Turning Uncertainty into Action: Why Every Business Needs a Climate Transition Plan
All businesses rely on a stable climate and the ecosystem services provided by a biodiverse environment; clean air, fresh water, fertile soil. These aren’t luxuries. They are the backbone of a functioning economy. As climate change and biodiversity loss accelerate, the risks to business continuity, supply chains, and long-term viability are becoming impossible to ignore.
Additionally, tightening regulations, shifting consumer expectations and supply chain pressures, we can see that the business landscape is changing fast. Climate-related disruptions such as floods, wildfires, resource scarcity, are already impacting operations and increasing the cost of doing business. Meanwhile, procurement teams and investors are demanding greater transparency and action on environmental performance.
Even as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) faces political pushback, the underlying risks haven’t gone away. If anything, the external narrative may be quieter, but internal expectations and stakeholder scrutiny remain high. The result? A growing gap between what companies are doing and what they’re willing to say they’re doing.
That’s why climate transition plans are no longer a “nice to have.” They are a strategic imperative.
A climate transition plan is more than a sustainability pledge. It’s a practical roadmap that outlines how your business will adapt to and thrive in a low-carbon economy. It identifies risks, opportunities, and the investments needed to stay competitive.
Transition plans help businesses cut emissions, reduce costs, and improve access to capital. They also strengthen risk management, drive innovation, and build resilience. Most importantly, they ensure companies stay ahead of regulatory demands and meet growing expectations from customers, investors, and communities.
Here in Ibec, Irish Medtech and Engineering Sustainability Working Group hosted a hands-on workshop with KPMG’s Sustainable Futures team in Ibec. The session focused on the value of transition plans, beyond compliance, and how they can be used as tools for resilience and growth.
Key Takeaways included the importance of:
- Setting Net Zero Targets: Using credible methodologies like SBTi
- Developing Transition Plans: Including strategic levers, CapEx/OpEx planning, and operational transformation
- Implementing Decarbonisation Strategies: Across operations, supply chains, and product portfolios
- Embedding Enablers: Skills, data, technology, governance, and culture
More specifically, to build a credible transition plan, businesses should:
- Conduct a GHG inventory
- Benchmark operations and assess technologies
- Evaluate raw materials and product portfolios
- Set targets and define a transition strategy
- Assess financial impacts and build a business case
- Explore funding and incentives
- Develop a roadmap and KPIs
- Establish governance structures
- Build internal capabilities
- Ensure robust reporting and assurance
The importance of supply chain and talent engagement came through as a clear opportunity and challenge. With a clear takeaway that companies need to ask themselves: Do I understand my supply chain? Have I mapped it? Am I collaborating with my top suppliers to move the dial?
Because the question is no longer if the transition is coming. It’s whether you’re ready for it.
Jenny Hughes
Environmental Sustainability Executive
Ibec
