Canadian business is uniquely positioned to embrace nature-based-solutions for systemic business resiliency in a changing climate.
The global response to COVID-19 and recent adoption of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are strong reminders of the value of applying a climate lens to big systemic challenges and risks. To tackle COVID-19, the World Bank, IMF, other international financial institutions, and national governments pursued a green recovery strategy to manage the ensuing economic and health challenges, while the landmark IRA directly tackles tax reform, historic inflation levels, and the climate crisis, among other big issues, in a single bill. These are examples of the trend toward systemic responses to observed shocks.
As climate impacts reshape supply chains, transportation and energy systems, consumer expectations, and spark new and more robust financial disclosure requirements, businesses should embrace this trend and better integrate climate risks and opportunities to achieve a more holistic view of risks. This shift ultimately means updating how they approach and manage risks and will be a defining element of business resilience for the foreseeable future. As I have urged elsewhere, twenty-first-century business planning requires considering climate change at every turn because global climate risks are increasingly systemic and persistent. Investors and other stakeholders are becoming keenly attentive to specific climate risks that impact businesses and are expecting leaders to have sound strategies to navigate them.
Given our dependence on the environment, nature-based solutions (NBS) should play a vital role in strengthening resilience and sustainability. NBS is the use of nature and the natural functions of healthy ecosystems to tackle societal problems – from health and green infrastructure to new economic opportunities and green jobs and water management. Being based in a country with one of world’s largest landmasses, some of the finest natural assets, and a reputation for financial and political stability, Canadian businesses are uniquely placed to play a leading role in leveraging NBS to build resiliency and drive forward global climate action.
“Canadian businesses are uniquely placed to play a leading role in leveraging NBS to build resiliency and drive forward global climate action.”
Laura Zizzo, CEO and Co-founder of Manifest Climate
For example, we know that reliable transportation infrastructure keeps communities safe and helps us get our goods to those who need it. This infrastructure is dependent on a resilient natural environment where systematic risks related to fire, flood, and supply chain disruptions are considered and managed holistically. Sound climate risk planning, using NBS, can support business resilience for those managing and dependent on such transportation infrastructure.
Yes, planting trees and supporting forest ecosystems is vital, but NBS as a whole goes beyond that and leading businesses are taking note. NBS solutions are classic win-win scenarios in which nature-focused interventions address a range of societal challenges, while delivering environmental and economic benefits. It’s a natural addition to understanding and managing risks because it’s about allowing systems, services, and people to respond to crises, cope with shocks and stresses and rebound.
“NBS solutions are classic win-win scenarios in which nature-focused interventions address a range of societal challenges, while delivering environmental and economic benefits.”
Laura Zizzo, CEO and Co-founder of Manifest Climate
Following a wave of recent forest fires, and even the melting of an airport runway in London as the UK baked in record temperatures, the transition to next generation green infrastructure as a resilience and sustainability strategy is gaining traction with local governments. However, governments cannot do this alone. The private sector’s dominant role in the value chain of infrastructure development makes it vital for businesses to embrace NBS. Fortunately, from curbing waste and preventing disease to food production, water purification, and green infrastructure, business alliances aimed at supporting NBS are emerging globally. This trend is consistent with data suggesting that nearly a third of the cost-effective tools to address climate change by 2030 can be found in NBS and the shift to sustainable agriculture and land use choice.
