by Amena Ali, CMO, Earth Networks
No area of the world is immune to changing and severe weather. Consider 
the heat and drought in east Africa, earthquakes and flooding in Japan, and the severe damage wrought by Hurricane Irene in the U.S.
Worldwide, as severe weather events increase in frequency and intensity, businesses must incorporate contingency plans for extreme conditions into their operations to ensure worker safety, asset protection and business continuity. The costs of inaction and the failure of businesses to plan and adapt to a changing world are enormous.
In collaboration with the Partnership for Resilience and Environmental Preparedness (PREP) – an alliance that include Earth Networks – Oxfam America recently published a step-by-step tool, Business ADAPT, for businesses to assess and prepare for the risks and opportunities posed by climate change. The tool is part of the Value Chain Climate Resilience guide, which provides examples of how companies are already addressing the risks caused by increasingly severe and frequent weather events and other climate threats.
Some excerpts from the report:
- In 2011, the Levi’s® brand launch the Water<Less™ collection, which reduces the water used in the product finishing process. This spring, Levi Strauss & Co. made more than 13 million Water<Less™ products in the Americas, Europe, and Asia and saved over 45 million gallons of water.
- In partnership with Conservation International (CI), Starbucks has promoted environmental leadership among its coffee growers. Farmers can demonstrate leadership through efforts to conserve water resources, soil resources, biological diversity, and overall ecosystem functions.
- Earth Networks is providing real-time weather data for use by farmers and utilities, while lightning data from the company’s worldwide Total Lightning Network is enabling the creation of tools such as PulseRad, an affordable radar alternative, and more advanced weather alerts.
The PREP alliance is a program formed to address the risks and opportunities that climate change impacts pose to businesses and the communities on which they depend. The group includes Calvert Investments, Entergy, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., Levi Strauss and Co., Starbucks and Swiss Re. in addition to Earth Networks.
Read the Value Chain Climate Resilience Report: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/prep-value-chain-climate-resilience
