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Understanding the Challenge

Adaptation is our adjustment to climate change, by understanding the challenge we can make informed decisions based on actual or expected change. By developing this capability you will gather evidence on climate risks and vulnerabilities, then integrate these into internal systems and procedures.

Arrow summary of tasks within the Understanding the Challenge capability

Stewart Miller is the Sustainable Environment Officer (Estates & Buildings) at the University of Glasgow. He explains below how a new Climate Change Adaptation Plan is embedding climate ready thinking into the way the University manages its estate.

Planning development in the context of a changing climate

Along with managing and maintaining our historic buildings, the University is redeveloping our Gilmorehill campus, and developing a new campus at the Western Infirmary site. Planning for climate change adaptation will help to ensure that these new developments, along with existing buildings, campuses and infrastructure, are resilient to shifting weather patterns and remain safe and comfortable spaces for students and staff.

Planning for adaptation action

In late 2018 we released our first Adaptation Plan, which outlines a vision for a resilient and adapting University. This vision is supported by a clear and actionable framework that provides a roadmap for implementing short, medium and long term actions to increase the University’s resilience to climate change.

The Adaptation Plan was developed by working closely with staff working across different departments. We spent time working with diverse internal stakeholders, ensuring that key performance indicators were assigned to the right person and that people understood why adaptation is important and their role in implementing the plan.

long with sustainability officers, managers, directors and heads of services are identified as owners of short, medium and long term goals. This ensures that the push to adapt to climate change comes from the top, and our senior management team have clear goals and obligations. Creating this buy-in at the senior level is helping to embed adaptation into the way the University operates.

The Adaptation Plan works to embed climate into the University’s risk registers, and creates processes to manage and respond to risks. The plan identifies ‘what does good look like’ for short, medium and long term objectives, assigns responsibility and contains internal progress reporting requirements. Responsibility is spread across the University, and adaptation objectives overlap with design standards, health and safety, energy and waste, travel, human resources and asset management.

To make sure the Adaptation Plan is effective in achieving our objectives, we’ve created an extensive review process that will help us understand our strengths and weaknesses as we implement the plan. This includes a review by our organisation-wide Sustainability Working Group, as well as a six monthly review to assess progress on adaptation across the University.

We’re taking action to become climate ready across our organisation to ensure that the University remains a thriving educational and cultural hub for our 26,000 students and 8,000 staff

Stewart Miller
Front cover of the Adaptation Capability Framework, with illustrations of a rural town

Webinar exploring how the University of Glasgow are using the Adaptation Capability Framework

Marie Porteous is Head of Sustainability & Environment Manager at NHS Lanarkshire. Marie explains how site based risk assessments are helping to inform climate ready decision making to ensure that patients and staff across Lanarkshire are safe and well cared for during extreme weather events.

Responding to climate risks

After severe winter weather a few years ago disrupted our ability to get staff and supplies safely to all of our sites, we realised we needed to better understand our vulnerability to climate impacts. Along with other Scottish Territorial & Special Boards, we started undertaking site based risk assessments through external risk management consultants. Once we understood the process, we began undertaking them internally. We now have risk assessments for our major sites, and are progressing through our community sites.

These site based risk assessments have allowed us to build a database of climate impacts, recording the frequency of events and, where possible, the costs that NHS Lanarkshire incurs as a result. We can draw on this information to understand our vulnerabilities to future climate change, and inform climate ready decisions and action. Data around the financial impact of climate change allows us to justify investment in action now.

Links to net zero action

At some of our sites that are at high risk of disruption from extreme winter weather, we have invested in adding electric/petrol hybrid four wheel drive vehicles to our fleet. These vehicles will ensure our sites can receive deliveries and have specimens etc. uplifted while at the same time reducing our carbon footprint. We are also investing in our staff, providing emergency planning and response training to help ensure that we are prepared for extreme weather.

