Contents
- General preparedness
- Flooding
- Intense heat, drought, wildfires and low temperatures
- Storms
- How to prepare an environmental risk assessment
Introduction
Global temperatures have risen by about 1.2°C over the last 150 years. The Earth is now warming faster than before. Since the 1980s, the speed of warming has almost doubled compared to the years between 1900 and 1980. These changes are affecting our weather and creating challenges for our environment, local communities, businesses and wildlife.
This workbook will help small and medium-sized businesses understand the risks linked to impactful weather. You cannot stop events like floods, heatwaves, storms or droughts. But you can reduce their impact by being prepared and planning ahead.
Disruptive weather can affect many parts of a business. Understanding how your business could be affected is the first important step. Preparing for these risks should involve everyone. It is helpful to work with staff across your organisation, including colleagues in finance, marketing, procurement, logistics and operations.
General preparedness
This section explains simple steps that can help your business be ready for different types of impactful weather. These actions are useful in many situations, not just one type of weather event. By putting these steps in place, you can build a strong base that will help you prepare for more specific risks later.
How to strengthen overall resilience to impactful weather
Quick, low‑cost or no‑cost actions
- Keep emergency contact details and an incident checklist in a place where all staff can find them, including people who work off‑site.
- Have a clear emergency communication plan. Make sure everyone knows who is responsible for what.
- Back up your computer files often. Use a trusted cloud service or an external hard drive kept in a different place.
- Record serial numbers, product keys and software licences. Store these safely or back them up online.
- Check your insurance. Make sure your policy covers the full value of your business, including floods, fire and business interruption. If you rent your building, agree with your landlord who is responsible for repairs and what insurance is needed.
- Make sure staff know how to safely turn off water, gas and electricity.
- Set up remote working options or identify temporary premises so your business can keep running if staff cannot access your building.
- Train staff regularly on emergency procedures.
Longer‑term planning and investment
- Look into other power options such as solar panels, battery storage or a standby generator to help during power cuts.
- Think about how long your business could operate if your supply chain stopped. Consider how quickly you could get goods from another supplier. Check that your key suppliers have their own business continuity plans. You may need back‑up suppliers or more storage to keep going during transport issues.
- When carrying out repairs or maintenance, plan for future risks and aim to “build back better”. This can make your building stronger against future weather events. Grants may be available to help with these improvements.
Further Information and case studies
Flooding
Types of flooding
There are two main types of flooding:
- River flooding This happens when heavy rain causes rivers to fill up and overflow their banks.
- Flash flooding This happens when very heavy rain falls on hard ground or ground that is already full of water. The rain cannot soak in, so it runs off quickly and overwhelms drains.
Heavy rainfall is likely to become more common in the future, especially in winter. This means the risk of river flooding will increase.
Although summers may be drier overall, any rain that does fall is expected to be heavier. This increases the risk of flash flooding.
Urban areas are particularly at risk of flash flooding. This is because they have lots of hard surfaces and very little vegetation. Water cannot soak into the ground, so it moves quickly and can build up in low areas.
How to find out if you are in a flood risk area
You can check the Governments website to identify long term flood risk for your area.
Even if you are not identified to fall within a flood risk area you could still be at risk from flash flooding, surface or groundwater flooding.
How to find out about flood warnings
Receive real-time warnings by phone, email or text by signing up for the Environment Agency’s free 24 hour Floodline Warnings Service.
This is only for river flooding, you cannot get flood warnings for flash flooding
How to prepare for flooding
Quick, low‑cost or no‑cost actions
- Check and clear gutters, downpipes and drains often to stop blockages.
- Keep stock on raised shelves. Avoid storing important or high‑value items on the ground floor or in the basement.
- Plan how you would quickly move important assets such as IT equipment, vehicles, machinery or documents.
- Use temporary air‑brick covers when a flood is likely. Remember to remove them afterwards so the building can ventilate again.
Longer‑term planning and investment
- Move electrical sockets and important electrics higher up the wall, above likely flood levels. Separate circuits where you can.
- Relocate critical items—such as ICT equipment, machinery, heating systems or chemicals—away from the ground floor or basement.
- Install flood protection, such as flood doors or barriers for doors and windows.
- Fit backflow devices on drains and sewers to stop floodwater coming inside.
- Keep pumps, driers and dehumidifiers on hand. They will speed up clean‑up after a flood. You may wish to share equipment with neighbouring businesses.
- Add planting or permeable surfaces around buildings to help slow water run‑off.
- Plan for alternative premises in case your building cannot be used after a flood.
