AXA Climate announces the official launch of Altitude for businesses, an innovative platform designed to measure the impact of climate risks, implement an adaptation strategy and feed into their CSRD reporting.
Based on a set of proprietary data derived from the latest IPCC report, Altitude quantifies the medium- and long-term climate risk weighing on companies’ sites and activities, taking into account the specific local characteristics of each company, business sector and biodiversity. It helps companies to manage their climate strategy, from anticipating and measuring the impact on their activities to implementing adaptation measures.
AXA Climate, which has been working with industrial companies for a long time through its consulting and training activities, is thus strengthening its offer of support to make climate adaptation effective. Capitalising on these years of experience, the development of Altitude has been carried out in close collaboration with existing CSR managers and Risk Managers, partners of AXA Climate.
A science- and data-based solution to support business strategy and risk measurement
Altitude meets the strategic needs of companies faced with increasing climate risks in their day-to-day activities. The platform can be used to identify the sites most exposed to climate risks and assess the potential impacts, in order to define effective adaptation strategies. For example, thanks to Altitude, a global industrial player in the agri-food sector was able to measure that the duration of heat waves in one of its refrigerated warehouses could increase from 10 days at present to more than 40 days a year in 2050, according to certain IPCC scenarios, impacting on employees’ working conditions and the operation of refrigerated areas. Similarly, Elodie Dunant, Risk Manager at Forvia, praises “the usefulness for risk managers of analysing the exposure of assets to climate risks and assessing potential claims”.
Altitude is also an asset when it comes to developing new assets or carrying out mergers and acquisitions, by analysing the present and future risks of target sites.
Adapting businesses to climate change, taking account of the local context and specificities
Faced with an increase in the intensity and probability of climatic hazards, companies need to adapt their buildings, production processes and site management. As well as providing data on exposure to climatic hazards, Altitude also describes the potential impacts through a precise diagnosis of vulnerability, and recommends possible adaptation measures. Michelin users particularly appreciate “the catalogue of adaptation solutions, which helps them to guide their strategic decisions”. Another example: a European pharmaceutical group, using Altitude, identified a very high risk of water stress in one of its plants in Mexico, where one of the processes uses a large quantity of water. After consulting on adaptation measures to reduce water stress, and involving local technical management, the group initiated a site visit that led to the implementation of a more water-efficient cleaning system.
In addition to a company’s own sites, Altitude enables risks to be analysed across its entire supply chain. Purchasing teams can engage in discussions with exposed strategic suppliers to understand their level of climate adaptation. The Bouygues Group’s climate coordinator highlights “the relevance of the tool for assessing dependencies and vulnerabilities to environmental challenges, in a context of multiple crises”.
A tool built as closely as possible to users’ needs
Altitude is already providing concrete, customised solutions to a range of players faced with a variety of climatic hazards. For the past 2 years, Altitude’s platforms have been used by investors and companies in the agricultural sector. To develop this new platform, more than 70 interviews and user tests, as well as the participation of 20 beta-testing companies, enabled the team to understand users’ needs and design innovative functionalities to meet them.
This development method means that users quickly get to grips with the tool. The CSR managers at Imerys and Sandaya respectively appreciate “the quality of the visualisation” and “the time saved” by the tool. Finally, Knauf’s risk teams praise the “cartographic, interactive and intuitive” aspect of the platform.
A platform in line with the regulatory agenda
In the current context, where companies are facing increased reporting requirements, particularly with the implementation of the CSRD, Altitude makes it possible to feed the Dual Materiality matrix and extra-financial reports with accurate data. For the 50,000 companies that will have to report under the CSRD, Altitude provides reliable scientific data for both climate risks (ESRS E1) and biodiversity risks (ESRS E4).
“Faced with the urgency of climate change and its growing effects, Altitude is an essential decision-making tool, based on rigorous scientific data”, explains Théophile Bellouard, Director of Altitude by AXA Climate. “It enables businesses to accurately assess the exposure of their sites to climate risks and to model various adaptation measures in order to determine the most effective strategy. With Altitude, AXA Climate is strengthening its commitment to a sustainable and resilient future for all businesses. “
