Unless you are an out and out climate change denier, or fundamentally disagree with the UK and other governments’ commitments to Net Zero by 2050 (see 2.2), you are probably now recognizing that this is serious. If you don’t act now, you may no longer have a license to do business in the foreseeable future.

To build resilience into your business, you need to think carefully about the following important areas:

COMMERCIAL

Risk mitigation is a big issue. No company can be complacent and assume that its business is secure. Legislation and government commitments could easily outpace them.

REPUTATIONAL 

Reputational risk is real and very tangible. Damage to the business truly can happen overnight in a world that can spot a defect or deception and publicise it within seconds.

ORGANIZATIONAL

Every organization has its systems, and not all of them are fit for purpose. Legacy approaches are often bad for the planet and bad for the business. Reengineering is frequently needed to ensure long-term sustainability.

MORAL

Sustainable business practices frequently boil down to establishing the right thing to do. Old-style executives making selfish decisions in an ivory tower based on uncontrolled growth and the pursuit of profit at any cost are now exposed. The younger generation have more and more influence on corporate decisions.

The size of the prize is significant, so businesses need to change, for good