We may look back at summer 2026 as the point when climate change became truly tangible for many of us in the UK. Hosepipe bans have affected millions and wildfires have tested emergency services like never before – culminating in shocking images of burned-out homes in the West Midlands.
ECIU analysis of industry forecasts also suggests 2026 could be the worst UK harvest on record, costing farmers hundreds of millions in lost revenue – with the risk of costs being passed onto customers.
Many retailers are already adapting to climate threats: strengthening refrigeration, protecting employees and managing supply chains to maintain continuity in the face of extreme weather and an unstable climate. These are all welcome and important steps. But keeping businesses running is only part of the job. Just as critical is keeping customers informed, supported and able to make decisions when service is impacted or fails.
Customers notice who looks after them when things go wrong and service-conscious retailers stand to gain. Our recent research on climate change found 72% of consumers say an organisation’s responsiveness and customer service during an extreme weather event made them trust it more – 28% a lot more. And 66% say poor service during such an event would make them consider switching to a competitor.
If customer experience matters this much to trust and retention, it’s worth understanding where customers fit into the current governance conversations on climate preparedness. Fortunately, mandatory climate reporting offers a window into boardroom thinking.
Since 2022, the UK’s largest companies have had to report each year, using the international Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, on how climate change could hurt or help their business – and their filings show where customer service fits into their climate strategies.
In the recent climate disclosures of some of the nation’s largest retailers, customers appear in three ways: as shifting demand, as a reputational risk if the business is seen to lag behind on the move to net zero and as a market for new, greener products. Very little consideration is given to customers as stakeholders who need looking after when extreme weather disrupts service, even though how they are treated in those moments can cost or earn a business real money.
When these reports do mention stores forced to close by extreme weather, the closures tend to be counted as lost sales – not as customers left without a service. Retailers are not breaking the rules here. Their reports do exactly what the framework asks: set out how climate change affects the bottom line. The problem is that what gets reported gets discussed in the boardroom – and what is left out of the reports is likely to be left out of strategy too.
Closing the climate reporting gap
Closing that gap starts with putting customer service higher up the agenda – and the months following our dramatic summer are the best time to begin. Retailers should take this opportunity to reconsider their climate risk and opportunity mapping to develop lasting strategies for climate-resilient customer service.
Just some of the basics include warning customers early, across every channel, about service disruptions; building contact capacity for when significant issues arise; giving realistic service restoration timescales; prioritising vulnerable customers wherever possible; and reviewing what happened after every major disruption.
This matters more, not less, in a difficult economy. Our UK Customer Satisfaction Index shows consumer confidence falling, and when confidence falls people go out less and spend less. Good service that holds firm under strain is one of the few things capable of interrupting that cycle. Ultimately, short-termism has kept the customer out of the boardroom and extreme weather is now putting a price on that. Climate-resilient customer service is what closes the gap, and the organisations that build it will retain more customers for the long-term.
Jo Causon is CEO of the Institute of Customer Service
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