Safeguarding chemical businesses in a changing climate – new guidance supported by SLR

The Chemical Industries Association has recently published revised guidance on climate change adaptation for businesses in the chemicals industry. The guidance, which has been developed in collaboration with SLR, aims to help chemical businesses (especially those with large inventories of high hazard substances and subject to the COMAH Regulations 2015) carry out an effective risk assessment and develop a Climate Change Adaptation Plan, tailored to each site location and vulnerability.

The impacts of climate change are becoming more prevalent across all aspects of UK life, and the chemical industry is not exempt from these. Periods of higher temperatures, more severe droughts, heavier rainfall including periods of more intense rain and stronger winds are all effects that chemical sector businesses need to be prepared for, both in the short-term and longer-term.

To minimise the potential effects on critical chemical manufacturing and supply chains, chemical businesses need to take a lead by making adaptation and resilience of chemical facilities a high priority. Adapting to the changing risks will not only minimize the effects on chemical businesses but will also help protect our industry and local communities from major accidents and other business disruptions.

This guidance has been created to help businesses develop a Climate Change Adaptation Plan to become more resilient to extreme weather and climate change. The guidance draws on two ISO Standards on Adaptation to Climate Change – 14090:2019 and 14091:2021.

The guidance has been broken down into the following steps to provide a straightforward structure to follow:

1. Getting started
2. Identifying significant climate risks
3. Managing climate risks
4. Monitoring and review.

This guidance is intended to be a valuable tool for chemical businesses to improve the resilience of the chemicals sector to climate-related risks. Please contact our team if you would like to discuss how we can support your business.

• Safeguarding chemical businesses in a changing climate - How to prepare a Climate Change Adaptation Plan3.84 MB

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