These days, climate change remains a very controversial topic, with many Americans falling on either side of the issue. However, there seems to be very little dissent among small business owners in particular about whether this kind of issue is a serious one for their companies, as these entrepreneurs overwhelmingly agree that the effects could have a major impact on their bottom lines going forward.
Today, 87 percent of small business owners polled say that they expected to be impacted by global climate change in at least one way in the coming years, according to a new poll from the American Sustainable Business Council. The remaining 13 percent expected no effects whatsoever from the issue.
The biggest concern shared by those who see the changes as being potentially problematic was that 53 percent believed they’d face higher energy as a result. Not far behind, however, was a related problem of more power outages due to stress on electricity providers’ grids overall, cited by 48 percent of respondents. Another 41 percent thought they’d face severe storms, and 37 percent and 35 percent, respectively, thought higher costs for health care and food would put a crimp in their chances for future success. Another 32 percent each thought hot and cold spells, and damage to infrastructure like roads, rails, and pipelines, could also have an effect.
What could be a solution?
Further, a combined 53 percent of owners believe that extreme weather as a result of climate change has already impacted their companies in a negative way, or will do so in the future, with 19 percent and 34 percent, respectively, responding in this way. Another 37 percent believes that this issue in particular will never have an impact on their firms.
As a result of those concerns, owners also think that there’s a growing need for change in this regard, and the vast majority – 64 percent – cited carbon emissions from power plants in particular as being something the government needs to rein in, the report said. Meanwhile, another 29 percent said that industries need to do a better job of regulating themselves.
Owners who want to best position themselves for success in any way might want to think about what they’re spending overall. If they are able to reduce expenses, such as by cutting costs for small business insurance, this might help to enable future success. Finding more affordable liability insurance coverage, for instance, could save them thousands of dollars per year.
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