How are organisations responding to climate change?

The most comprehensive modelling yet carried out on the likelihood of how much hotter the Earth's climate will get in this century shows that without rapid and massive action, the problem will be about twice as severe as previously estimated six years ago - and could be even worse than that.

Business has a significant role to play in reducing carbon reductions before 2015 or face the consequences of runaway climate change within 50 years that is irrevocable and destroys businesses through social collapse, resource shortages and climate impacts like flooding most major cities.

The new projections, published in the American Meteorological Society's Journal of Climate, indicate a median probability of surface warming of 5.2 degrees Celsius by 2100, with a 90% probability range of 3.5 to 7.4 degrees. This can be compared to a median projected increase in the 2003 study of just 2.4 degrees. Mark Lynas (researcher and author of Six Degrees) recognises that even "four degrees [of warming] would be a catastrophe that many of us, or our children, would not survive."

A survey conducted by Alexander Ballard (ABL) on how organisations are implementing their low carbon strategies has revealed that low carbon strategies need to be overhauled if organisations are going to respond quickly enough to the new level of threat posed by global warming.

The current economic crisis has focused attention on cost savings and reducing energy use as well as reducing travel and increasing virtual working. However, fewer than half the low carbon strategies from organisations responding to the survey include examining compliance within partners / supply chains; establishing carbon neutrality; carrying out risk analysis of vulnerability to climate change; introducing whole life cycle accounting including disposal. Only a minority are re-thinking their product portfolio as short-term business pressures bite.

In terms of implementation, only 28% agree that most middle managers are well integrated across the organisation and less than 50% of middle managers are seen as well connected in support of the carbon strategy. There is also a sharp challenge to those in HR and Finance... the survey suggests that those functions are where commitment is least strong.