Learning to talk risk: the key to making climate conversations land

That’s what we’ve been working on at BDO. When we conducted a climate scenario analysis across our global network, we looked at physical risks (like flooding, wildfires, extreme heat) for over 850 offices worldwide, and we considered transition risks related to regulation, reputation, and market dynamics.

Was it perfect? No. Was it deep and localised for every country? No! But it gave us a map and a starting point for conversation.

And here’s what we learned.

Lesson one: make the data relevant

If we want climate risk to be taken seriously, we must anchor the data in what matters to business leaders. That means explaining the relevance of the data using less theory and focusing more on business implications. 

• Which assets, operations, or supply chains face material exposure?
• How could water scarcity, extreme heat, or regulation disrupt core activities?
• Where do opportunities emerge, whether through innovation, cost savings, or competitive positioning?

Communicating climate insights as responsible business leaders - rather than climate specialists - helps move climate from an abstract threat to a set of concrete insights that feed directly into business planning, enabling leaders to prioritise investments, adapt strategies, and allocate resources where they will have the greatest impact.

Lesson two: make it personal 

One of our team members put it best: climate risk is not a separate issue, it’s a lens, something to apply to the business concerns you already have.

• If you work in operations, that might mean asking what happens to your supply chain in a drought
• If you’re in finance, you might care how an increase in severe weather events impacts your access to capital or insurance premiums
• If you’re in risk management, climate becomes another variable in your scenario matrix - not a different category altogether.

We’ve found that by personalising the climate conversation - not just by geography but by job function - it starts to land because we are shifting the message to what people already understand and care about, and what they feel they have some influence over.

Lesson three: make risk the way in

Sustainability doesn’t always have a seat at the table. But risk does.

That’s why we’re starting to engage more closely with our internal risk leaders. If we want to move climate from the sidelines to the strategy table, we have to make friends with the people who manage risk for a living. That means speaking their language, embedding climate risk into familiar frameworks, and demonstrating how climate affects business continuity and enterprise resilience.

When climate is treated as another element of risk - rather than a separate moral issue - it can join the conversation where decisions are made.

Looking ahead

In 2026, our largest BDO firms will be required to conduct their own climate risk and opportunity evaluations, with some firms already having started. That’s encouraging. But the real value isn’t in the reports and checklists - it’s in the conversations. It’s about using the evaluations as a launchpad to ask better questions: What if? What then? And what can we do now?

A call to climate communicators

If you're someone who already understands the importance of climate risk, here’s my ask:

• Use scenario planning to meet uncertainty with action.
• Learn to speak a new language. Speak to your colleagues in the terms they already use.
• Bring climate into the discussion as a core business issue, not an outlier. 

And above all, remember that if we are going to effect change, sustainability must become a business issue - not just a moral one.