Adaptation is a process of on-going adjustments in response to observed and projected climate change impacts. This includes being prepared for increasing climate change risks and identifying new opportunities the changing climate may bring, while considering how impacts may be felt differently across society.
This guidance is concerned with Climate Change Adaptation in the context of:
This is adaptation for a changing climate in the design, development and operation of services and works due to be procured, that are likely to be vulnerable to the effects of known and anticipated climate change.
This may, for example, include, but not necessarily be restricted to:
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Construction and infrastructure projects - where there is a need to plan for the effects of the changing climate in their outputs’ design, construction, operation maintenance, dismantling and recycling. |
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Essential local services in communities - such as Health and Social Care or Education, whereby the ability to deliver services to users may be impacted by increasing severity and frequency of extreme weather. |
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Other essential services - potentially impacted, such as utilities, estates and facilities, telecommunications and others. |
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Data centres – their effective and secure operation. |
Climate change creates risks to local, regional and global supply chain resilience, through more frequent and severe disruptions like floods, droughts, and storms, which can damage infrastructure, transport, logistics and cause business disruption, financial losses and increased costs.
This affects those climate-sensitive sectors reliant on natural resources, complex global supply chains, geographic concentration in regions particularly prone to climate change, and critical transport and logistics infrastructure. Risks have risen for supply chains, exacerbated by increased digitisation, trading patterns and reliance on ‘just in time’ delivery. Some supply chains are at greater risk due to their exposure of production or logistics to climate change impacts.
Information, such as the Climate Risk Index, may help clarify risks in relevant countries. There are also several commercial climate risk analytical tools used by financial institutions, insurers, property firms and businesses, seeking evidence of risks to assets, or supply chains.
Risk sources set out in Table 1 are based on the UK Climate Change Committee Resilient Supply Chains report and Evidence for the third UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3) Summary for Scotland 2022.
Table 1: Supply Chain Climate Change Risk Sources
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Risk source |
Climate Change Risk to Supply |
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1 |
Security of supply of underlying raw materials. |
Supply of relevant essential goods, services or and works, the availability of which is vulnerable to climate change. |
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2 |
Location of supply chain. |
Key strategic suppliers and their supply chains located in areas particularly vulnerable to climate change. For example, drought affecting essential hydroelectric power for Chinese factories in 2022. |
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3 |
Supply chain concentration. |
Risk exacerbated due to a concentrated supply chain or limited number of suppliers, in locations particularly vulnerable to climate change. For example, consumer electronics in East Asia. |
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4 |
Costs and financial vulnerability of suppliers. |
Commodity or raw material costs within the supply chain are vulnerable to significant change because of climate-induced changes in their demand or supply. |
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5 |
Logistics and distribution. |
Supply reliant on logistics, locally or internationally (ports, roads, shipping and air), that is vulnerable to climate change. |
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6 |
Infrastructure. |
Risks to supply of essential goods, services or works due to disruption to infrastructure such as transport, energy, digital from extreme weather. |
This may, for example, impact, but not necessarily be restricted to:
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Construction materials – the availability of essential materials, either at all or within budget/timescale. |
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Critical raw materials and parts – their availability in manufacturing and supply of telecommunications, digital networks, computers and electronics, automotive, energy and other products and services. |
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Agriculture and food supplies – their supply resilience. |
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Essential medicines and medical goods – their availability. |
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Other essential supplies - at high risk. |
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Worker conditions - jobs involving high levels of physical exertion or prolonged work outdoors are particularly affected by increasing heat levels. Agricultural and construction workers are expected to be the worst affected (includes physical and mental health and well-being). |
These are not exhaustive lists and procurers should consider relevant risks for planned procurements. Annex 4 sets out detail on further examples of real impacts of climate change on supply chains.
The guidance is one of a series included in the Sustainable Procurement Tools which help public sector organisations embed sustainability into their procurement processes.
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‘Is the delivery of a relevant contract for essential services or works, or supply of required materials or products, potentially vulnerable to climate change impacts? Is there a relevant opportunity to minimise risks from known and anticipated climate change on essential services, works or supply through:
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For example, the Sustainability Test includes the following description regarding Climate Change Adaptation:
This guidance considers relevant and proportionate measures that procurers may consider, addressing the above risks. It makes a distinction where relevant between the two aspects given that they may not both apply to planned procurements.
The guidance reinforces the criticality of pre-procurement consideration of intended outcomes and optimum methods of delivery of these, involving mature dialogue internally and with the market. It also provides relevant procurement guidance, aligned with the Procurement Journey, with example wording within Annex 3.
This guidance should be considered, where relevant, alongside other Climate Change guidance, which focus on mitigation measures – Climate and energy - Vehicle emissions – Carbon in production. Opportunities for jobs and skills to support climate change mitigation and adaptation may also be relevant so you may also consider the Employment, Skills and Training guide.
Users of this guidance should have completed the Climate Literacy e-learning, available from the Sustainable Procurement Tools portal.
Adaptation involves taking action to manage known or anticipated climate change impacts, including on population health, infrastructure and supply resilience of essential goods, services and works.
Known or anticipated climate change impacts in Scotland can potentially affect coastal erosion and rising sea levels, threatening the safety of coastal communities, public health, and the exposure of key infrastructure to extreme weather, such as the transport network and buildings both when in use and under construction. See the Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029.
Meanwhile, production of materials and products procured which involve supply chains that go beyond Scotland, spanning the UK, the European Union, and the rest of the World could also be equally, or even more intensely, impacted.
The consequences of doing nothing can be catastrophic, with greatest impacts on the most vulnerable, so action should be fair and equitable.
As Adaptation Scotland states:
‘Without adaptation, Scotland’s aspirations for economic success, poverty reduction, nature and high-quality public services will be undermined by the effects of climate change. But actions to address climate impacts can deliver multiple co-benefits for health, wellbeing, equity, economic growth, jobs and biodiversity.’
Climate resilient supply chains can benefit businesses and public sector customers by reducing risks, lower long-term costs, enhance business and supply continuity and brand reputation while improving efficiency.
It may only be appropriate to consider climate change adaptation for A. Services or works or B. Supply chain resilience in certain contracts, but they can be potentially significant across a range of requirements.
Consideration of the role that procurement has in addressing adaptation and supply chain resilience requires assessment of relevant risks to services, works or essential supplies.
Examples of adaptation measures within services and works include:
It is important to consider whether essential materials or supplies are sourced from areas known to be vulnerable to climate change, and whether there is an opportunity to address this now.
Some of the climate change effects are happening now and accelerating. Others will take time to manifest themselves.
Ensure that risks are considered prior to and during the lifetime of the contract in question so that they are core to the subject matter of the contract.
Consequently, contracting authorities must consider carefully:
Life Cycle Impact Mapping (LCIM) may be used to help identify relevant risks. See Annex 1 for more details and an example
It is also of course important to focus on those risks that you have influence over, which you would consider when completing the Sustainability Test (whilst seeking assurances that other risks are being managed by other parties, as appropriate).
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