Black & Veatch and Industry Dive: Climate Resilience Strategies Command Top Priority in Utility, Manufacturing, Transportation Sectors

Climate-induced pressures drive focus toward safeguarding assets and operations against extreme weather events.

The increased frequency of extreme weather events is driving companies to realize the best way to protect their economic interests and maintain their social license to operate is to invest in climate resilience strategies. A new joint report from Black & Veatch and Industry Dive demonstrates this investment is key to protecting the foundation of each company. The report found 43 percent of all survey participants deemed core business operations or processes the area most threatened by climate change-related risk overall.

Offered as a free download, Prioritizing Climate Resilience: Mitigating Risk for Three Global Sectors analysed Industry Dive survey data across three industries – energy and utility, manufacturing, and transportation and transit – to find that to ensure longevity, companies are strengthening assets, facilities and processes against the damage and disruption caused by inclement weather.

A recent report from CDP predicts $1.26 trillion in climate change-related revenue losses to suppliers within the next five years, also estimating corporate buyers may inherit $120 billion in added environmental costs by 2026. With this in mind, companies are safeguarding their operations by becoming more adaptable to the volatility brought by climate events—more than 43 percent of survey respondents also reported that climate change resilience is a high priority at their organization, while 28 percent said it was a very high priority.

“As storms and drought keep climate change top of mind, it is imperative that businesses in all economic sectors plan for the long-term effects that such events will have on their operations and assets,” said Roy Johnson, business strategist with Black & Veatch’s NextGen Ag division. “The findings from this survey show that as companies act on these plans, progress is being made by the incorporation of more sustainable, creative practices and technologies into various industries.”

The report also found that companies are actively working to shrink their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by setting internal targets that limit GHG emissions and outlining asset hardening goals. As industries take climate resilience measures, increased investment in battery storage, hydrogen fuel and energy efficiency are expected.

Other key findings include:

• Survey participants from utilities and energy companies, and companies with more than 10,000 employees, were most likely to list climate resilience as a high priority, while those working in manufacturing and at companies with less than 2,500 employees were least likely to do so.
• 65 percent of respondents named generation, production or storage equipment as the assets most at risk in energy and utility industries.
• 69 percent of respondents named vehicles and transportation infrastructure as the assets most at risk in the transportation industry.
• 44 percent of respondents named buildings and facilities as the assets most at risk in the manufacturing industry.
• 60 percent of survey participants said their company is on track to meet their current climate resilience goals. This includes 71 percent of participants from the largest companies.

Editor’s Notes:

• Download Prioritizing Climate Resilience: Mitigating Risk for Three Global Sectors today.
• Learn more about Black & Veatch’s expertise in climate resilience planning.

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2020 exceeded US$3.0 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

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