Adapting to Change: The Business of Climate Resilience

Based on the current series of company profiles, this book examines, in depth, emerging business reactions to, and plans and preparations for, climate events (fires, storms, floods, hurricanes) from leading companies in strategic sectors: technology, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food, finance (including banking, re-insurance and possibly insurance). Each profile, from which each chapter in the table of contents, below, is derived, illustrates one of five principles: i. Responding to weather; ii. Learning from disaster; iii. Making a mistake; iv. Doing more with less; v. Taking a risk. Special attention will be paid to an additional overarching principle (vi. Communicating change) on evolving communications strategies that encourage resiliency, both inside the company--with managers, employees, Board members--and externally supply and value chain, community, investors, others---to moderate business and human risk. The book will also looks at the private-public sector interaction in this area, how it has or hasn’t worked well, what each might best offer the other, and what patterns of solutions are emerging. The book stresses solutions to real problems that real companies are facing in real time. It should lend itself to updates, as companies resiliency plans evolve, and as their practical and pragmatic approaches change, in response to our changing climate and, critically, to their changing business goals. The target audience includes: business students and practitioners, including business communications professionals, it could also include any lay person interested in the topic. Readers will benefit from learning about how real companies with real problems are facing a real-time crisis that affects all of us and how they’re using business acumen to create solutions (sometimes even business opportunities) to a fast-changing situation predicated on uncertainty.