Impact of Climate Change on Business Operations in the UK

This research paper analyses the impact of climate change on business operations in the UK, with a focus on the retail industry and Morrison. It covers the concept and causes of climate change, challenges faced by Morrison, and strategies to overcome them. The paper also includes research methodology and expected outcomes.

Impact of climate change
on business operations

Abstract
Climate change has been recognised foremost environmental problem of 21st century & has also
become a topic of the considerable debate. It is a long term shift in the temperature & weather
patterns that include shift in term of natural, such as through variation in solar cycle. It lead to an
adverse and irreversible impact oil earth & ecosystem as a whole. Main aim of this research
project is to understand concept of the climate change and how it can impact the organisations.
Along with this, respective research is going to cover few strategies that can help the
organisation to win over issue of the climate changes.

Contents
Abstract............................................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Research question and objectives....................................................................................................4
Preliminary Literature review..........................................................................................................6
To identify the concept and cause of climate change..................................................................6
To determine the challenges of faced by Morrison regarding climate change............................6
Strategies to overcome the challenges faced by operational activities of Morrison related to
climate change.............................................................................................................................7
Research Methodology....................................................................................................................9
Gantt chart......................................................................................................................................10
Expected Outcomes.......................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12
Appendices.....................................................................................................................................14

Introduction
The chosen topic for the research is “Impact of climate change on business operations”. Climate
change is defined as the situation of long term shift in temperature and weather patterns. Before
1800s it is found that the climate change happen due to nature but after 1800s it is found that
human activities played a important role in climate change. Due to burning of fossil fuels and
deforestation climate change can occur (Seddon and et. al., 2021). Business operations get
affected with climate change due to change in needs of customers. The research is all about to
analyse whether climate change has the impact upon business operations or not and if it has
impact on business operations than what all measures will be taken to reduce these negative
impacts. The following research will help the researcher to gain professional and personal
benefit. In context of personal aspect, the researcher will gain communication skill, time
management skill, problem solving skill and many others. In context of professional aspect, the
researcher cover the topic which is considered as one of the most current business issues in
corporate sector. Hence, there is high change of readers to consider this research report.
Therefore, this study will be considered as worth fully for the researcher to gain personal and
professional benefit. Framing a research aim will help the researcher to understand the topic
more clearly which further help the researcher to formulate main research objectives (Owen,
2020). Hence, the research aim is “To analyse the impact of climate change on the operations
business in retail industry”- A study of Morrisons". The chosen organisation for this research is
Morrison. It is one of the most popular company in retail industry which was founded in the year
1899 by William Morrison and it is headquartered in Bradford, UK. They have almost 500
supermarkets and hypermarkets all across the world. They mainly sell household products,
vegetables and electrical appliances.
Research question and objectives
Research objectives of the following research are-
 To identify the concept and cause of climate change.
 To determine the challenges faced by Morrison regarding climate change.
 To analyse the strategies to overcome the challenges faced by operational activities of
Morrison related to climate change.
Research questions of the following research are-

 What is the basic concept and cause of climate change?
 What are the challenges faced by Morrison regarding climate change?
 What are strategies of Morrison to overcome the challenges related to climate change?

Preliminary Literature review
To identify the concept and cause of climate change.
According to the Julia Rosen, (2021), science of the climate change is very solid &
agreed upon than individuals mights think. But scope of this, as well as rampant disinformation,
can make it difficult to separate fact from the fictions (Cianconi, Betrò and Janiri, 2020). It has
been identified that climate changes take place due to different causes, few of these causes are
mentioned below:
 Man made causes- In this, climate change take place due to greenhouse effect& some
other human activities. It include industrialisation, deforestation, agribusiness and many
more (Wei and et. al., 2021).
 Natural causes- When it comes to the natural components effecting the climate changes,
then these causes are often cited as contributor to change in the solar radiation, drastic
weather changes and greenhouse.
According to the Guerin, (2021), climate change has been considered as a long term
shift in average weather condition of any region, including its temperature, windiness and
rainfall. There area several causes that leads to the climate change, few of them are discussed
below:
 Generating power- Generating heat and electricity by burning the fossil fuels causes
large chunk of the global emission.
 Cutting down forests- When human cut the forest for creating pastures, farm and for
other reason then it causes the emissions, since tress, when they are cut, release carbon
they have been storing.
To determine the challenges of faced by Morrison regarding climate change.
According to the Emily Folk, (2018), climate change is not only an environmental
issue. It is inextricably linked to nearly everything individuals do as a society. Along with this, it
also create challenge for the business organisation (Berrang-Ford and et. al., 2019). Therefore in
relation to the Morrisons, few of these challenges are mentioned below:
 Changes in the resources availability & cost- Extreme weather events disrupt the
organisational supply chain making getting the material and resources organisations need

