14: Physical Impacts of Climate Change

Since the 1800s, humans have been dependent on fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas which acts as a significant reason for climate change. Which alters natural processes, such as oscillations in the solar cycle causing extreme heat, deforestation, drought etc. These long-term changes in temperature and weather are referred to as "Climate Change"

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane have an adverse effect on the earth as they act as a blanket wrapped around the earth, raising the temperature and trapping the sun's heat around the globe. These gases are released into the atmosphere through various sources such as burning coal to heat a building or gasoline to drive a car. Carbon dioxide is also released during forest and land clearing. Waste landfills produce methane emissions. The significant emitters of GHG and methane are energy, industry, transportation, buildings, agriculture, and land use.

Climate change has direct and indirect effects on business.

Direct effect: This includes physical damage from drought, floods and heavy rains, landslides, bushfires or forced closures of usage of certain land, and has a direct impact on your businesses.

Indirect effect: This includes extreme weather or climate change which results in the interruption of a supply chain or a decline in income, and human health issues. Such events can increase the mortality rate and decrease the productivity of employees which eventually impacts businesses from all levels.

Best Practices for Industry

Industries are one of the significant contributors to climate change thus, climate change in turn impacts businesses on multiple fronts. Therefore, adapting and mitigating climate change is a crucial step in order to avert climate disaster.
Mitigating climate change is avoiding and reducing atmospheric emissions of greenhouse gases that trap heat to stop the world from warming to more extreme levels.

In contrast, climate change adaptation refers to changing our behaviour patterns and ways of life to safeguard our families, our economy, and the environment in which we live from the effects of climate change.

Some of the ways in which industries can mitigate and adapt to climate change are:

• By measuring and analyzing greenhouse gas emissions: Organisations which fail to keep a check and measure their greenhouse gas emissions in the environment can lead to poor management and a lack of credible reporting of their emissions. Thus, it becomes the sole responsibility for the company to measure its emissions and mitigate strategies to reduce them.

• Choose a greener infrastructure and equipment: Companies should opt for green building strategies. This may involve switching to eco-friendly building materials or locally sourced materials. Provisions for renewable energy should also be considered while devising the layout of the building.

• Devise a comprehensive plan for climate change-prone areas: The plan should identify sensitive places, unstable regions, and other sites that may not be suitable for construction. This will provide companies with an opportunity to prioritise the protection of such areas alongside other crucial community objectives.

• Prevention and preparedness for oil spills: Heavy-duty industries operating on transporting goods across oceans should have preparedness plans in order to avoid oil spills. Regular spill response training exercises are also essential.

• Investing in innovative solutions: Installing rainwater harvesting systems, installing drip irrigation systems, harvesting water from the air, crop engineering, solar pumps, recycling organic waste, planting more trees etc. are some of the ways in which industries can help avoid drought issues and help communities in which they operate

Case Study

A case study on Good food, Good life: Nestle

For over 150 years, the company had expertise in health, nutrition and wellness. The company has been at the forefront to change its product and evolve itself holistically for people and the planet. They have aimed to make nutrition accessible and affordable for all communities.The company pledged in 2019 to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Recently, Nestle’s first dairy plant, the Skimmelkarans dairy farm in the western cape region of South Africa, has embarked on its journey to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2023. The farm has distinguished itself through careful manure processing, feed management, water conservation, and soil management.
Soil, water, biodiversity, and livestock are the four cornerstones of regenerative agriculture. Nestle’s farm operates in a biodiverse ecosystem, from releasing manure into the soil to growing its own animal feed. Thus, it has distinguished itself through careful manure processing, feed management, water conservation, and soil management.Besides that company has also taken steps towards conserving forests and restoring forests and the ecosystem by implementing a positive strategy and deforestation-free of its primary supply chains by the end-2022 for meat, palm oil, paper and pulp, soya and sugar, and by 2025 end for coffee and cocoa
Nestlé Waters will use its expertise to strive toward the regeneration of local water cycles through the implementation of more than 100.
To improve operational efficiency the company has switched to renewable energy sources at all its sites and to lower carbon alternatives in their logistics.
By sourcing materials sustainably from local communities, the company has provided not only job opportunities but also has worked towards the upliftment of the livelihoods of rural people.

A 360-degree approach towards sustainable business practices like Nestle’s and other companies will protect our planet from the adverse physical impact of climate change.