Climate change is already slowing down 81% of companies: how to measure your impact before it affects your business

Climate change is already taking a toll on business growth. This is no longer about long-term scenarios, but about visible signals in day-to-day operations: higher energy costs, more fragile supply chains, more exposed processes, and customers beginning to demand information that many companies still cannot provide. World Economic Forum quantifies it clearly: in 81% of countries, the impact of climate change is already identified as a brake on economic growth.

For years, sustainability was managed as a reputational issue—relevant, but not decisive in decision-making. That framework is now outdated.

Today, climate directly affects costs, margins, and competitive capacity. The difference no longer lies in acknowledging environmental impact, but in the ability to anticipate it and manage it before it erodes the business.

How climate change slows growth

The data is clear: in 81% of countries, climate change is perceived as a brake on economic growth. In addition, 42% of CEOs already treat climate as an immediate financial risk.

The key lies not only in the impact itself, but in how it materialises within companies. It doesn’t show up as one major shock, but as an accumulation of frictions that gradually erode growth.

Higher costs, lower margins‍

Rising energy prices and the cost of critical raw materials have become one of the main barriers to growth in most economies. It’s not just about paying more—it also means losing price competitiveness and reducing the margin available for investment.

Less operational stability‍

Extreme weather events are affecting suppliers, transport, and resource availability. As a result, supply chains are becoming less predictable. The outcome: more disruptions, higher hidden costs, and reduced planning capacity.

More fragile productivity‍

Extreme climate conditions are also starting to impact real productivity: fewer effective working hours, lower performance, and greater operational strain.

More complex decision-making‍

As climate risk comes into play, decisions are no longer purely economic. Where to produce, who to work with, and where to invest increasingly depend on environmental exposure.

Where capital is moving

If climate change is slowing economic growth, the green transition is doing the opposite: concentrating investment and opening up new pathways. According to the World Economic Forum, sectors such as technology, energy, industry, and transition-related services will capture a significant share of economic growth in the coming years.

Behind this lies something even more important than sustainability itself: a shift in how capital is allocated.

Capital is no longer neutral‍

An increasing number of investment decisions—from funds to banking—now incorporate criteria related to environmental impact and exposure to climate risk. What does this mean? Companies that are better positioned have greater access to financing.

New competitive rules‍

The transition doesn’t just create opportunities—it also reshapes market rules. It’s increasingly common for:

• Clients to require environmental data in order to work with you
• Large companies to push requirements down their supply chains
• Tenders to include impact-related criteria

Sustainability is no longer a differentiator—it’s becoming a baseline requirement.

The real gap isn’t intent, it’s execution
At this point, most companies understand what’s happening—but don’t know how to operationalise it. In practice, the main blockers tend to be:

• Missing or fragmented data
• Difficulty measuring real impact (especially Scope 3)
• Teams with limited time and resources
• Manual processes that don’t scale
• Lack of clarity on where to start

This is where the gap begins to open—between those that manage to turn sustainability into something operational, and those that remain stuck.

What companies that are moving forward are doing differently‍

The companies turning this into a competitive advantage aren’t doing more—they’re doing the right things, in the right order.

First, they build a solid data foundation:

• Measure their footprint (corporate and product-level)
• Organise existing data
• Identify what’s missing

Then, they automate:

• Data collection
• Calculations
• Reporting

Only then do they integrate that information into real decisions:

• Procurement
• Operations
• Product design
• Customer relationships

This is how sustainability shifts from being a report to becoming a management tool.

At Manglai, we help companies turn sustainability into something operational—from measurement to reporting, seamlessly and adapted to real business needs.

Because climate change is not a one-off disruption. It’s the new context in which businesses have to grow. And in that context, the difference isn’t made by those who understand the problem—but by those who are able to manage it before it starts to materially impact their business.