Climate Ready

CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors

Contents

Introduction CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors Making the business case Business impacts of a changing climate Supporting SMEs Mainstreaming adaptation CLARA resources

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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.

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 trusted advisors 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.

CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors

CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors

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.

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 Agency to 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.

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 explicitly tackle 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.

Background
Many 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 take actions to adapt or make an informed decision to do nothing more at present.

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CLARA: continued

Climate change
The 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 limited by 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 can be given directly to businesses. For further enquires relating to climate change impacts and adaptation for business, please contact the Climate Ready Helpdesk www.environment-agency.gov.uk/138603.aspx.

Introduction to adaptation
For 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 and is 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.

CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors

Making the business case

According to the Chartered Management Institutes 2012 Business Continuity Management survey,1 49% 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.
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 awareness provides advice on introducing adaptation into discussions of core business issues. There is also advice below on dealing with climate change sceptics. 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.

Why prepare for something that might not 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 precisely how 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.

1 Pearson, 

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

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

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Making the business case: continued

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 extreme weather 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 needed to 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 are currently 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 phenomena

Many 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 (see examples 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 is not 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. See mainstreaming adaptation for more details. Even for impacts that do not seem particularly significant, there may be win-win adaptation options that are worth considering.

CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors

Business impacts of a changing climate

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 see impacts of weather and climate)  making the most of strategic opportunities, for example, through new market opportunities, process capabilities or first mover advantage (see strategic implications)

Strategic implications
As 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)

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Business impacts of a changing climate: continued

From impacts of weather and climate to the bottom line

Below 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

Impacts Excessive internal temperatures

Business consequences Server failure Business interruption  Impact on reputation  Uncomfortable working conditions  Increased cooling or refrigeration required  Potential for regulation on upper temperature limit

The bottom line  Drop in productivity  Potential lost sales  Impact on future sales  Drop in productivity  Increased overheads through higher energy costs in summer  Fine or cost of litigation if requirement not met  Lower overheads through reduced heating costs  Drop in productivity  Potential lost sales  Impact on future sales Lost sales

Milder winter temperatures

 Reduced need for winter heating  Loss of access for deliveries Business interruption  Impact on reputation  Customers cannot access shops and services  Fewer customers in high street shops and services  Increased water rates  Not water for cooling Business interruption

Flooding of manufacturing premises

Flooding of high street Fewer people go shopping in stormy weather or heatwaves

Lost sales  Increased raw material costs  Drop in productivity  Potential lost sales

Water shortages

Extreme weather causes transport disruption

 Staff encounter travel difficulties  Drop in productivity  Customers encounter travel difficulties L  ost sales

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Business impacts of a changing climate: continued

Impacts Extreme weather can result in difficult outdoor working environment, e.g. for construction or agriculture Global changes, such as increased frequency of tropical storms will disrupt international manufacturing interests

Business consequences Business disruption  Failure to complete job on time  Impact on reputation

The bottom line  Drop in productivity  Potential lost sales  Impact on future sales

 Disruption to supply chain of key component Business interruption

 Drop in productivity  Potential lost sales

Impacts on agriculture or extraction activities

 Increase in raw material prices  Climate becomes better suited to certain crops

 Increased raw material costs

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-wins
The 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 caused by 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.

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Raising the issue

Awareness 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, equipment or business location should take account of their vulnerability to climate and weather. See mainstreaming adaptation for more information and ideas of the types of discussions that consideration of climate and weather could be incorporated into.

If you wish to better understand the arguments that may be 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.

Dealing with climate change sceptics

Even 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 working with those who do recognise that the climate is changing whatever the reason.

CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors

Supporting SMEs

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 target gives 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 of key messages for working with SMEs.

Which SMEs to target

Virtually 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, different areas 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 are weather 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.

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Supporting SMEs: continued

Companies involved in making decisions with long-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 weather Building 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 community Some 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 to the 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 awareness
There 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 differs from mitigation, and why it is important. An interactive workshop using BACLIAT can 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 The key messages summarised below may also be useful.

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Supporting SMEs: continued

Business awareness and advice

A study3 published 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 study 4 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%

BACLIAT
BACLIAT 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 www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready 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 adaption for business, see A Changing Climate for Business.

3 Crichton, 

D. (2006), Climate Change and its Effects on Small Businesses, AXA Insurance PLC, N. and Underwood, K. (2008), Climate Change and Small Businesses: How directors are responding to the challenges of climate change,

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

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).

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Climate vulnerability assessment

A 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. See delivering advice for further details.

Delivering advice Adaptation 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 to mainstream adaptation into existing decision-making processes. Consideration of any recent extreme weather events and their impacts can be a powerful starting point before going 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 website www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready is a tool to help organisations, projects or strategies adapt 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 of CLARA resources will help.

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Mainstreaming adaptation

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.

Some of these are listed below. Where they exist, they represent an opportunity for mainstreaming adaptation.

Health and safety arrangements

Issues 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.

Risk management, business continuity planning, disaster recovery or crisis management

The 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 and markets may need additional thought.

Quality management
There 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.

Contracts
How 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.

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Mainstreaming adaptation: continued

Environmental management
Although 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.

 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 to adaptation 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 larger companies, 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 business areas 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.

Business planning or strategic planning

Where there is some formal planning it is unlikely that the planning horizons are consistent with the timescales involved in climate change. However, these processes can be 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 messages
The 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.

