How can companies adapt to climate change?

Extreme weather conditions, rising temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions pose risks, but also opportunities. While the risks are estimated by the world's largest companies at one trillion US dollars (UNFCCC news), these same companies value the potential opportunities (from revenues from the demand for low-emission products and services) more than twice as high.

A robust climate change adaptation strategy is therefore essential.

In the field of climate change, the ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 "Environmental Management" operates a system of interrelated standards with a systemic approach to mitigating climate change and adapting to its risks and generating opportunities.

The recently published ISO 14090 is one of the first standards in a whole series that can help companies to identify and manage risks and opportunities. The standard is intended to

The standards provide guidance and are complemented by other standards, such as ISO 14091 "Adaptation to climate change - Vulnerabilities - Impacts and risk assessment" and ISO 14092 "Greenhouse gas management and related activities: Requirement and guidance for adaptation planning for organizations including local governments and communities".

How standards help the environment
By establishing terms, definitions and principles, and concepts designed to have an impact, the international experts agree on a common understanding of the respective topic. This helps ISO standards to achieve global relevance and

"Standardized technologies no longer represent a black box."

application and provides users with a solid basis for promoting progress in societal and environmental challenges as well as the availability of recognized performance and conformity evidence.

Many standards are based on a risk-based approach. However, companies should also understand their risks as opportunities. This approach is followed by the new ISO 14090 as well as many other ISO standards. The standardization of known and, above all, new environmentally friendly technologies promotes innovation, because "standardized technologies" no longer represent a black box and can be disseminated on the market. Interoperability with existing systems is guaranteed by standardization.

Standards can be used as a basis for compliance with the accountability of companies. In particular, by specifying measurement methods or documentation practices. Particularly in the case of trading in emission rights and especially in the construction of "green bonds" (ISO 14030 Green Debt Instructions), reliable basic documents are needed so that apples are not compared with pears.

Many of the standards being developed in ISO Committee 207 also deal specifically with greenhouse gas management. Best practice, essential requirements, guidelines, tools such as assessment models and measurement methods will help organizations and governments to address the challenges of climate change in a more targeted and effective way.

Capital for a green economy and society
In the new ISO Committee 322 "Sustainable Finance", which brings together the topics of finance and the environment, social responsibility and governance and coordinates its work closely with the Environment Committee and other related topic committees, standards will be developed that help to make financial instruments and financial practices more sustainable.

At present, "green" investment instruments in particular hold great potential for providing investors with investment opportunities. ISO standards help directly (e.g. green bonds, green loans) and indirectly (e.g. environmental due diligence) to provide the basis for decision-making and the allocation of financial resources, for example for climate-friendly technologies or for the preservation of ecosystem use. This will improve clarity and understanding of "green or sustainable investments" for investors. Transparency and expectations of the financial sector as an actor on the part of society can be improved.

With standards away from the linear economy towards the circular economy
ISO standards also provide valuable services in other areas for the sustainable development of the economy and society.

In the Circular Economy Committee of ISO, relevant standards are being developed right now with regard to resource efficiency with a much more comprehensive consideration of life cycles, supply and value chains, the potential of new business models, logistics models and circular design thinking, etc., all focusing on circularity services and effective underlying concepts in this respect.