Two in five companies are worried about heatwaves and other environmental challenges, according to latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data.

Of these one in ten say they are very concerned, as ONS's statistics for September to October this year reveal firms are increasingly worried about climate change’s impact. When asked last September, just one in four said they were concerned.

Fear of environmental impacts among businesses is at its highest level since February 2023, said the UK’s data collection agency.

It added that this year, three in ten businesses are concerned about nature and biodiversity risks caused by climate change.

The ONS suggests a factor in the increase in environmental concerns among businesses is that the survey coincided with a period of heatwaves, which was the hottest summer on record in the UK.

Last month analysis by Ordnance Survey revealed that four in five UK charities are already “highly vulnerable” to extreme heat.

Portsmouth, Leicester, Exeter, Nottingham, Brighton and Bristol are most at risk, with almost two in three set to reach “severe heat vulnerability” by the turn of the century, Ordnance Survey warned.

Consumer concerns

The ONS's figures also show that almost two in five consumers say that a failure of polluting firms to change their behaviour is a barrier to undertaking their own action to protect the planet.

Although more than three in four consumers have made some or a lot of changes to their lifestyle to help tackle climate change.

The figures also show that more than eight in ten women have made changes for the environment, compared to just over seven in ten men.

Regionally, the areas where people are more likely to make changes are London, the South East and South West. Self employed people are also more likely than salaried workers to alter their lifestyle for the planet.

Heatwaves are the biggest environmental issue to impact them, listed by almost four in five consumers. A similar proportion say it will be the biggest risk they face in the future.

One in four have been impacted by wildfires with around one in five impacted by strong winds and floods.

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