The ACCA’s latest report, Weathering the Storm: Building Resilience Against Climate Disruptions, reveals that most businesses and organizations are ill-prepared for climate-related disasters, with outdated continuity plans that fail to account for the rising frequency of such events.
The report shows only 20% of surveyed organizations have identified climate risks across their operations, and just 17% regularly rehearse responses to major disruptions, while 25% lack any resilience-building mechanisms.
ACCA Head of Sustainability, Emmeline Skelton, emphasizes the urgent need for climate adaptation, citing events like recent floods in Spain and intensifying global hurricanes as proof that climate threats are immediate and severe. Despite these risks, two-thirds of organizations are not investing sufficiently to address the physical risks of climate change, with only 37% planning to increase spending in this area.
The report also highlights specific regional concerns: power outages are the top climate-related disruption in Africa, while North America faces supply chain and employee health issues. ACCA underscores the role of CFOs and finance teams in advancing resilience and net-zero strategies through emissions targets, scenario testing, and crisis management.
The ACCA will present the report’s findings, including toolkits for finance teams to enhance resilience, at COP29 in Azerbaijan.