My experience as a value chain management professional has given me exposure to business models across a diverse range of sectors. A clear trend that has emerged over the last few years is the disruption of ‘traditional’ value chains from advancements in digital technology. Increases in our data collection, processing, communication, and storage capabilities, have led to shifting industry dynamics and the emergence of new markets. This automation and data exchange is on an upward trajectory, and we are well on our way to the ‘smart factories’ of Industry 4.0. However, there is another (silent but important) phenomenon which is about to cause a similar (and potentially bigger) disruption across all industry sectors: climate change.

Climate change is no longer a warning for the future. It is happening now in the form of irregular weather patterns, record-breaking summer temperatures in cities across the globe, and retreating snow and ice on our favourite ski-slopes and near the polar regions, among other examples. There are various tell-tale signs of climate change – temperature spikes, rising sea levels, loss of ice cover, more frequent and severe extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, heatwaves, droughts, floods, etc. Each of these components, in some form, will disrupt traditional value chains and business models of industry sectors as we know them – either by creating new risks and opportunities or by amplifying existing risks