Climate Change Risk Project - April 2018 Update

17th April 2018

On Monday 9^th April the EAUC and HEBCoN (Higher Education Business Continuity Network) Risk Project Working Group met for the first time at the AECOM Offices in Birmingham.

The Risk Project aims to explore how environmental risks, and specifically climate change, might affect the critical functions of universities and colleges. We will then consider how risk and business continuity tools can be used to understand and address the challenges and opportunities climate change will bring, using language and structures already established within tertiary education institutions such as corporate risk registers.

The Working Group, assisted by AECOM (who are sponsoring the project), will be evaluating and collating resources over the next six months to support the two key project outcomes:

• Assisting sustainability professionals in getting increasing institutional awareness of climate change risk and commitment to the actions necessary mitigate them (especially useful for those seeking or maintaining ISO14001)
• Assisting sustainability professionals in presenting to decision makers a prioritised strategy for climate change adaptation necessary to avoid disruption to the delivery of institutional objectives and maximise potential for benefits (e.g. financial, reputational, partnerships).

The first stage of the project is to consider what tools and resources already exist, and to gather case studies from the sector. If you have any examples from your institution of the following which you would be happy to share please get in touch with Rebecca (rpetford@eauc.org.uk):

1. Climate change adaptation projects or structures such as working groups
2. Extreme weather events which have disrupted institutional activity
3. Resources you have used to engage others on the need to increase resilience to the impacts of climate change

We hope that this project will ensure that further and higher education institutions are better equipped to make timely, well-informed decisions around climate change adaptation. 

We will keep our Members updated as the project progresses, with all compiled resources to be made available on the Sustainability Exchange.