Adapting for a Green Economy: Companies, communities and climate change

Date of the report

2011

Author of the report

A Caring for Climate report by the United Nations Global Compact, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Oxfam, and Worlds Resources Institute (WRI).

Purpose of the report

The aim of this report is to support the efforts leading up to Rio+20 (UN Conference on Sustainable Development) as well as the activities partnerships and commitments that flow from the conference. The report aims to provide useful guidance to business leaders and policymakers and answers important questions surrounding the role of business in adaptation. For example, ‘What are the barriers that may prevent effective business engagement in adaptation?’.

Relevance to the region

The report is relevant to businesses across the World who are ‘interested in increasing their strategic focus on adaptation in developing countries where they have operations, supply chains, employees and current or potential customers’ (pg.5). It provides information that can help create effective strategies that can benefit both businesses and communities and suggestions for simple supportive government policy.

The report is also useful for policymakers involved in climate change and sustainability dialogues and decision making who may attend or be involved in the Rio+20 conference.

What SWM liked

We like the focus on business and the idea that ‘Community risks are business risks’ make the impacts of climate adaptation on a community a reality, but also, with the practical measures discussed (p.26-39), an achievable aim to tackle.