Corporate Sustainability Report - Flipbook - Page 68
Sustainability Report
Risks and opportunities | PHYSICAL RISKS
Risk/opportunity
type and time
horizon
Description of risk/
opportunity
Description
of response
Business disruption
Extreme weather
conditions that could be
either chronic or acute
Extreme weather conditions, such as
heatwaves, 昀氀oodings, rising sea levels,
heavy rain, storms, or extreme winds,
can pose both acute and chronic
physical risks to human communities
and business activities.
Business continuity measures are
in place for our o昀케ces. Employees
are equipped with remote working
equipment enabling them to work
remotely if they are unable to attend
the o昀케ce or meetings in person.
These extreme weather events are
already having a signi昀椀cant impact that
could result in localised disruption in
providing services to our customers
resulting in loss of earnings. (Access
has o昀케ces in locations which could
face disruption as a result of 昀氀ooding,
hurricanes, rising sea level and
wild昀椀res, droughts, power outages,
etc.).
Increased resilience due to investment
(e.g. IT infrastructure) has improved
resilience to climate change weather
impacts by enhancing agile working
昀氀exibility.
Timeframe
Medium- to long-term
In particular Europe, South-East
Asia (India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and
Vietnam) and North America are
experiencing higher temperatures.
Rising sea levels could impact our
o昀케ces in Australia, New Zealand and
Vietnam. However, in all these areas
Access leases o昀케ces and data centers
therefore giving us the 昀氀exibility to
move our locations as required. These
physical risks, represented by extreme
weather conditions, could potentially
a昀昀ect with di昀昀ering magnitudes, our
o昀케ces in Europe, APAC and North
America resulting in potential disaster
recovery costs.
Increased energy costs
Extreme weather
conditions
Timeframe
Short-to long-term
Changes in temperature are impacting
the heating and cooling of our o昀케ces
resulting in cost escalation and impact
on security of supply.
Extreme weather events are already
increasing in severity and frequency
and are likely to increase further with
higher levels of warming – this could
lead to Access incurring increased
costs in other areas associated with
potential 昀氀ooding/昀椀re, etc., as well as
increased insurance costs.
Ensuring remote working capabilities
for Access employees across the globe
improves resilience to climate change
weather impacts making Access more
agile enabling more 昀氀exibility and
ensuring the level of service remains
consistent despite restrictions caused
by climate change.
Access continues to review its
operations globally against climate
risk to identify key services which
could be a昀昀ected and relocate them, if
necessary.
Both o昀케ce locations and energy
performance are considered as part of
the Access long-term business strategy
– operating from energy e昀케cient
buildings will reduce our Scope 1 and
Scope 2 carbon emissions signi昀椀cantly.
Access will continue to target and
achieve energy reductions across its
operations as well as continue the
process of switching to renewable
energy globally.
As the proportion of electricity coming
from renewables increases from yearto-year, there should be more access
to green tari昀昀s and more stability
in energy prices. However, with the
extension of the electric vehicles
market, and the proliferation of AI,
there would be a greater demand for
electricity, which in turn could result in
higher electricity prices.
Access will select, where possible, new
premises with on-site capture and
storage technology to reduce exposure
to energy costs increases.
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