The challenge of climate change in the world has hitherto perplexed scholars and professionals, with reports of climate change not sparing the manufacturing sector. All countries are most vulnerable to this threat and will suffer greatly if no action is taken. In the 21st century, scientists have confirmed with great concern the severe weather conditions that are expected to become harsher. The aim of the chapter is to explore the effect of climate change on the manufacturing sector. Literature has been used as a source of secondary data. The effect of climate is examined from five major business strategic positions: productivity, business risk, goods and services, chemicals and minerals, natural resources, and buildings. The chapter also covers the need for manufactures to adapt to climate change with various possible actions that can be taken by the sector against climate impacts on business. Continuous staff and management training and education on climate change is recommended.
TopIntroduction
Concerns about climate change have been rising significantly over the past decade, and recently, the top five long term risks mentioned by the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report are all in the environmental circle. With every key signs pointing to a bad condition getting worse (Drzik, 2020). Factoring climate change into the business equation is not common practice in the manufacturing sector, yet it is expected to produce goods and services and present these for human consumption. The impact of climate change on the manufacturing sector in today is something that cannot be disputed. According to the Kenya private sector alliance (2014), the world manufacturing sector is largely comprised of agro processing. Production includes paper production, textile and apparels, pharmaceutical and medical equipment, as well as building construction, and chemical-related industries (Ridoutt, Sanguansri, Bonney, Crimp, Lewis, and Lim-Camacho, 2016). Unreliable power generation and supply in most parts of the world is the reason most manufacturing industries make use of emergency power systems. This is evidence that the 21st century manufacturing sector has completely transformed from its traditional routine to a modern energy setup. Should no actions be taken to mitigate the impact of climate change, this study believes that manufactures will cease to operate.
The growing unreliability of power generation and supply calls for researchers to begin experimenting with the idea of allowing climate change to slowly aid in increasing productivity. The well-known 21st century scientist, Stephen Hawkins, predicted that climate change has the potential to collapse the entire world. However, regardless of several scientific hypotheses, there is a notable lack of awareness and misconstructions that have made it difficult for businesses to adequately respond to the trial (Crutezen, 2000). This is confirmed by Nabegu and Ali (2016), who state that the subject of change in climate has, to date, been discussed and investigated mainly by the scholarly society and very little has been shared to communities. While climate change has taken its toll and affected businesses, there have been gaps in addressing the effect of climate change in the manufacturing sector and it is without doubt that there remains scope for improvement in this field. This chapter discusses the role and impact of climate change in the manufacturing sector. In fact, the extreme weather conditions we are experiencing require our maximum attention as these are expected to increase (Nabegu and Ali, 2016).