BMO Banque de Montreal signage is shown in Ottawa on Wednesday Sept. 7, 2022. The head of the BMO Climate Institute says small and medium-sized businesses should start thinking about building climate plans into their operations to stay competitive as emission expectations begin to shift. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
TORONTO – The head of the BMO Climate Institute says small and medium-sized businesses should start thinking about building climate plans into their operations to stay competitive as emission expectations begin to shift.
Susan McGeachie says large companies are increasingly looking at the emissions profile of their suppliers, providing both risks and opportunities for smaller players.
Her comments come as the institute released a survey of more than 600 leaders of small and medium businesses in Canada and the U.S. that found 69 per cent of respondents expect climate change to disrupt operations over the next five years, while only 24 per cent of Canadian business have a plan to address it.
McGeachie says the survey, the first of a planned annual tally, is meant to establish a baseline to track progress as well as prompt businesses to consider how they plan to respond to the climate change challenges ahead.
She says large companies are generally not yet cutting out suppliers over their level of climate action, but the trend is moving toward higher expectations.
The survey of small and medium businesses found that 21 per cent said investor expectations influenced their decision to adopt a climate change policy, but most Canadian businesses ranked labour shortages and supply chain challenges as bigger concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.
