Austria is massively affected by climate change and yet this only plays a role for 28 percent of companies. How can we create more awareness and cushion the effects of climate change at an early stage?
Geopolitical and economic unrest have pushed the climate crisis off the agenda, but climate change is not taking a break. Investing in climate protection is not just a question of ecological responsibility, but also of economic reason. Eva Komarek, “Die Presse”, discussed how it is possible to see sustainability not as a burden but as a driving force in a world full of cost pressure and uncertainty.
Guests included Yasmin Obojkovits, ESG Lead at UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions Austria, Daniel Huppmann from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and Senior Research Scholar, Natalie Christof, Director of Corporate Affairs and ESG Strategist at Christof Industries, and Madeleine Hofreiter, Sustainability Expert at UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions.
The average temperature in Austria will rise by four to five degrees in the coming years. “The situation is dramatic and we see that we are not sufficiently prepared for the effects,” Huppmann paints a bleak picture. “Climate change affects our economy, our infrastructure, our settlements, but also our health and environment, agriculture and the food supply.”
However, for 28 percent of companies, environmental issues no longer play a minor role or no role at all in decision-making processes. Madeleine Hofreiter and Yasmin Obojkovits from UNIQA Sustainable Business therefore help companies when it comes to assessing the risks of climate change and working more sustainably: “We get to know companies, their economic activities and their location and support them in collecting data and facts.” Climate hazards are then analyzed based on scientifically based climate models and the development of potential hazards at the location – such as droughts or floods. “As a result, adaptation measures are being considered in order to cushion the potential for damage in the future,” explains Obojkovits.
Christof Industries has been active in industrial plant construction and industrial services in the energy-intensive industry for decades and 80 to 90 percent of the projects deal with converting energy use, optimizing processes, introducing resources and returning waste to the plant processes. “Here the connection between economic efficiency and sustainability is partially working and is starting to have an impact. I am in a rather positive mood here and am pleased about this dynamic,” says Natalie Christof.
How dramatic the situation in Austria could become, what countermeasures look like and how companies can prepare for the consequences of climate change were discussed in the expert talk.
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This content was independently designed by the “Presse” editorial team. It was made possible with financial support from UNIQA Sustainable Business Solutions.
