
STEELCASE INC.’S CLIMATE RISK SCENARIO ANALYSIS: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Steelcase Inc. has acquired the help of The University of Michigan to collaborate on risk and opportunities of climate change. Master students Grant Alpert, Michelle Black, and Katie Portz were assigned Steelcase, an office furniture business founded in Grand Rapids, MI, to develop a series of company-specific climate scenario analyses. Climate change effects have the potential to be particularly devastating to a large, interconnected company, as many supply chains are designed with efficiency rather than resiliency. When these types of firms experience severe and unpredictable events to their supply chain, the damages can be costly. As a result, this project seeks to address Steelcase’s main challenge of assessing the impact of global climate change on Steelcase Corporation, their supply chain, and their clients. The Master’s Team has been asked to prepare a series of Climate Risk Scenario Analyses (CRSA) that highlight potential transitional and physical risks in Steelcase's operations and future financial situation. To ensure this analysis is in-depth and accurate, the CRSA will include scientific data, information from surveys and interviews, data on related markets, environmental regulations, and data from leading climate change institutions. Prior to conducting the climate risk scenarios, an interview and survey was conducted. The interview and survey portion of the analysis will aid in understanding the current mitigations and adaptation capacities regarding climate change within Steelcase’s supply chain in North America. The benefit of this analysis is to increase knowledge about the specificity of education in Steelcase’s Supply Chain Engagement Seminar, with an aim to align current supply chain’s climate change measures and expected impacts based on the transitional and physical scenario analysis.
Kathryn Portz, Michelle Black, Grant Alpert