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Pages of the SME Resilience tool, including an overview of climate impacts in Scotland, and checklists for businesses

A checklist and case studies for building resilience to extreme weather and climate change

The Adaptation Scotland programme is excited to share a new resource to help businesses in Scotland prepare for extreme weather and increase their business resilience.

The SME Resilience Checklist provides practical checklists for simple actions that businesses can take to protect their People, Products and Services, Premises, Processes and Place. It also includes prompts to encourage businesses to identify opportunities for innovations or new offerings in response to their climate risks and new customer needs.

The SME Resilience Checklist is accompanied by case studies of businesses in Scotland taking action to prepare for how climate change my affect their business, improving their business’ resilience to shocks, and identifying new growth opportunities.

DOWNLOAD CHECKLIST
Construction site of new Dunfermline learning campus

Business resilience themes: Processes, Products and Services

Climate ready construction

On their work to construct a new, flagship building at Dunfermline Learning Campus for Fife College, Balfour Beatty and the design team, including Reiach and Hall Architects, Woolgar Hunter, and Atelier Ten, worked with the Adaptation Scotland programme to consider the current and potential future climate hazards facing the campus and its users, and how to deliver a campus that will be more resilient to the long-term impacts of climate change.

The College campus spans over 20,000m², and is an innovative venture from Fife College, it is part of a state of the art, sustainable shared learning campus for Dunfermline (Dunfermline College Campus, St Columba’s RC High School, and Woodmill High School).

Balfour Beatty logo
Fife College logo

Dunfermline Learning Campus is also the largest pathfinder project for the Scottish Government’s Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard in Scotland, which has established to drive net zero outcomes for new buildings and major refurbishments within the public sector. Fife College is the first project to explicitly include adaptation planning as part of the Standard in its design and delivery.

Resilience to climate change was identified as an important but equally new, and complex consideration for Fife College and Balfour Beatty, given the campus would need to withstand the increasing frequency and intensity of climate hazards such as heat, increased rainfall and windstorms over its long lifetime.

It was great to have the support of the Adaptation Scotland programme to run these workshops for the first time. Although an important topic, this is something relatively new for us to consider however the tools available on the Adaptation Scotland website and really useful. We look forward to working with Sniffer to make sure these tools are more widely known and used within the construction industry and with our designers.”

Angela Pllu, Environmental Sustainability Manager, Balfour Beatty

Climate risk assessment and adaptation planning

To best consider climate adaptation, Fife College and Balfour Beatty worked with the Adaptation Scotland programme, using the A Changing Climate for Development tool kit to assess the climate resilience of the new campus, and explored the climate-driven hazards during the construction phase, using the Adaptation Scotland programme’s Climate Hazards in the Workplace tool kit.

The workshop explored the recent and projected changes to the climate in the Fife area, and how these climate-driven hazards would likely impact the structure and use of the new campus. The Adaptation Scotland programme team also supported participants to jointly identify potential adaptation actions, illustrated by case studies, and to prioritise those that could be implemented at this stage of construction.

From this work Balfour Beatty and its partners were able to identify actions to improve resilience including:

People sat in a semi-circle with notes while a presenter stands by a screen

Image from the workshop

Assessing climate risks and potential adaptation options is best done at an early stage of project development. The Adaptation Scotland programme team supported Balfour Beatty and partners to identify opportunities in the project development process to undertake a similar assessment in future work to ensure climate risks and adaptation options are identified earlier.

With the advice and support of the Adaptation Scotland programme, Balfour Beatty, its partners and Fife College have been able to identify and implement practical measures that will be critical to ensuring a safe learning environment at the new Dunfermline Campus as the climate evolves.

Lessons from this projected have provided the basis for Balfour Beatty and Fife College to integrate considerations of key climate risks across future infrastructure and construction projects, including a planned College-wide climate risk assessment of the whole Fife College estate, and at least two further climate risk and adaptation workshops for existing projects being delivered by Balfour Beatty.

Fife College is taking action on the climate emergency, and we have ambitions to do more and more. Our new Dunfermline campus is a low carbon beacon project and part of the Net Zero Public Sector Building Standard. We want to provide inspirational learning spaces for our future students, and we know we have to adapt and be resilient to the effects of climate change.”

Jim Metcalfe, Fife College Principal

Business resilience themes: Place

Business Profile

Possilpark has experienced significant changes over recent years as is similar for many town centre areas throughout Scotland. It has a consistent, high-ranking position in the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation which exacerbates day to day challenges for businesses. Litter, fly-tipping, crime, feelings of safety alongside access issues are a problem for many businesses.