more challenging. Thus, scarcity of the resources could drive organisations to use
alternatives material & recycle more waste
 Changing demands- Due to the climate change, demand will also shift, when global
temperature increase, for instance demand fro the heating oil will decrease. More
customers also prioritize the sustainable product that shift their demand towards the
environmental friendly goods (Sidhu, and Gibbon, 2021).
According to the Gurung and et. al., (2021), climate changes lead to several challenges
for the business organisations which are accustomed to doing the businesses within environment
on verge of the radical transformation. Therefore, few challenges of the climate changes for
business organisations are discussed below:
 Changing regulations- Laws and regulations formulated by the government to prevent
pollution also create challenges for the business (Baldauf, Garlappi and Yannelis, 2020).
Business organisation that produce high emission will have to invest a substantial funding
into upgrading their facilities in order t reduce,capture & eliminate them.
 Increase public pressure- As public is growing more accepting of the climate changes,
it become very less accepting of the business organisation which do not work to minimize
their environmental impact. Due to public pressure organisations have work within
certain boundaries.
Strategies to overcome the challenges faced by operational activities of Morrison related to
climate change
According to the Ryan Deer, 2021, along with the environmental consequences, climate
changes is also high potential challenge or risk to the business organisation as it impact the
organisation adversely. To overcome organisations adopt different strategies to win over climate
change. Therefore, in relation to the Morrisons few of these strategies are discussed below:
 Reimagine waste habits- Ways through which organisation manage their waste have
adverse impact on the climate changes. Therefore recycling & responsible waste
management can drastically help the organisation in fighting with climate changes.
 Increase awareness among the customers and employees- If organisations want to
reduce the climate change, then best encouragement for their workforce is educating
them regarding impact of their action on environment (Searchinger and et. al., 2018).

Group of the passionate workers will aid in identifying opportunities in improving the
environmental initiatives.
According to the Clement Fournier, (2017), as it has been identified that due to the
climate change outcomes, organisation are & will be in future, greatly impacted in different
ways. Therefore, Morrison can adopt different strategies to overcome issue of climate change,
few of these strategies are discussed below:
 Reduce energy consumption- Organisations should turn off the lights when no one is
working,they, should lower the heat or air conditioning when it is not needed are some
good action that organisation can implement (Macqueen, Bolin and Greijmans, 2021).
 Optimize employee's transportation- It has been identified that transportation is largest
sector of the greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, by encouraging the employees to take
the public transit, for carpooling with the other colleagues living close by discount on the
public transportation, organisation can significantly reduce the indirect C02 emissions &
therefore this effect on the climate change.

Research Methodology
Research Philosophy: A method applied to perform the research by using the positivism
philosophy. Positivism helps the research with more relevant information based on facts and
observation that helps the readers to gain a wider range of knowledge. This research is more
focused on the business as it proven with data collection with interpretation. It also stems
out the experience of human areas in particular.
Research Approach: The below research is based on the deductive research which is
part of the research approach. Deductive approach enables the research to go deeper in the
science where it will be more focused and analysed in the information given by others (Säfsten
and Gustavsson, 2020). As the research is conducted in numerical approach, the data is authentic
and less chance of uncertainties regarding the data collected.
Research Strategy: The strategy used in this research is conducted with the help of a
survey. Using the survey method, the research can research to a completion by getting large
amount of data. The participants will be based on their age, sex or questions in demographic
way. The survey with wide range of information can enhance the credibility of the research
which can be very helpful not only to the readers but also the government as they too rely on
the surveys to make changes in the policies wherever needed.
Research Choice: This segment of the research is where the scope of the research exists.
The research choice is on the three methods that is mono, mixed and multi where the mono
method is used (Gupta and Gupta, 2022). The quantitative method is only used as the research is
based on the numerical data which gives the accuracy of the particular matter.
Research Time horizon: The time horizon for this research is cross-sectional as the
information collected is point to point that is specific to the matter. This allows the research
to complete in less time and more cost effective. This method is easily accessible to the
readers and other researchers to find more clarity in the information collected. It has a better
exposure to the factors of risk and with a better relation to specific consequences.
Research Data Collection: This phenomenon of the research is performed on primary
research which is also quantitative. The data will be fully authentic as the questionnaire will be
presented (Mukherjee, 2019). The data can be well analysed in hypothesis. The quantitative
methods involve a framework as well as theories of mathematics based on proper investigation
and observation on absolute facts.

