Leveraging business continuity management for climate-related financial reporting

This paper discusses how the experience and skill set developed within the field of business continuity management (BCM) provide a strong base from which organisations can leverage value in areas not traditionally considered within the remit of BCM. In particular, the paper examines the topic of climate-related financial disclosure, an important area that is gaining traction with investors and therefore senior executives too. Although, in itself, it is not an incident or event, this new area of focus has the potential to impact a company’s ability to thrive and prosper. This paper will discuss how the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure strengthen an organisation’s business continuity programme strategy, as well as sustainability objectives, by enabling executive-level conversations about the organisation’s operational and financial resilience, as well as actions with a positive outcome for the environment that will lead to competitive advantage. This paper argues that by facilitating these discussions, BCM helps to establish organisational priorities and develop specific action plans that can be validated through exercising.