AEAs report for Climate South East, Linking Business

Advice on Adaptation and Sustainability.

Key messagesThe specific characteristics and needs of SMEs inform

the way in which climate-related information and

support can be made most useful for them. For example,

smaller businesses could be more vulnerable than

larger organisations because they have fewer resources

to help them prepare and respond. But SMEs can also

be more flexible and able to respond more rapidly to

changing conditions.

Key lessons from working with SMEs and with those that

advise them are as follows.

The upsides are more engaging.SME leaders are often entrepreneurial and are more

likely to be engaged by messages that also emphasise

the opportunities from the changing climate. Of course,

it is still important to communicate the risks.

Where planning horizons are short, focus on resilience

to current weather.

Most businesses are focused on short planning

horizons and climate change can seem remote. But

many SMEs are not prepared for the risks of the current

climate, so that means there is a business benefit toadaptation in the short term.

Key risks often relate to markets and supply chains.

Being small in terms of their own premises and

workforce, many SMEs may be more exposed to climate

risks through their markets and supply chains, which

can be UK wide or international. Of course, the impacts

of local climate or weather events will still be important.

An informal approach might be appropriate.

SME leaders may be less likely to use structured

decision-making processes than those in largercompanies, or to need to justify their actions and

decisions to shareholders, and so on. It will be

important to integrate climate and weather risks

into this ad hoc decision-making.

Integrate with core business concerns.

Although both mitigation of the causes of the changing

climate and adaptation to its consequences are critical

business issues, bundling adaptation messages with

mitigation usually causes confusion. It is more useful

to integrate adaptation issues with similar businessareas such as business continuity planning, risk

management, health and safety arrangements, and

flood plans. It may be less helpful to treat it as an

aspect of environmental management.

Look for where benefits are more certain.

It is difficult for a small business to spend time or money

preparing for something that may or may not happen.

Therefore approaches that focus on high likelihood

weather events might be the most appropriate, even

where these have smaller magnitudes.



BACLIAT workshop


Adaptation Wizard


Climate impacts audit template

www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA

/BACLIAT_assessment_template.doc

Key messagesfor working with SMEs based on

experiences of UKCIP and strategic partners

UKCIP review for Oxfordshire County Council:

-Part 1: SMEs Vulnerability and resilience toextreme weather


/UKCIP_SME_resilience_extremeweather.pdf(1.1MB)

-Part 2: Engaging SMEs via accountants


/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdf(3MB)

Factsheets

Climate change, flood risk & preparing your business


/Flooding-factsheet.pdf(450KB)

Climate change, heatwaves & preparing your business


/Heatwaves-factsheet.pdf(70KB)

Climate change & business opportunities


/Opportunities_171110.pdf(90KB)

Climate change adaptation and offices

www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/CC-adaptation-offices-factsheet.pdf(90KB)

CLARA resources
http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climatereadyhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climatereadyhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/BACLIAT_assessment_template.dochttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/BACLIAT_assessment_template.dochttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP_SME_resilience_extremeweather.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP_SME_resilience_extremeweather.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Flooding-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Flooding-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Heatwaves-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Heatwaves-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Opportunities_171110.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Opportunities_171110.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/CC-adaptation-offices-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/CC-adaptation-offices-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/CC-adaptation-offices-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/CC-adaptation-offices-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Opportunities_171110.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Opportunities_171110.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Heatwaves-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Heatwaves-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Flooding-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Flooding-factsheet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP_SME_resilience_extremeweather.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP_SME_resilience_extremeweather.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/BACLIAT_assessment_template.dochttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/BACLIAT_assessment_template.dochttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climatereadyhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready



Other useful publications

AXA Insurance report: Climate Change and its

Effects on Small Businesses in the UK


/AXAClimateChange.pdf(910KB)

AXA Insurance: Preparing for Climate Change:

A practical guide for small business

www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs

/axa-preparing-for-climate-change.pdf(220KB)

