Furniture retailer DFS has announced it is working with climate and nature analytics firm Risilience, as it looks to strengthen its approach to climate risk, business resilience, and disclosure readiness.
Initially, the partnership will focus on boosting DFS’s climate disclosure and reporting capability and make it simpler to embed climate intelligence into the business’s decision-making. All the while, this reinforces the role of climate risk as a core business continuity consideration for DFS.
Using Risilience’s analytics platform and advisory capabilities is viewed by DFS as a way to adopt a more dynamic approach to assess and evolve its work in this area. With a significant proportion of its operations reliant on a concentrated supplier network and an evolving geopolitical and economic landscape creating increasing uncertainty, DFS said this agility and ability to flex with unexpected supply chain changes was necessary.
Kate Wright, director of sustainability at DFS Group, commented: “Businesses today are operating in an environment of constant change, from evolving supply chains to increasing economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
“For us, it was important to move beyond a static assessment approach and build a more dynamic understanding of risk across our operations and supplier network. Risilience’s ability to translate climate risk into clear business insight will help strengthen internal decision making, support our reporting requirements, and reinforce resilience across the business as we continue to evolve and grow and unlock new opportunities.”
Risk assessments will be undertaken across DFS Group’s facilities, suppliers, and raw materials, and the work will span both physical and policy-related climate risks. Over time, the partnership is expected to expand to include location-based risk analysis and scenario modelling across the company’s estate and operations.
Angela Brown, CEO at Risilience, said: “Organisations are increasingly recognising that climate risk is fundamentally business risk.
“Resilience now depends on having the ability to continuously assess changing conditions, understand exposure across operations and supply chains, and make informed decisions with confidence. We’re delighted to be working with DFS to help embed climate intelligence into business decision-making and support a more agile and resilient approach to risk management and long-term growth opportunities.”
Other retailers to have worked with Risilience, which was founded in 2021 as a spin-out from the Cambridge Centre for Risk Studies at the University of Cambridge Judge Business School, include Tesco, Burberry, and Ahold Delhaize.
Read more about business continuity and climate risk on Green Retail World
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