Events caused by climate change are expected to become more intense and more frequent across WA in the months and years ahead. Now is the best time to put plans in place to avoid any supply chain disruptions and avoid negative impacts on your business.
A growing number of climate related events, such as bushfires, floods, heatwaves, cyclones and droughts are expected across WA. As a small business owner, it’s important to stay ahead of how these events could impact your business.
Western Australia covers an expanse of land that’s more than 2.5 million square kilometres and has a highly interconnected economy. As a result, events that impact one region can have a ripple effect on small businesses hundreds of kilometres away. For example, recent flooding in South Australia has resulted in the major east-west railway line being closed after floodwaters washed away significant sections of the track. The railway line is the major freight route transporting 80 percent of interstate supplies into WA.
Understanding these supply chain vulnerabilities, and how they could affect your operations is a vital part in building a resilient business.
How climate change can cause supply chain disruptions
Even if your business isn’t located in an area directly affected by climate related events, such as flood prone regions, these impacts can still ripple across supply chains in unexpected ways. Climate events in one part of the state, country or world can affect the availability, cost and delivery of goods and services for businesses everywhere.
Here are some examples of how climate related events can disrupt supply chains:
- Droughts can impact agricultural production and water availability. For example, if you run a food related business, some of your key ingredients may become scarce or unavailable when you need them.
- Heatwaves can affect equipment performance, product quality and even employee health and productivity. For instance, extreme heat may cause damage to or spoilage of stock that would normally be supplied to your business.
- Bushfires can lead to road closures or damage to infrastructure. If your business relies on goods being transported through affected areas, delays could leave you short of stock.
- Cyclones can have a similarly damaging impact on infrastructure, roads and production facilities. They can also disrupt ports and shipping lanes, meaning products or supplies order from other areas of the world could be delayed or unavailable for extended periods. For example, a port having to close for a period of time because a cyclone has been forecast.
- Floods can cause direct damage to goods in storage or in transit and often result in road closures that disrupt deliveries.
- Severe storm and hail can damage crops, infrastructure, vehicles and equipment. For example, storm events can put an entire harvest at risk, which would have a direct effect on the businesses that rely on that produce.
Climate impacts don’t stop at a state or national level. For example, flooding and extreme weather in major cocoa producing regions overseas has contributed to global cocoa shortages, driving up prices and affecting businesses far removed from where the event occurred. For WA small businesses that rely on imported ingredients or materials, climate events overseas can quickly translate into higher costs or supply delays.
Fitzroy Crossing flooding: An example of widespread impacts
When the Kimberley region experienced record flooding in 2023, it created widespread issues for local communities and businesses across WA. Major roads leading in and out of the region were flooded, along with Fitzroy Crossing and the local airstrip.
Freight routes were cut during this time, impacting businesses and consumers across WA. When transport routes gradually reopened, priority was given to delivering food and medical supplies to affected communities impacted by the flooding. As a result, delays to other goods moving in and out of the region continued for some time.
This is just one example of how a climate event occurring far away from most WA businesses can still have statewide impacts.
What you can do as a business owner
You can’t predict exactly which climate events will affect your unique supply chain, but there are steps you can take now to build a more resilient business.
Start by thinking about the critical risk areas such as transport infrastructure, regional production, and energy networks. Consider how disruptions in these areas could create risks for your business, and how you might protect against potential problems such as stock shortages, delivery delays, issues with product quality or increased costs related to increased demand.
Regardless of what type of business you run, it’s worth putting plans in place now. The good news is that you don’t have to do this alone.The Climate Ready program has been developed to support businesses in preparing for these changes.
The Climate Ready Program for small and medium enterprises
The Climate Ready program will include workshops, tools and resources designed to support WA’s small business community and help businesses build resilience in the face of the changes and challenges ahead. Workshop attendees will also have the opportunity to apply for funding to help put their climate adaptation plans into action.
Sign up to be the first to know when these workshops go live and get your business climate ready.