Business in the Community: Mitigation, Adaptation

and Resilience Linking Messages on Climate Change


/BITC_Business_Messages_CC.pdf(1.3MB)

Climate South East: Successful SME Engagement with

Climate Change: How to replicate the Oxfordshire

Roadshow www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content

/CLARA/SME_engagement_CC.pdf(1.3MB)

Climate North East: reports by Public Knowledge on

business attitudes to the impacts of climate change:

-Phase One: Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews


/ClimateNE_Phase1_Report.pdf(1MB)

-Phase Two: Face-Face Depth Interviews


/ClimateNE_Phase2_Report.pdf(300KB)

Defra web page: Advice for Businesses

www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/sectors/business

or go to GOV.UK

www.gov.uk/government/topics/climate-change

Environment Agency online guide: Flood Preparation

Guide for Business

www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business

/topics/32354.aspx

Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

web pages on flooding

www.sepa.org.uk/flooding.aspx

UKCIP: A Changing Climate for Businesswww.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs

/UKCIP_Business.pdf(2.5MB)

West Midlands Climate Change Adaptation Partnership:

Weathering the Storm: Saving and Making Money

in a Changing Climate. A practical guide for small

businesses in the West Midlands

www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources

/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and

+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835

Regional initiativesSME adaptation initiatives in your locality

ClimateUK

www.climateuk.net links to websites with details

of publications, events and other initiatives across

a range of sectors

The Princes Mayday Network

www.maydaynetwork.com run by Business in

the Community, offers the Mayday Journey

www.maydaynetwork.com/journey a free tool thatcalculates a businesss impact on the environment

and provides strategies for reducing this impact

Business Resilience Healthcheck

www.climate-em.org.uk/resources/item/business

-resilience-healthcheck/ developed by Business in

the Community North East to help make businesses

make changes to become more resilient to the risks

it will face both now, and in the future

South East

Support to Small Business production of case

study and project template for opportunities approach

to small business support. For more information go to

Climate South Easts Business and Economy web page

www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/case

/category_page/C5/

Linking business advice on adaptation and sustainability

raising awareness of the links between resource

efficiency, carbon reduction, business continuity and

climate resilience. For more information contact Climate

South Easts Business and Economy Group

www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php

/working_groups/
http://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/AXAClimateChange.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/AXAClimateChange.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs/axa-preparing-for-climate-change.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs/axa-preparing-for-climate-change.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/BITC_Business_Messages_CC.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/BITC_Business_Messages_CC.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/SME_engagement_CC.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/SME_engagement_CC.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/ClimateNE_Phase1_Report.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/ClimateNE_Phase1_Report.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/ClimateNE_Phase2_Report.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/ClimateNE_Phase2_Report.pdfhttp://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/sectors/businesshttp://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/sectors/businesshttp://www.gov.uk/government/topics/climate-changehttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/32354.aspxhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/32354.aspxhttp://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding.aspxhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs/UKCIP_Business.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs/UKCIP_Business.pdfhttp://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.climateuk.net/http://www.maydaynetwork.com/http://www.maydaynetwork.com/journeyhttp://www.climate-em.org.uk/resources/item/business-resilience-healthcheck/http://www.climate-em.org.uk/resources/item/business-resilience-healthcheck/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/case/category_page/C5/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/case/category_page/C5/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/working_groups/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/working_groups/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/working_groups/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/working_groups/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/case/category_page/C5/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/case/category_page/C5/http://www.climate-em.org.uk/resources/item/business-resilience-healthcheck/http://www.climate-em.org.uk/resources/item/business-resilience-healthcheck/http://www.maydaynetwork.com/journeyhttp://www.maydaynetwork.com/http://www.climateuk.net/http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs/UKCIP_Business.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs/UKCIP_Business.pdfhttp://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding.aspxhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/32354.aspxhttp://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/topics/32354.aspxhttp://www.gov.uk/government/topics/climate-changehttp://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/sectors/businesshttp://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/sectors/businesshttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/ClimateNE_Phase2_Report.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/ClimateNE_Phase2_Report.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/ClimateNE_Phase1_Report.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/ClimateNE_Phase1_Report.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/SME_engagement_CC.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/SME_engagement_CC.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/BITC_Business_Messages_CC.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/BITC_Business_Messages_CC.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs/axa-preparing-for-climate-change.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs/axa-preparing-for-climate-change.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/AXAClimateChange.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/AXAClimateChange.pdf



