The exclusive meeting was held on the top floor of the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Covent Garden, with the esteemed guests coming together to share insights on the greatest challenges facing the sustainability profession.
In his keynote speech, professor John Dora, director at adaptation consultancy firm Climate Sense, told attendees how he knows most organisations have tended to look at the historical record as a guide for the future, but said that “the world is much less predictable now”.
Unprecedented climate changes have left businesses and industries struggling to respond, with these conditions set to intensify in the years ahead. “Senior scientists tell me that this week’s heatwave is likely to be among the least extreme of our lifetimes – that’s scary,” he said.
“The critical question is not whether climate change will continue, but whether our institutions and organisations can adapt at the pace required.” He echoed a speech made by the then-Prince Charles at COP26 on how the world should adopt a "war-like footing" in response to climate change, adding that the decisions made today will have a long-lasting impact and that we must “not be afraid to change direction when needed”.
The event marked the fourth day of London Climate Action Week – the largest independent climate event in Europe – with Fellows taking part in a series of ‘speed networking’ activities to share insights from across sectors. Several panel discussions were hosted by ISEP and beverage company Diageo earlier on in the day at the same venue, one of which was also focused on climate adaptation.
Around 100 sustainability professionals heard from the Climate Change Committee’s (CCC) head of adaptation Dr Richard Millar on how temperatures are roughly 1.4°C above pre-industrial levels, and how almost all of this has been caused by humans since the 1970s.
He went on to give a rundown of the CCC’s ‘A Well-Adapted UK’ report, before joining a panel with Sarah Bradbury, CEO of the Institute of Grocery Distribution, and Andy Griffiths, Diageo’s global head of transformational partnerships, chaired by ISEP CEO Sarah Mukherjee MBE.
They discussed how UK temperatures could reach over 40°C in “just a few decades”, and the implications for supply chains, food security and prices as companies rethink where produce is sourced from.
One panel member suggested that the businesses that adapt fastest will be most successful, but added that “we're only as strong as the weakest among us”, and that collaboration is key to overcoming challenges going forward.
On a positive note, it was said that adaptation is now “absolutely” a priority among CEOs, and that many of the challenges can be overcome with solutions such as cooling, flood protection and water management with the right investment, “but not all of them”.
This was followed by another panel discussion on the role of nature in accelerating resilience and delivering long-term value, with Mukherjee joined by Thomas Viegas, group nature lead at Aviva, Emma Harvey-Smith, managing director for partnerships at the Green Finance Institute, and Stephen Elderkin, director of environmental sustainability at National Highways.
One key recommendation was for the government to recognise natural capital as critical national infrastructure, and for the creation of a Strategic Nature Network (SNN) of joined-up nature hotspots for investment.
Indeed, with data showing that over 50% of GDP globally is moderately or highly dependent on nature, and biodiversity declining, one panellist stressed the need for a comprehensive view of the financial risks to create a “bankable model for nature”.
Collaboration was again a key theme of the discussion, with investors and the environmental sector urged to view nature recovery and enhancement as “a team sport”, delivering value for the economy and society.
The panel was convened just one day after PM Kier Starmer announced his resignation, with his successor urged to provide stability, support an SNN, and harness catalytic public capital for the acceleration of investment in nature.
As the day drew to a close, it was clear that travelling to events like these will be increasingly difficult in the years ahead as heatwaves become more frequent and intense, with nature-based solutions having to play a vital role in climate adaptation going forward.
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of ISEP’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for ISEP members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