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CLARA resources

 BACLIAT workshop www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready  Adaptation Wizard www.environment-agency.gov.uk/climateready

Factsheets
 Climate change, flood risk & preparing your business www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA /Flooding-factsheet.pdf (450KB)

 Climate impacts audit template  Climate change, heatwaves & preparing your business www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA /Heatwaves-factsheet.pdf (70KB) /BACLIAT_assessment_template.doc Key messages for working with SMEs based on experiences of UKCIP and strategic partners  Climate change & business opportunities www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA /Opportunities_171110.pdf (90KB)

 UKCIP review for Oxfordshire County Council:  Climate change adaptation and offices www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA - Part 1: SMEs Vulnerability and resilience to /CC-adaptation-offices-factsheet.pdf (90KB) extreme weather www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA /UKCIP_SME_resilience_extremeweather.pdf (1.1MB) - Part 2: Engaging SMEs via accountants www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA /UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdf (3MB)

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Other useful publications

 AXA Insurance report: Climate Change and its Effects on Small Businesses in the UK www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA  West Midlands Climate Change Adaptation Partnership: /AXAClimateChange.pdf (910KB) Weathering the Storm: Saving and Making Money in a Changing Climate. A practical guide for small  AXA Insurance: Preparing for Climate Change: businesses in the West Midlands A practical guide for small business www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs /reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and /axa-preparing-for-climate-change.pdf (220KB) +making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835

 UKCIP: A Changing Climate for Business www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/PDFs /UKCIP_Business.pdf (2.5MB)

 Business in the Community: Mitigation, Adaptation Regional initiatives and Resilience Linking Messages on Climate Change SME adaptation initiatives in your locality www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA /BITC_Business_Messages_CC.pdf (1.3MB) ClimateUK www.climateuk.net links to websites with details of publications, events and other initiatives across  Climate South East: Successful SME Engagement with a range of sectors Climate Change: How to replicate the Oxfordshire Roadshow www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content  The Princes Mayday Network /CLARA/SME_engagement_CC.pdf (1.3MB) www.maydaynetwork.com run by Business in the Community, offers the Mayday Journey  Climate North East: reports by Public Knowledge on www.maydaynetwork.com/journey a free tool that business attitudes to the impacts of climate change: calculates a businesss impact on the environment and provides strategies for reducing this impact -  Phase One: Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA  Business Resilience Healthcheck /ClimateNE_Phase1_Report.pdf (1MB) www.climate-em.org.uk/resources/item/business - Phase Two: Face-Face Depth Interviews -resilience-healthcheck/ developed by Business in www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA the Community North East to help make businesses /ClimateNE_Phase2_Report.pdf (300KB) make changes to become more resilient to the risks it will face both now, and in the future  Defra web page: Advice for Businesses www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climate/sectors South East /business or go to GOV.UK  Support to Small Business production of case www.gov.uk/government/topics/climate-change study and project template for opportunities approach to small business support. For more information go to  Environment Agency online guide: Flood Preparation Climate South Easts Business and Economy web page Guide for Business www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php/case /category_page/C5/ www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business /topics/32354.aspx  Linking business advice on adaptation and sustainability raising awareness of the links between resource  Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) web pages on flooding efficiency, carbon reduction, business continuity and www.sepa.org.uk/flooding.aspx climate resilience. For more information contact Climate South Easts Business and Economy Group www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php /working_groups/

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CLARA resources: continued

ClimatePrepared North West www.climateprepared.com development of an Business support business advice on interactive web-based tool for tourism businesses in adaptation using climate change risk diagnostic. the south-east and south-west. For more information For more information contact Enworks contact Climate South Easts Tourism Group www.enworks.com www.climatesoutheast.org.uk/index.php /working_groups/  Sefton Council web page Business Savings in a Changing Climate  Would your Business Stay Afloat? business flood www.investsefton.com/climatechange risk advice in Kent www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA North East /Kent_business_flood_risk_leaflet.pdf (250KB)  ClimateNE Business Hub  Supporting SMEs on adaptation via accountants www.climatenortheast.com/managecontent.aspx UKCIP managed a project, funded by Oxfordshire ?object.id=15554 website specially designed to bring County Council, to enable accountants to provide practical information and support on climate change to advice on building resilience to weather and climate businesses in the north-east change to their clients. West Midlands -  Part 2: Engaging SMEs via accountants www.ukcip.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/CLARA  Weathering the Storm Saving and Making money /UKCIP-Report-SMEs-Accountants.pdf (3MB) in a Changing Climate: A practical guide for small businesses in the West Midlands Scotland www.sustainabilitywestmidlands.org.uk/resources /reports/?/Weathering+the+Storm+-+saving+and Adaption Scotland +making+money+in+a+changing+climate+/1835 www.adaptionscotland.org.uk liaising with business support organisations and industry representatives Organisations supporting SMEs on more general topics ongoing engagement of business stakeholders including the Business Environment Partnership, Scottish Council, Scottish Council for Development  GOV.UK and Industry and the Scottish Whisky Association www.gov.uk/government/topics/business -and-enterprise

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

 Scottish Enterprise www.scottish-enterprise.com  Federation of Small Businesses www.fsb.org.uk

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CLARA: Climate Adaptation Resource for Business Advisors

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