Place-based and site specific action

We operate diverse sites, and each has its own operational and geographical challenges. Rather than focus on an organisation-wide risk assessment, we are considering the unique operational requirements of each site. This allows us to work with the relevant local authority, as our estate operates across both North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Councils. We are working with both local authorities to build our understanding of climate impacts across Lanarkshire as whole, and in the meantime we are continuing with our site based risk assessments.

Our site risk assessments have identified climate risks that are now incorporated into our Corporate Risk Register. This register is reported on and reviewed regularly by our Sustainability Advisory Group. This regular reporting means that climate change is now firmly on the agenda for our senior management team, and has allowed us begin mainstreaming climate risk into our organisational practices.

Our database of climate impacts and costs allows us to make informed, climate ready decisions and take action now

Marie Porteous

The Adaptation Capability Framework was awarded the IEMA Sustainability Impact Climate Resilience and Adaptation Award in September 2020. We created the film below to celebrate this award and share experience from colleagues at Forestry and Land Scotland, Transport Scotland and Aberdeen City Council who are all using the Framework in practice.

The Adaptation Capability Framework from SNIFFER is excellent in helping to drive action to enhance climate resilience across the public sector. The judges highlighted the collaborative and partnership approach used to develop the framework and the recognition that organisations are at different stages of the adaptation journey

IEMA Judges
Front cover of the Adaptation Capability Framework, with illustrations of a rural town

Celebrating the Adaptation Capability Framework – Insights From Practice

Victoria Barby is the Environment Performance Manager with the Scottish Parliament. Below Victoria explains how a business continuity approach to adaptation is being used to ensure that the Scottish Parliament is a safe and functional space for lawmaking, even during extreme weather.

One of our major challenges is how to keep Parliament safe and functional, and adaptation will increasingly be a factor in planning for this. A Climate Impact Assessment Workshop in 2016 found that the Parliament building is already quite resilient to climate impacts. However, the logistics of getting staff and Members to the building, as well as ensuring that local offices are climate resilient, is a challenge.

A recommendation from the Impact Assessment Workshop was to track climate related disruption at the Scottish Parliament. This, along with progress on climate change adaptation is now reported at the Environment Strategy Board meetings. Regular reporting helps build a case for investing in adaptation that aligns with wider priorities, and helps us develop long term adaptation actions.

During the 2018 summer heatwave, the Parliament building was at risk of overheating. As a result, I am now working with the Business Continuity Team to develop a long term, strategic approach to climate adaptation, informed by the climate impacts already captured in our reporting processes. To fully consider how future climate change may threaten business continuity at Scottish Parliament, we are planning to undertake a risk assessment. This will be used to develop an Adaptation Plan and supporting processes that will ensure the Parliament is climate ready, and able to continue operating safely throughout extreme weather events.

We are considering a range of actions, including options like remote working and using technology to support flexible workplace practices to maintain functionality of Parliament throughout extreme weather events. While some core staff are needed on the premises of Parliament to ensure the safe and effective running of the building, flexible working options can reduce the strain on Edinburgh’s public transport system during extreme weather events, ensuring that core facilities staff are able to travel to work.

Taking a business continuity approach to planning adaptation actions is helping us to think practically about how climate change may impact our ability to function, and develop short and long term adaptation actions that will ensure the Scottish Parliament is able to operate during extreme weather events.

Victoria Barby

Webinars introducting the Adaptation Capability Framework and Benchmarking Tool

The Adaptation Scotland programme’s Adaptation Capability Framework and associated Benchmarking Tool are used by public sector organisations in Scotland to develop their understanding and skills on climate risk and adaptation. These webinars provide an introduction to the two tools, and examples of how organisations in Scotland are using them to support collaborative and effective action on climate change adaptation.

Front cover of the Adaptation Capability Framework, with illustrations of a rural town

Introducing the Adaptation Capability Framework

Introducing the Benchmarking Tool

Webinar describing and providing case study examples relating to the Working Together capability of the Adaptation Capability Framework.