Sampling: The sampling is conducted on the 30 employees of the company. In the
sample the participants will only be recorded in the data. The sampling is classified in two
which includes probability and non-probability and the below research is conducted on
random basis in which the selected participant are recorded.
Ethical Consideration: The conducted research is fully secured using proper protocols and
procedures. The policies use in the research enlightens that proper steps have been taken to
secure the information to prevent from fraud and leakage. The BERA code of ethics has
been followed for the collected data with appropriate passwords.
Gantt chart

Expected Outcomes
From this above research, it is expected that climate change has major impact on the
organisation than people think. This is because climate change not only impact the organisational
working activities, but also impact their performance and profitability. Along with this, if
organisation could meet the customer's requirements timely due to the climate changes then it
will has a big impact on the organisational reputation within marketplace that can reduce the
company's popularity Beside it, if organisation do not any initiatives to control the climate
changes then it will impact their business in future also. Apart from this, this report has analysed
various ways through which organisation can fight with the climate change. In this, they can
educate their employees about impact of climate changes, recycle the resources and many more.
Along with this, by following the government rules and regulation regarding practices of climate
change, organisation can contribute in reducing impact of the climate changes. From this
research project, it is expected that if organization will not consider issue of the climate change
then business will lose its goodwill as no body want to do business with the organisation that
work unethically. Therefore climate changes has become a major issue for the entire corporate
world.
Conclusion
From the above information it is concluded that climate change is one of the biggest issue faced
by companies. Human activities are main main reason for climate change like deforestation,
burning of fossil fuel and many others. Due to climate change customers are demanding more to
have quality products and in case of eatable items then the major shift in demand of customers is
seen for organic products. Companies are using electrical vehicles to deliver the products to
customers doorstep to avoid producing carbon emissions.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Baldauf, M., Garlappi, L. and Yannelis, C., 2020. Does climate change affect real estate prices?
Only if you believe in it. The Review of Financial Studies, 33(3), pp.1256-1295.
Berrang-Ford, L. and et. al., 2019. Tracking global climate change adaptation among
governments. Nature Climate Change, 9(6), pp.440-449.
Cianconi, P., Betrò, S. and Janiri, L., 2020. The impact of climate change on mental health: a
systematic descriptive review. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, p.74.
Guerin, T., 2021. Risks and resources: Questions that board directors should be asking about
climate change. Governance Directions, 73(7), pp.295-302.
Gupta, B.N. and Gupta, N., 2022. Research methodology. SBPD Publications.
Gurung, L.J. and et. al., 2021. Climate change adaptation for managing non-timber forest
products in the Nepalese Himalaya. Science of the Total Environment, 796, p.148853.
Macqueen, D., Bolin, A. and Greijmans, M., 2021. Democratising forest business: a
compendium of successful locally controlled forest business organisations.
Mukherjee, S.P., 2019. A guide to research methodology: An overview of research problems,
tasks and methods. CRC Press.
Owen, G., 2020. What makes climate change adaptation effective? A systematic review of the
literature. Global Environmental Change, 62, p.102071.
Säfsten, K. and Gustavsson, M., 2020. Research methodology: For engineers and other problem-
solvers.
Searchinger, T.D. and et. al., 2018. Assessing the efficiency of changes in land use for mitigating
climate change. Nature, 564(7735), pp.249-253.
Seddon, N. and et. al., 2021. Getting the message right on nature-based solutions to climate
change. Global change biology, 27(8), pp.1518-1546.
Sidhu, A.M. and Gibbon, J., 2021. Institutionalisation of weak conceptions of sustainability in
the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism: empirical evidence from Malaysian
organisations. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal.
Wei, Y.M. and et. al., 2021. A proposed global layout of carbon capture and storage in line with
a 2 C climate target. Nature Climate Change, 11(2), pp.112-118.
Online
Rosen, J. 2021, Science of Climate Change Explained (online) Available through

<https://www.nytimes.com/article/climate-change-global-warming-faq.html>
Folk, E. 2018, How Climate Change Will Affect Businesses (online) Available through
<https://www.renewableenergymagazine.com/emily-folk/how-climate-change-will-affect-
businesses-20181109>
Deer, R. 2021, STEPS BUSINESSES CAN TAKE TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE (online)
Available through
<https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/climate-change>
Fournier, C. 2017, Actions companies can adopt to fight climate change (online) Available
through <https://youmatter.world/en/actions-companies-climate-change-environment-
sustainability/>

Appendices
Note of resource implications- There are few of the resources which are implemented by the
researcher to complete this research appropriately. Cost of few of the research resources are
mentioned below-
Resources Cost
Software cost (Free Online Statistical
Testing Tools, Microsoft Excel, Google
Scholar and ReserachGate)
£120.00
Travelling expenditure £200.00
Stationary expenses £60.00
Internet usage £80.00
Total £460.00