In the 100+ strategic planning processes we have led with clients, this process has become uniquely pivotal in the last two years.

Each engagement in the past two years has resulted in 180 degree pivots. Why?

In mapping trends forward a decade and talking with consumers about how those trends could change their lives, the organizations discovered unique opportunities to impact problems they assumed could not be budged.

The other theme that came out loud in clear in that work is the impact of climate. The clients expressed doubt that climate would significantly impact their planning at the beginning of each of these engagements. But, 100 percent of the time climate or climate mitigation drove big changes in their planning.

What is the cost of not planning? Let’s use the state of Florida as an example.

Bond rating organizations like Moody’s are beginning to calculate climate risk. In 2023 Moody’s noted rated Florida #3 in the US for the biggest (negative) climate impact on industry output, predicting Florida will experience the second largest climate related payroll decline in the US by 2053. This is because Florida’s prosperity is largely tied to overvalued property, construction, tourism, and agriculture, all of which will be drastically (negatively) impacted by climate changes in the coming decades (e.g., increased flooding, slower moving hurricanes, increased heat).

Ironically, despite the record number of extreme heat days in Florida (predicted to increase an additional 38 percent in the next 15 years) and the concerning predictions outlined above, Florida passed legislation last week removing state requirements that employees be allowed hydration breaks. The state also entertained, but did not pass, legislation that would ban governments and municipalities from including climate predictions in their planning and regulations.