7 Things Your Boss Wants To Know About Climate Risk

With this year’s catastrophic hurricane season, climate change has been on everyone’s minds — including your boss’. Understanding the questions and concerns your boss has about climate risk can help you propose solutions and make yourself more valuable.

Below, 7 things your boss wants to know about climate risk and business:

1. Do I really need to worry about this (right now)?

Especially if your company isn’t located on the coast, the risks posed by climate change might seem relatively minimal. Too far off to worry about, too difficult to measure, or too uncertain to act on.

Start the conversation by helping your boss understand the risks of climate change and the business benefits of proactive climate risk management. Check out our guide to climate risk management for a list of risks and benefits to share with your boss.

2. What is climate risk management?

Of course, if you’re going talk about climate risk management, you need to make sure that your boss knows what you mean. Here’s a good definition:

“Climate risk management is a formal process to identify potential hazards from climate-related events, trends, forecasts and projections, and to propose controls to avoid or minimize their impact.”

For more information, visit our comprehensive guide to climate risk management.

3. What do we need to do to adapt?

Your boss wants to know how climate change will impact business activities and processes, like disruption to production or higher material costs. But don’t just focus on risks. Your boss also wants to know about potential opportunities. For instance, expanding markets for existing products and services, opportunities for new products, and ways to lower operational costs.

4. What do our customers expect?

Customers expect brands to take a stand against climate change — and are willing to reward them for doing so. In fact, 66% of respondents say they’re willing to pay more for products and services that come from companies who are committed to positive social and environmental impact. This is up from 55% in 2014 and 50% in 2013.

5. What are our competitors doing?

Just like good coaches review game film to gain an advantage over their opponents, smart companies keep tabs on the competition. Help your boss stay ahead by tapping into social networks and attend industry events to scout out what your competitors are doing.

6. What policy changes will impact us?

Your boss doesn’t have time to monitor the news for environmental policy updates. Set up a Google alert to get emails about regulatory changes. This way you can keep your boss informed of important announcements. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for updates on relevant issues.

7. What tools do we need?

Once your boss is on board, you’ll likely want to ask for resources like environmental management software to support your efforts. Your boss wants to know which tools are actually necessary, and why.