Adapting to Change: The Business of Climate Resilience

The 2015 Paris COP 21 was hailed as a historic show of solidarity among nearly 200 nations. The pact aims to curtail greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and keep temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees C in the hope of averting natural disasters, like proliferating floods and wildfires. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also launched by the UN in 2015, offer companies an additional opportunity to merge climate and sustainability practices with larger business goals. Business is buying into the Agreement. The large business presence at the Paris negotiating table and support from corporate leaders of all stripes to cut GHGs are positive signs. This panel will examine how leading businesses are adapting to climate change and moving to mitigate its impact, while seeking ways to engage the SDGs in the years to come. Panelists will include civil society leaders and executives from companies spotlighted in Adapting to Change: The Business of Climate Resilience, authored by panel moderator Dr. Ann Goodman. The session will offer attendees a change to explore: -The progress of companies in building climate resilience into operations and goals; -What corporate leaders have done to make their companies more resilient - before, during and since the Paris Agreement - and their plans going forward; -What motivates companies to build climate resilience; -How it benefits them and other stakeholders, and; -Costs incurred and obstacles that remain