Are you also holding your breath and waiting for the outcomes of COP26 today?

 

Here at Katestone, we’ve been paying very close attention to all the discussions involving the COP26 this November. It was certainly heart-warming for us who are passionate about climate and weather to watch so many inspiring discussions (and some heated as well!) about how we can tackle the risks relate to climate change.

Addressing climate change has always been part of Katestone’s vision and mission. We see ourselves as clearing the skies: unpacking effective strategies for clients to properly manage their risks and reduce emissions. #Clearskies

So, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share with you what we have been up to and how we see our role in the near future.

 

Supporting the Transition Economy

Katestone has been working with its clients on greenhouse gas and climate change issues for the past 20 years. We have taken our clients beyond the ticking the box exercise and helped them implement effective mitigation strategies to reduce emissions to air.

And by revisiting my opening message in the past Clear Skies Newsletter, I could not stress enough how important it is to investigate the impact that climate change will have in our businesses now! Financial institutions and investors are driving the transition towards emissions reduction at a far greater speed than I thought possible.

“Understanding your own climate risk, both physical and transitional, is important for the future of your business and ensuring that Australia prospers through the transition to a lower carbon economy. Be prepared and find the opportunities in the climate disruption!”

My team at Katestone will keep focusing on helping companies go through the transition towards low carbon emissions. Our Climate and Greenhouse Gas side of business is growing thanks to the hard work of Lisa Smith, recently promoted to Principal Sustainability, Climate Change and Energy. Well done, Lisa!

 

Walking the talk

I have been busy talking to business groups about Climate Risk and what they can do to understand and mitigate the risks. These are some of the opportunities I recently took to help businesses sift through this huge amount of information on climate change.

 

Managing the Physical Risks of a Changing Climate and Extreme Weather Events

In this webinar I shared some of the questions I’ve been asked over the years and explored the physical risk of climate change and how it can be quantified.

Climate Change impacts may cause adverse events to occur more frequently and with greater severity and even in different places. This way, I believe that risk management for climate change should build on existing effective climate risk arrangements.

I argued that the foundation to understanding risk to climate change is, ironically, the past climate. Digging deep to look at past events, not only those that caused a large impact, but also those that were near misses, can help you understand how the future might look.

I then commented on an analytical risk assessment methodology that Katestone has developed to conduct site, industry or region-specific studies of climate variability and climate change to assist in adaptation. And I’m proud to say that our climate change risk assessment methodology is consistent with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) parameters.

 

Climate Change Strategies and Financial Risks – We need to act now

In this webinar, I took the audience through a journey of building a heat stress management system to allow industries to manage the increasing risk of heat stress through proactive management.

Information overload frequently leads to creative paralysis when it comes to managing heat stress. It’s commonplace to see business managers without sound options after completing their first Climate Change Risk Assessment.

While lack of hope is recurring, we know that there are effective means of managing heat stress. The challenge has always been to implement simple and proactive measures to reduce the risk of heat stress that is relevant for each operation.

Over the past few years, I have been working with key companies on the development of a strategy that helps them manage the heat risk while also remaining productive. I then shared some insights to ensure the development of a site-based heat stress management system that works and is used by both management and their teams.

 

TEC Breakfast - Is Technology our greatest disrupter?

Last August, I participated on the Queensland TEC meeting (The Executive Connection) when four experts from distinct fields discussed how technology might be the greatest disruptor we face.

The event that was held at the Brisbane Club and organized by Paul Ronis and Dr. Tony Watt. Among the distinguished presenters were Prof. Mark Kendall, Associate Professor, Nicole Hartley and Graham Turner.

At this event I argued that although technology is no doubt a disruptor, there is another disruptor that will undoubtedly reach every business and every person, Climate Change.

Times of disruption also bring us many opportunities. At this event I focused on the opportunities and argued we still have time to properly manage physical and transitional climate risks. But only if we act now!

 

 

 

The road ahead for the Katestone Group

As the world awaits the outcomes of COP26, we thought it was a good time to make our pledge for Net-Zero emissions. We have also released our Climate Statement to support our pledge and set the path for a fair and just transition. If you need help writing your own Climate Statement, give us a call!

 

~ Christine Killip, Managing Director