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Survey: 75% of Business Leaders Consider Relocation Due to Climate Risks
Mike Colagrossi
Business owners across the United States are taking notice of how climate change is affecting their bottom line. A recent survey conducted by MIT Technology Review Insights asked 300 executives about how climate change is impacting their businesses.
Leadership was interviewed on a range of topics from how climate change is affecting operational costs, property damage from disasters to rising insurance premiums.
- Most executives in the survey, 62 percent, considered their physical infrastructure was exposed to the impacts of climate change. 20 percent, considered it “very exposed.”
- 75 percent of respondents report their organization is considering relocating the business due to climate risk.
- 24 percent report they’ve already relocated physical infrastructure to prepare for future impacts.
Nearly half of the respondents believe climate risks are the lowest in the Midwest. In recent years, the Midwest has gained the moniker of “climate haven,” due to the fact it has a mild climate, lack of wildfires and isn’t coastal. It also helps that the Great Lakes contains one-fifth of the world’s fresh water. Businesses also benefit from established inland shipping ports.
“Climate change is causing more extreme weather events and raising risks for business right now,” says Kara Cook, the State of Michigan’s Chief Climate and Energy Strategist.
“People are finally acknowledging that extreme weather events are induced by climate change, and it is raising risks for business,” Cook adds, “has led to companies losing power for days, for example, hurting their workers, their profits, and their ability to expand.”
Climate Risks for Business and Real Estate
Climate Haven should be a term used loosely, especially after the catastrophic flooding that hit Asheville during Hurricane Helene, a city that was deemed a climate haven only two years ago.
According to the National Climate Assessment, a report produced by the federal government every five years, extreme weather events cost the US almost $150 billion annually.
- Events causing over $1 billion in losses are happening more frequently, according to the report.
- In the 1980s, these events (adjusted for inflation) occurred about once every four months.
- Today, they occur roughly every three weeks.
In a 2022 survey, Forbes asked 2000 Americans, “If you were to move in the next year, what would motivate it?” Nearly one-third answered “climate change.”
This suggests that extreme weather and climate shifts will increasingly impact companies’ ability to attract talent. Many business leaders in the survey express deep concern about this trend.
The new climate risk scores on Zillow are a reflection of the greater public consciousness on this issue. There’s no turning away anymore from the reality of the changing ecology we come from and the environment we live in.
Corporate Climate Push
Over 100 CEOs from the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders—representing $4 trillion in revenues and 12 million employees—are calling on governments to strengthen the business case for green investments ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference 2024 (COP29).
While some corporate heavyweights are skipping this year’s UN climate summit, the open letter shows a united push for climate action from global business leaders across diverse sectors.