Examples of win-wins

Climate change is unlikely to be the sole factor in a decision being made by an SME. However, resilience to the impacts of climate change and weather can be built while achieving other objectives by looking out for win-win situations.

• An SME carries out business continuity planning. This will help it prepare for a range of potential business disruptions, including those caused by extreme weather events, which could increase in frequency and intensity as the climate continues to change.

• A family farm opens a B&B. As well as providing additional income, this will exploit the climate change opportunity presented by potentially more reliable summer weather and increases in domestic tourism.

• An SME improves provision for home working. The main driver for this is to improve work/life balance but it will also provide resilience in the event of extreme weather by reducing the need for staff travel.

• A restaurant switches to an English wine for its house wine. This fits with their reputation for locally sourced food, however, as the climate changes it may be that good quality English wines become easier to source.

• A business develops and markets energy management systems in response to the growing demand for increased energy efficiency. However, good quality systems could also mean that customers will benefit from more effective summer cooling as the climate changes and heatwaves become more frequent.