BS 8631: Adaptation to climate change - Using adaptation pathways for decision making

Recorded: 21 July 2021 (14:00 - 15:30 UK time)

What’s this webinar about?

The climate is changing and making the right decisions around adaption and resilience is increasingly importa​nt. BSI is taking a lead in supporting organizations with good practice in this area.

With an introduction from the Adaptation sub-Committee of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, the webinar includes how adaptation to climate change should be approached – moving from policy to implementation. It introduces a new British Standard BS 8631:2021 Adaptation to climate change. Using adaptation pathways for decision making. Guide, which helps organizations create long-term plans and make decisions within the uncertainty and risks of a changing climate.

Who is this webinar for?

• Decision-makers in organizations of all sizes and sectors, with concerns about the impacts of a changing climate on them and their supply chain including at board/CEO/director level
• Environmental, OH&S and sustainability managers
• Operations, facilities and supply chain managers
• Asset and risk managers
• Specialist consultants
• Infrastructure operators and planners, and local government planners
• Professional institutions
• Reporting authorities and regulators

What will you gain?

• A stronger understanding of why adaptation is important
• Expert insight into how to implement adaptation in an organization
• Knowledge of how BS 8631 and adaptation pathways could be developed and applied

Agenda

14:00 - 14:05 Welcome and introduction - Lesley Wilson, Lead Standards Development Manager, British Standards Institution (BSI)

14:05 - 14:20 Adaptation, policy and context - Rosalyn Schofield, member of the Adaptation Committee, Climate Change Committee (CCC)

14:20 - 14:35 Implementing adaptation across the City of London using pathways - Janet Laban, Senior Sustainability Planner, City of London Corporation

14:35 - 15:55 An introduction to what’s inside BS 8631 - Tim Reeder, Independent Advisor, London Climate Change Partnership (LCCP)

15:55 - 15:25 Q&A and panel discussion - Chaired by Geoff Darch, Water Resources Strategy Manager, Anglian Water Services alongside Tim Reeder, Independent Advisor, London Climate Change Partnership (LCCP), Rosalyn Schofield, member of the Adaptation Committee, Climate Change Committee (CCC), Peter von Lany, Senior Associate Director, Jacobs & Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Janet Laban, Senior Sustainability Planner, City of London Corporation

15:25 - 15:30 Wrap up and end of the webinar

Rosalyn Schofield is a solicitor and a member of the Adaptation Committee, an advisory Non-Departmental Public Body created under the Climate Change Act (2008). It is part of the Climate Change Committee (CCC).

She was Director of Company Secretariat at Associated British Foods plc, where she had global responsibility for leading and reporting on the environmental sustainability and impact of its businesses. Rosalyn is also a Council Member of the University of Hull and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee there as well as at the Climate Change Committee.

She has previously worked as Legal Director at JD Wetherspoon plc and was a commercial property lawyer in private practice.

Janet Laban is a Senior Sustainability Planner for the City of London Corporation leading on climate resilience for London’s financial and business district.

She has developed an adaptation pathways plan for the Square Mile which is being implemented as part of the City’s recently adopted Climate Action Strategy.

Tim Reeder has over forty years’ experience in the environmental field and has been involved in climate change issues for most of that time. He was a contributing author to the IPCC 4^th assessment report, the UKCP09 projections report and the second National Climate Change Risk Assessment. He is an advisor to the London Climate Change partnership, which he helped to set up.

He was the Project Scientist for the Environment Agency’s Thames Estuary 2100 project, which looked at the future of the Thames Barrier and flood risk management in the Thames Estuary and pioneered the concept of Adaptation Pathways. He chaired the panel which has produced the new British standard 8631 on Decision making and Adaptation Pathways. He has written several papers on climate change, uncertainty and decision making and continues to contribute to climate change adaptation practice and policy, working in the UK and abroad.

Peter von Lany is a Senior Associate Director at Jacobs and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He has extensive international experience in strategic decision-making relating to water resources planning, flood risk management, and climate change adaptation.

Peter is currently involved in developing an adaptive planning framework for use by The Environment Agency and the River Severn Partnership. He is also providing advice to water utilities on incorporating adaptation responses to climate change within long-term water resources planning and investment.

Peter helped draft BS 8631:2021. In 2017, he contributed to the drafting of ISO 14090:2019 on climate change adaptation. He recently contributed to the peer-review of the Third UK National Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3); and, in 2018, he developed a set of outline adaptation pathways to help explore long-term strategic flood and coastal erosion management policies at selected coastal sites in the UK coastline in response to sea-level rise and other climate impacts.

Geoff is senior strategy leader at Anglian Water responsible for long-term water resources planning, drought planning, water trading and the development of strategic schemes. 

Lesley Wilson is a Lead Standards Development Manager at BSI, the UK’s National Standards Body. She has been delivering standards solutions for business in the field of environmental management for over 10 years, working with national and international experts to create good practice for a more sustainable and secure world.