Local businesses from around Cumbria are set to become more resilient to the impacts of extreme weather as a result of two free workshops funded by the Lake District National Park and Eden District Council this month (6 and 8 Dec).
Led by climate support organisation CLASP, , the sessions offered practical guidance to businesses following Storm Desmond in a bid to help them prepare for climate-related impacts such as flooding and power loss.
Described as ‘insightful’ by one business, the workshops explored the impacts of these events on businesses, what future risks might be faced and what local businesses can do to help boost their own climate resilience.
Sam Hagon, Strategy and Partnership Adviser at the Lake District National Park, said: “We might not be able to stop extreme weather events, but if there are simple steps to take that lessen the impact on businesses – then that’s the kind of information we wanted to share.”
Using an online tool, business owners left with a bespoke overview of their own operation’s strengths and vulnerabilities – and their own action plan. The Health Check tool looks at key areas of an individual business – including premises, operations, staffing, logistics, insurance and finance to give helpful and relevant measures that can lessen the impact of extreme weather events. It is freely available for anyone to use and takes around 30-60 minutes to complete. Access it at http://businessresiliencehealthcheck.co.uk/
Participants also took away a free copy of the new ‘Weathering the Storm’ booklet, a guide for Cumbrian businesses, available at http://claspinfo.org/CumbriaAdapt
Further details on the online tool or hard copies of the booklet are available by contacting Sam Hagon on 01539 724555 or at Samantha.hagon@lakedistrict.gov.uk.