ClimatePreparedwww.climateprepared.com development of an

interactive web-based tool for tourism businesses in

the south-east and south-west. For more information

contact Climate South Easts Tourism Group

www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php

/working_groups/

Would your Business Stay Afloat? business flood

risk advice in Kent


/Kent_business_flood_risk_leaflet.pdf(250KB)

Supporting SMEs on adaptation via accountants

UKCIP managed a project, funded by Oxfordshire

County Council, to enable accountants to provide

advice on building resilience to weather and climate

change to their clients.

- Part 2: Engaging SMEs via accountants


/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdf(3MB)

Scotland

Adaption Scotland

www.adaptionscotland.org.uk liaising with business

support organisations and industry representatives

ongoing engagement of business stakeholders

including the Business Environment Partnership,

Scottish Council, Scottish Council for Development

and Industry and the Scottish Whisky Association

South West

ClimatePrepared

www.climateprepared.com development of

interactive web-based tool for tourism businesses

in the south-east and south-west. For more

information contact ClimateSouthWest

http://climatesouthwest.org

North West Business support business advice on

adaptation using climate change risk diagnostic.

For more information contact Enworks

www.enworks.com

Sefton Council web page Business Savings in

a Changing Climate

www.investsefton.com/climatechange

North East

ClimateNE Business Hub

www.climatenortheast.com/managecontent.aspx

?object.id=15554 website specially designed to bring

practical information and support on climate change to

businesses in the north-east

West Midlands

Weathering the Storm Saving and Making money

in a Changing Climate: A practical guide for small

businesses in the West Midlands

www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and

+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835

Organisations supporting SMEs on moregeneral topics

GOV.UK

www.gov.uk/government/topics/business

-and-enterprise

Scottish Enterprisewww.scottish-enterprise.com

Federation of Small Businesses

www.fsb.org.uk
http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/working_groups/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/working_groups/http://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Kent_business_flood_risk_leaflet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Kent_business_flood_risk_leaflet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdfhttp://www.adaptionscotland.org.uk/http://www.climateprepared.com/http://climatesouthwest.org/http://www.enworks.com/http://www.investsefton.com/climatechangehttp://www.climatenortheast.com/managecontent.aspx?object.id=15554http://www.climatenortheast.com/managecontent.aspx?object.id=15554http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.gov.uk/government/topics/business-and-enterprisehttp://www.gov.uk/government/topics/business-and-enterprisehttp://www.scottish-enterprise.com/http://www.fsb.org.uk/http://www.fsb.org.uk/http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/http://www.gov.uk/government/topics/business-and-enterprisehttp://www.gov.uk/government/topics/business-and-enterprisehttp://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources/reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and+making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835http://www.climatenortheast.com/managecontent.aspx?object.id=15554http://www.climatenortheast.com/managecontent.aspx?object.id=15554http://www.investsefton.com/climatechangehttp://www.enworks.com/http://climatesouthwest.org/http://www.climateprepared.com/http://www.adaptionscotland.org.uk/http://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Kent_business_flood_risk_leaflet.pdfhttp://www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA/Kent_business_flood_risk_leaflet.pdfhttp://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/working_groups/http://www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/working_groups/


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Would you like to find out more about us,or about your environment?

Then call us on03708 506 506(Mon-Fri 8-6)

email

[email protected]

or visit our websitewww.environment-agency.gov.uk

incident hotline0800 80 70 60(24 hrs)floodline0845 988 1188

Calls to 03 numbers cost the same as calls to standard geographic numbers(i.e. numbers beginning with 01 or 02).

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clara - a guide for business advisors

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