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Employers across the region have begun to recognize the importance of becoming climate ready. Many businesses have already taken steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be more resilient. Yet there is more work to be done to improve the business community’s ability to adapt and respond to the anticipated impacts of a changing climate.
Why should businesses care about climate change?
Ultimately, it comes down to how businesses spend their resources. From the professional services industry to our academic institutions, the greater Boston and state economies are heavily dependent on intellectual capital. With the looming threat of climate change and its impacts across the region, businesses will have to shift investments from their human assets to their physical assets. This means there will be fewer resources available to hire employees, train or develop employees, and invest in new ventures. For an economy so dependent on people, that prospect is troubling.
Our inability to invest in the intellectual capital that drives our regional economy is part of the broader business risk associated with climate change. Understanding this risk and becoming climate ready now means avoiding future economic uncertainty and higher costs.
Should businesses be preparing for climate change right now?
Yes. While the worst-case scenario sea level rise for Downtown and the Seaport may be several years off, businesses already feel the impacts of a changing climate. Consider the severe weather events in the last five years, including the 2015 winter storms that shut the city down for several days. That disruption to travel and childcare results in lost productivity for employees who are delayed or miss work. Projections show that these kind of weather events will become more frequent and more severe.
I’m a small business. Why should I worry about climate change?
The large-scale weather events and flooding anticipated with climate change will be particularly costly for small businesses, and the impacts ripple through the economy. Already, main street districts along our coast – from Front Street in Scituate to Commercial Street in Provincetown – are inundated during extreme storms. Only a few inches of flooding can cause substantial financial hardship: FEMA reports the average commercial flood insurance claim is more than $85,000. More seriously, after extreme storms, nearly 40 percent of small businesses do not reopen. Small businesses, many of which are independent and family-owned, serve as important wealth generation vehicles for some of the region’s most vulnerable populations such as immigrants and the economically disadvantaged.
What are the Chamber’s policy views on climate readiness?
Policy steps should focus on supporting businesses as they prepare and adapt, collaboration between public and private sectors, and streamlining our climate goals.
The Chamber needs your help to address climate change. Members at the advocate level and above are invited to join the Chamber’s Climate & Energy Leadership Council, which convenes business and government leaders for dialogue, education, and advocacy on climate readiness and energy issues that impact employers. Contact James Sutherland for more information.
James Sutherland, PhD
Director of Policy & Research
[email protected]617-557-7312
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