Further Information
Intense heat, drought, wildfires and low temperatures
UK summers are projected to become hotter and drier, with more heatwaves and droughts. Urban areas can be several degrees warmer and more vulnerable than rural areas and green spaces because buildings, roads and pavement retain heat. Hot, dry conditions also increase wildfire risk, especially near open ground or woodland.
Although winters are expected to be milder on average, periods of low temperatures will still occur.
How heat, drought and low temperatures could impact your business
- Staff wellbeing:
- Employees with medical conditions (e.g., high/low blood pressure, heart disease, epilepsy, diabetes) may face elevated risks in high temperatures
- Staff could be at higher risk of fainting, injury and reduced efficiency during heatwaves
- Fires can worsen respiratory conditions
- Outdoor workers are especially exposed to impactful weather conditions, including hot, cold and heavy rain
- Operational and safety risks
- The building may contain, or be near, materials that could overheat, fail or increase fire risk
- Cooling costs will increase on hot days
- Indirect impacts may include to transport and infrastructure disruptions, delivery delays, power outages and stock shortages
- Fires can damage property and close roads.
- Water dependency
- If your business relies heavily on water, drought related restrictions (e.g. hosepipe bans) could disrupt operations
How to find heat risk information
The BBC has mapped areas vulnerable to extreme heat using data from the summers of 2019-2022. While this data does not reflect the record temperatures seen in more recent years, it provides a useful guide for identifying heat-prone areas.
You can check how vulnerable your postcode area is to extreme heat.
You can sign up for MET Office weather warning and heat-health alerts for your region.
How to prepare for hot days
Quick low or no cost options
- Confirm your legal obligations and understand liabilities regarding workplace conditions.
- Identify vulnerable individuals (medical conditions, disabilities) and brief all staff on heat-health risks and hydration.
- Provide easy access to drinking water.
- Provide low energy desk fans, especially for the vulnerable where spaces exceed comfortable levels (fans are only effective if temperature is below 40 degrees).
- Review IT equipment locations and cooling to prevent overheating.
- Assess the risk of fire breaking out inside and outside the premises.
Longer term planning and investment
- Survey premises to map which areas could overheat.
- Improve insulation and ventilation; add passive or mechanical cooling.
- Install blinds, solar control film, shading, and insulate hot water pipes.
How to prepare for drought conditions
Quick low or no cost options
- Promote water efficiency and install simple water-saving devices (aerators, timed taps).
Longer term planning and investment
- Consider alternative water supplies, e.g. rainwater harvesting tanks for non-potable use.
- If water is critical, pre-arrange emergency water supply and necessary interfaces to your system.
How to prepare for the impact of wildfires
Quick low or no cost options
- Identify alternative access routes and prepare emergency go-bags for rapid evacuation if needed.
- Monitor air quality health alerts; close windows during incidents and consider portable air purifiers for use during smoke events if evacuation is not required.
How to prepare for the cold
Quick low or no cost options
- Maintain grit/salt for access routes in snow/ice.
- For outdoor workers, increase breaks, provide warm clothing/PPE, and shelter
Longer term planning and investment
- Upgrade insulation and draught-proofing and optimise heating controls
Further information
The NHS provides advice on the risks of heat waves and how to prepare.
The HSE provides information on workplace temperature requirements
Storms
The frequency and severity of storms may change as the climate changes. While the changes are uncertain, storms will continue to occur in the UK and should be part of business planning.
How storms could impact the business
Storms and strong winds can directly impact businesses through property damage, utility outages and disruption to staff travel. Even if your local area is unaffected, supply chains sourced from other regions or countries can delay deliveries, interrupt operations and increase price volatility.
How to prepare for storms
Quick low or no cost options
- Consider company mobiles on different networks to increase communication resilience.
- Make sure any outdoor lightweight and loose items such as signs are taken indoors or secured
Further information
MET office guidance for staying safe in a storm
How to prepare an environmental risk assessment
Businesses that prepare now will be better positioned to remain resilient and competitive in the future. Embedding risk assessment and management into existing management systems is best practice, ensuring it becomes part of everyday operations rather than an isolated activity.
Your risk assessment should:
- Identify major risks (e.g., flooding, heatwaves, storms, drought).
- Map business functions against identified risks considering all receptors (people, environment, infrastructure).
- Assess likelihood and impact for each risk (financial, operational)
- Evaluate options to manage and mitigate risks (both short-term and long-term).
- Assign responsibility for each action and review regularly.
- Integrate findings into your Business Continuity Plan to ensure operational resilience.
| Hazard/ risk | Likelihood | Impact/ severity | Risk owner | Control options |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heatwave causing overheating in server room | Medium | High – loss of all control systems | IT Lead | Temperature alarm and add ventilation or mobile a/c unit |
Further information: UK Government guidance on climate risk assessment and adaptation planning in management systems.