To ensure the voice of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is heard in the global climate change debate, ICC’s Commission on Environment and Energy is conducting a survey with ICC’s World Chambers Federation (WCF).

The two-part survey will take place over the coming months, in the run up to the WCF World Chambers Congress in June 2009. Chambers in ICC’s global network will ask member SMEs to complete a questionnaire. Firms will be asked about their experiences in adapting to the effects of climate change and the opportunities and challenges that adaptation has posed.

The survey will also ask chambers to detail their latest services and activities in place to help their members address climate change.

Climate change is predicted to have myriad effects, from increasing average temperatures to knock-on effects on agriculture and weather patterns, and is an important issue for business and industry.

ICC is the focal point for business and industry in the negotiations taking place through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to develop a post-2012 global framework agreement on climate change. Adaptation is one of the main areas under the Bali Action Plan, a two-year process that is currently underway to reach agreement at the UNFCCC meeting in Copenhagen next year.  

Chambers of commerce around the world are also helping their members meet the challenges of climate change. In Australia, the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) helps small firms in the southeast conserve energy and water and reduce waste. Dubbed “Grow Me the Money,” the initiative provides SMEs with an easy, low-cost way to identify improvements in operating practices which benefit the bottom line and the environment. The project was a finalist last year in WCF’s World Chambers Competition for entrepreneurial innovation.

ICC will use results of the survey to inform on its activities during the UNFCCC negotiations. The feedback will also inform discussions at the 6th World Chambers Congress, which takes place in Kuala Lumpur on 3-5 June and has as its theme “Leading Sustainable Growth and Change.” The economic impacts of climate change and the interplay of food and water shortages with the energy crisis will be discussed during the Congress.

You can learn more about ICC’s work on climate change and the WCF by visiting the following links:

6th World Chambers Congress
ICC’s climate change activities
ICC discussion paper on adaptation for business