The rise in energy costs is putting more pressure on businesses and the impacts of climate change add even more pressure. The town centre requires a continued coordinated response from all businesses to address these problems.

Remaking Saracen logo

The Possilpark BID is branded as Remaking Saracen

Climate impacts

Possilpark is exposed to a number of climate risks which have affected businesses in recent years. These include:

Actions taken

In 2024 the Possilpark Business Improvement District took part in a pilot project as part of Glasgow City Council’s Green Business Support programme, which helps local companies transition to Net-Zero, reduce their energy costs and become more resilient to climate change. As part of this project, the sustainability charity Sniffer supported the Business Improvement District to understand its climate risks and prioritise the resilience actions the business can take.

This included a collaborative climate risk and opportunities mapping event. This brought together members of the Business Improvement District, customers, and local residents associations to collectively map key hazards, and identify potential actions to improve business resilience and make Saracen Street and the surrounding area a more pleasant, inviting, and thriving place. A graphic illustrating the hazards and opportunities was produced, and is being used to inform the next stage of plans for the Possilpark Business Improvement District.

An illustration of climate impacts and adaptation options in Possilpark

An illustration from the climate risk and opportunities mapping event in February 2024

Film City Glasgow logo

Business resilience themes: Premises, People, Processes

Business Profile

Film City Glasgow is a vital production base for much of the feature film and television industry within Scotland.

The facilities comprise of production office space, studio/build space, workshop areas, rehearsal/meeting rooms, a café and creative business officers. It is home to over 25 permanent tenants from the screen and wider creative industries. It also has flexible low-cost short-term space hire. Users of the space include Film City Glasgow workers, tenants, short term production teams, freelancers, interns, and occasionally members of the public.

The core of the site is the Victoria-era former Govan Town Hall, a Category B listed building. The redevelopment of the site has retained many of the original features of the building. A new extension was added in 2008.

Film City Glasgow building. A Victorian era building, with a dark cloudy background

Climate impacts

Film City Glasgow is exposed to a number of climate risks which have affected the businesses operations in recent years . These include:

Actions taken

In 2023 Film City Glasgow took part in a pilot project as part of Glasgow City Council’s Green Business Support programme, which helps local companies transition to Net-Zero, reduce their energy costs and become more resilient to climate change.

As part of this project, the sustainability charity Sniffer supported Film City Glasgow to understand its climate risks and prioritise the resilience actions the business can take. These included:

“I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but the holistic approach to climate resilience was a breath of fresh air. We’ve been looking at building fabric, retrofit, and undertaken net zero training recently. But the resilience approach brought in other experiential considerations including the individuals working in the facility and their support and health and safety requirements. Also, illuminating on how the wider area interfaces with our building and thinking on climate resilience should be beyond our four walls.”

Tiernan Kelly, Director, Film City Glasgow

Business resilience themes: Premises, People, Products and Services

Business Profile

Sprigg is a food takeaway found in the heart of Glasgow, serving fresh salads, snacks and coffee. The business has three premises: two shop units and a warehouse. Sustainability is at the heart of the company’s ethos and brand, as well as to save costs.

The majority of company’s sales are takeaway, with some sit-in and some external catering. Distribution is a critical aspect of the business, particularly in relation to their day-to-day operations; moving goods from the preparation kitchen to the two stores, and from cafés to individuals via delivery services.

Sprigg cafe logo

Climate impacts

Sprigg is exposed to a number of climate risks which have affected the businesses operations in recent years. These include:

“The temperature in the shop was chronically bad … and it wasn’t when we opened it. I mean it’s always been warm, but it’s never been as bad as it was last year and even this year.”

Tom McDermott, Owner of Sprigg

Actions taken

In 2023 Sprigg took part in a pilot project as part of Glasgow City Council’s Green Business Support programme, which helps local companies transition to Net-Zero, reduce their energy costs and become more resilient to climate change.

As part of this project, the sustainability charity Sniffer supported Sprigg to understand its climate risks and prioritise the resilience actions the business can take. These included:

“My advice would be do what you can. Try and see sustainability as a commercial benefit rather than a cost. It can feel overwhelming but get started and explore the support that is out there. It’s our role as SMEs to lead by example and encourage the big businesses to change too, and deliver positive impact at scale.”

Tom McDermott, Owner of Sprigg
Two people looking at a window in Sprigg cafe, one pointing to the solar film that has been installed

Owner Tom McDermott and Sniffer’s Aoife Hutton inspect new solar film used on the cafe windows