No organisation can adapt alone, by working together we can do more to achieve shared adaptation outcomes. That is why Working Together is one of the four capabilities comprising the Adaptation Capability Framework, the Adaptation Scotland programme’s guidance to support public bodies to adapt to climate change. By developing this capability you will forge connections with key partners to share ideas and find opportunities to collaborate.

During this webinar Elizabeth Vander Meer from the University of Edinburgh and Tara Murray from Aberdeenshire Council are giving their first hand accounts of how they are approaching the ‘Working together’ capability from our Adaptation Capability Framework to make their respective organisations more resilient to a changing climate..

Webinar describing and providing case study examples relating to the Working Together capability of the Adaptation Capability Framework.

Webinar describing and providing case study examples relating to the Planning and Implementation capability of the Adaptation Capability Framework.

Adaptation is a long-term challenge that requires strategic planning and implementation to achieve outcomes. That is why Planning and Implementation is one of the four capabilities comprising the Adaptation Capability Framework, the Adaptation Scotland programme’s guidance to support public bodies to adapt to climate change. By developing this capability you will set appraised options into an adaptation strategy and action plan, adopting an approach that maintains flexibility and seeks pathways for an adaptation transition.

During this webinar Mairi Davies from Historic Environment Scotland and Victoria Barby from the Scottish Parliament gave us their first hand accounts of how they are approaching the ‘Planning and Implementation’ capability from our Adaptation Capability Framework to make their respective organisations more resilient to a changing climate.

Webinar describing and providing case study examples relating to the Planning and Implementation capability of the Adaptation Capability Framework.

Webinar on the Organisational Culture and Resources capability of the Adaptation Capability Framework

To make progress with adaptation, it will need to fit with your organisational culture and resources. Organisational Culture and Resources is one of the four capabilities comprising the Adaptation Capability Framework, the Adaptation Scotland programme’s guidance to support public bodies to adapt to climate change. By developing this capability, you will find ways to align adaptation activities with your organisation’s priorities. Over time they will become mainstreamed into plans, policies and procedures – part of business as usual for your organisation.

During this webinar Dr. Roddy Yarr from Strathclyde University, and Alan Gale together with Isla McCaskie from Forestry and Land Scotland, share their experiences and insights on making progress with adaptation and finding the right fit for it in their organisational culture and resources.

Webinar on the Organisational Culture and Resources capability of the Adaptation Capability Framework

Cover image for A Changing Climate for Development resource, with illustrations of infrastructure in Glasgow

Climate resilient infrastructure and construction

The Adaptation Scotland and Climate Ready Clyde programmes have collaborated to produce a toolkit for assessing and addressing risks in the development of infrastructure, built environment and regeneration projects. The guidance covers early screening to full risk assessments and adaptation planning, in a way which is aligned to the processes required by the majority of international financing and funding institutions, to reduce the barriers to successfully financing adaptation projects.

The toolkit outlines the changing financial and regulatory contexts for project development. It provides practical tools to allow organisations to consider risks alongside the development of business cases and delivery of projects. It also includes four project examples from Glasgow City Region which are embracing this approach. The toolkit is flexible and designed to be customised to fit individual organisation’s or area’s own unique context.

The guide has been informed by best practice approaches, including the Climate Change Committee’s UK Climate Change Risk Assessment and the ISO14091 Standard on climate change adaptation and risk assessment.

This toolkit can be used along with editable versions of the risk assessment and adaptation planning templates available to download below.

DOWNLAND THE HANDBOOK

Download workbook templates

TOOL 1 – PROJECT INFORMATION TEMPLATE TOOL 2 – CLIMATE RISK SCREENING TEMPLATE TOOL 3 – MINI RISK ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE TOOL 4a – RISK AND OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT HANDBOOK TOOL 4B – RISK AND OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET TOOL 5 – CLIMATE RISK AND OPPORTUNITY ASSESSMENT MODEL TOOL 8 – WORKSHOP FACILITATION PLAN