Environmental risks will vary widely depending on a company’s industry, location, customer base, regulatory regime – even its shareholder’s expectations. A common thread, however, is that environmental risks are a major consideration for all stakeholders and involve a host of business situations and management decisions. How a company manages it’s environmental risk can have a real impact on reputation issues and financial results, and can effect a company’s competitive advantage and how it will fare in the global economy.

As the business world becomes increasingly global, environmental risks bring decision makers two key challenges.

• First they need to understand the environmental exposures that exist as a result of their local operations.
• Second, and not always as obvious, they need to develop a strategic plan for implementing an environmental risk management approach that takes into account the ever changing nature of environmental exposures. It’s important to realize that these exposures can shift due to changes in politics, regulations, product health and safety, and impacts to the environment, such as in the case of climate change.

Marsh Environmental practice has extensive experience in managing environmental risk and can assist your organisation to understand the potential impact of such risks, prevent their occurrence and reduce their impact.