Majority of Scottish companies believe climate change poses threat to business
October 2018 - Business Support
Majority of Scottish companies believe climate change poses threat to business: A poll of Scottish companies has found that the majority are concerned about the effect climate change will have on their businesses.
The research by WWF Scotland (World Wildlife Fund, Scotland) polled 300 Scottish businesses (150 with over 250 employees and 150 SMEs) and found over half (54%) said climate change posed a risk to their business. For larger companies, 85% said it posed a risk to their business.
For smaller companies, the fear of climate change was less prevalent with 69 % saying they were not concerned, compared to just 13% of larger businesses who said the same.
Government role on Climate Change
The survey also found that 85% of companies in Scotland believed the Scottish Government should set its sights on becoming a global leader on climate change. In terms of the breakdown for smaller and larger businesses, 41 % of SMEs said they felt the Scottish Government should ‘definitely’ aim to be one of the world’s top leaders in tackling climate change, while 33% answered ‘Yes, somewhat’. Just a quarter (25%) said ‘no’ – the government should not aim to be a global leader on climate change’.
For larger firms, more than nine out of ten polled (94%) said the government should be at the fore of climate change issues, with 61% saying ‘definitely’ and 35% agreeing to some degree. Just 4% felt the Scottish Government should not seek to be a lead voice in future climate change initiatives.
Dr Sam Gardner, acting director at WWF Scotland said of the findings:
“These findings make it clear climate change is no longer a concern of a few ‘green’ businesses. The risks and opportunities are on the agenda in boardrooms across all company sizes, and rightly so.”
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