Climate Change and your business

Climate change will affect you and your business - no matter what type of business you lead.  How will your business cope of dramatic climate change continues to occur?  What will you need to do to prosper under new regulations?  How can you reduce the carbon emissions of your business?  How can you help on a broader scale?

I don't have these answers for you, but you should be sorting them out for yourself and for the business you lead.  I see climate change, and our response to it, as perhaps the top strategic issue for business.

If you still don't believe climate change is real...

• See "An Inconvenient Truth."  Al Gore presents a balanced and compelling case for the reality of climate change.  You can buy the DVD here. Even if you have seen the movie in a theater, consider getting the DVD, as it contains useful updates.
• Check out some of the external links provided by Wikipedia.
• Listen to what many energy firms are saying.  In this Washington Post article, Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin report that, "top executives at many of the nation's largest energy companies have accepted the scientific consensus about climate change...."  The president of Shell Oil Co. says, "From Shell's point of view, the debate is over. When 98 percent of scientists agree, who is Shell to say, 'Let's debate the science'?"  Duke Energy is saying that regulations are inevitable and welcome.  ExxonMobil is alone among big energy firms in continuing to insist that climate change is not real.
• Michael McKinney quotes John Harvey-Jones ("legendary" chairman of ICI) as saying, "...how much better to change before we are changed."  Change is coming in the climate change arena, of that we can be sure.  How much better to accept that and try to get ahead of the curve, than to ignore it and suffer the consequences.

So, what can you do about it?

Here are a few ideas businesses might find useful.  I'd love to hear more - please comment!

1. Calculate the carbon emissions of your business and sort out what changes you can afford to make to reduce those emissions. 
2. When purchasing vehicles, consider buying high-efficiency vehicles.  Look at hybrids, for example.
3. Reduce the packaging of your product.  When you get the Inconvenient Truth DVD, check out how it is packaged to minimize carbon emissions.
4. Reduce water use in your process.
5. Continuously reduce your energy consumption.
6. Minimize air travel associated with your business.
7. Plant trees on your property.
8. Learn and apply lean manufacturing to your operation, in order to reduce waste.
9. When you buy new equipment, consider energy efficiency in your decision.
10. Stay on top of the issues and make sure your representatives know that you expect to see action.
11. Look for more ideas at the Inconvenient Truth website.
12. Subscribe to relevant blogs.  Some I read include Biopact, Domestic Fuel, Gristmill and R-Squared Energy Blog.  I'm sure there are others out there - please let me know if you have found a useful one - particularly if you know of a blog focused on how businesses reduce their carbon emissions.

I'd love to hear comments and ideas that business leaders can use in dealing with these issues.