If you’re dealing with the aftermath of the weather events, as many are, we wish you well.

Adapting to climate change. Since the disastrous weather earlier this year, it’s a term we’ve heard regularly in the mainstream media. What does adapting involve? Why does it matter? As a manufacturer, do you need to keep reducing (mitigating) climate change as well as adapting to it? (The answer to that last question: an emphatic yes!)

This article explains why mitigating and adapting to climate change must go hand-in-hand for New Zealand manufacturers.

But first, the science

Let’s start with the global picture. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is adamant: a 1.5°C increase in global temperatures over pre-industrial levels will adversely affect the world’s climate. A 2°C increase will be more serious still. The cause of this warming? Greenhouse gases (GHGs).

Zoom in to Aotearoa New Zealand. Scientists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and University of Waikato are convinced that Cyclone Gabrielle’s devastating rainfall is an example of climate change. The cause? Global warming, due to GHGs, increases air temperatures. Warmer air holds much more water vapour. When this vapour cools, it rains.

Photo credit: Kelly Sikkema on unsplash.

What does mitigating climate change involve?

Think of mitigation as the fence at the top of the cliff. Mitigation is about addressing the causes of climate change by reducing the GHGs we emit. If you’re a manufacturer, it could involve reducing the carbon in your products or moving your factory to renewable electricity.

To date, governments and businesses have focussed on mitigation – with good reason. We all benefit when we reduce climate change.

What does adapting to climate change involve?

If mitigation is the fence, adaptation is the ambulance. With a poorly maintained fence (an atmosphere damaged by GHGs), we need to invest in a fleet of ambulances to manage potential falls (the impacts of a changing climate).

At a national level, adaptation could involve moving vulnerable communities away from the coast (‘managed retreat’) and building infrastructure like bridges to withstand extreme weather. For a manufacturer, adaptation might mean planning how you’ll run your factory if extreme weather disrupts your power supply or if you can’t get your raw materials delivered.

It’s both/and, not either/or

Mitigation and adaptation go together. We must continue to mitigate – hammer in those fenceposts, plug up those holes. If we stop, the holes will get bigger. Bigger holes mean a weaker fence (less chance of meeting that crucial 1.5°C target), more falls (extreme weather and rising temperatures), more investment in our fleet of ambulances (adaptation), and so on. It’s a vicious circle.

We need to adapt too. Some of the holes will be hard to fix or may take longer to mend than we’d hoped. We need to put some ambulances on standby.

The good news for manufacturers: the activities involved in both mitigating and adapting will help you manage your risks and costs, engage your team in your sustainability work, and strengthen relationships with suppliers and customers. Here’s what you need to do.

Continue to mitigate (mitigate, mitigate!)

1. Reduce the carbon footprints of your products and packaging. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides science-based data to help you measure your footprint and understand how to improve it.
2. Reduce the carbon footprint of your business. Get your house in order, maybe by upgrading to a more fuel-efficient boiler. Then work with your suppliers to help them reduce their carbon footprints too. Set a science-based target to reduce your emissions.
3. Spread the word. Enlist support from climate-conscious customers. They’re hungry for credible information to help them choose lower-carbon products. (If you supply building products, ‘green building’ products will be in demand.) Consider Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). They tell the environmental story of a product over its life cycle in a simple format, and they’re independently verified.

Start (or continue) adapting

1. Identify and act on your climate risks. Physical risks result from extreme weather like Cyclone Gabrielle and gradual changes in climate like rising temperatures. Could a flood damage your main supplier’s factory? What will you do if your supply chain is disrupted for months on end?

Transitional risks occur as we move to a lower-carbon economy. Some, like a carbon tax, are outside your control, but there are many you can manage. For example, you can invest early in lower-emissions equipment or end an agreement with a supplier who refuses to reduce their carbon. Planned changes are disruptive and costly but a sudden transition is worse.

2. Disclose your climate risks. Large NZX businesses must disclose these risks in the 2023/24 reporting year. The guidance of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and requirements of the External Reporting Board (XRB) explain what this involves.
3. Identify and act on climate opportunities. For some manufacturers, climate change brings opportunities. For example, redesigning a product to reduce its carbon may help you enter new markets.

Taking climate action is both/and. Keep mitigating. Make sure you adapt too.