How Climate Adaptation Helps to Manage Organizational Risk

Climate action is a planetary necessity and also a strategic organizational imperative. If progress doesn’t measure up, organizations can face consequences, including investor, employee and community activism -- as well as increased operational and financial risk.

Sustainability professionals are developing and operationalizing resilience and adaptation strategies that are scientifically valid, technically feasible and commercially viable. Yet, too often, these plans don’t sufficiently address potential operational risks. At the same time, enterprise risk management (ERM) teams often work from “back-casted” models that can lack a robust, updated view of rapidly evolving climate risks and the potential impact on the organization and its value chain.

This session will explore the untapped opportunity to align ESG and ERM to design strategies to help promote resilience and accelerate the transition to the low carbon economy -- while accounting for uncertainty and delivering from a cost-benefit perspective. Grounded in case studies from the utilities infrastructure and commercial sectors, participants will come away with practical insights into how to drive their climate ambition in ways that account for resource constraints, stakeholder expectations, and enterprise risk.

Moderator:

• Jim Giles, Food & Carbon Analyst, GreenBiz Group

Speakers:

• Michael Mondshine, Director, Sustainability, Energy, and Climate Change, WSP USA
• Emily Wasley, Climate Risk Practice Leader, Sustainability, Energy and Climate Change, WSP USA
• Taylor Winchell, Water Resources Engineer, Denver Water
• Alexis Dufour, Water Resources Engineer, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

If you can't tune in live, please register and we will email you a link to access the webcast recording and resources, available to you on-demand after the live webcast.