A majority of US business leaders - 59% - say their companies are climate resilient, and an equal percentage views climate change as a priority, yet just 29% have actually assessed the risks of climate change to their organization and only 38% say they have a plan to respond to climate change-related events, according to a new survey from AT&T.
About one in four business leaders say their company has experienced negative financial impacts from extreme weather in the past five years. Fifty-three percent of respondents say their businesses are already taking steps to adapt to climate change, including updating emergency response plans, investing in physical updates, and enhancing disaster recovery procedures. However, the survey also reveals opportunities for businesses to improve preparedness and climate resilience, as 71% have not yet assessed the risks of climate change to their business.
AT&T commissioned the survey as part of its Climate Resiliency Project - an leading effort to evaluate the risks of climate change to AT&T operations and to help boost climate resiliency in the communities the company serves. The telecom company also announced that it has made its climate datasets - developed by Argonne National Laboratory for AT&T’s own climate risk analysis - available for public use. The climate projection data can be plugged into a variety of software applications to visualize climate impacts at the neighborhood level 30 years into the future. These insights can be utilized by businesses, organizations and communities to better prepare for climate change, AT&T says.
