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SME Adaptation Challenge
Climate Connect Aotearoa is collaborating with business and government entities to develop a platform with targeted online resources to help small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) plan for and adapt to climate change, improving resilience and business continuity for the Tāmaki Makaurau region. We will launch the platform in early 2025, with videos, templates and other user-friendly resources.
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Why is this initiative needed?
SMEs are vulnerable to climate change impacts like extreme weather, higher temperatures and flooding. In early 2023, two major weather disasters affecting the Auckland region resulted in 7,693 insurance claims by businesses, costing around $670 million.
While big companies and the public sector have regulations and laws to guide them, SMEs face barriers in knowledge, capability and cost when it comes to climate action and business continuity planning. With 98.8 per cent of businesses in Auckland being SMEs, their resilience is crucial for the region's social and economic well-being.
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Our solution: a platform to support understanding and action
The new SME adaptation platform will provide free, easy-to-understand online resources and support help SMEs prepare for climate-related disasters, manage risks, and explore how climate change adaptation could benefit their business in practical ways, like reducing costs, customer attraction, and supply chain stability.
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Feature your business in our climate adaptation platform!
Are you an SME with experience in managing the impacts of a climate event or adaptation planning? If you would like to volunteer your SME to be featured as a case study on the platform, we’d love to hear from you!
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What is Climate Connect Aotearoa's role in this project?
Climate Connect Aotearoa is leading the development of the adaptation platform. We have engaged widely to confirm the need, and collaborated with technical consultants Tonkin + Taylor. Through co-designed workshops with a diverse range of SMEs, including Māori and Pacific businesses, we have developed the adaptation guidance and key messages.
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Project drivers
The SME adaptation platform is driven by Climate Connect Aotearoa’s core principles and focused on the real needs of SMEs when preparing for climate change. We focus on projects, such as this one, that require partnerships and collaboration, and are demand-led and equitable. All our programmes deliver against Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri: Auckland’s Climate Plan – in this case, by building knowledge and skills for climate action.
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