Axa UK has launched a free programme to support SMEs in how best to adapt to climate change and make their businesses more resilient to issues such as extreme weather and flooding.

The programme has been developed in partnership with Axa Climate, which is the insurer’s division that specialises in helping business manage climate and environmental adaptation challenges.

Grace Hanson-Eden, head of sustainability at Axa UK, said: “For SMEs, it can be challenging to look ahead and assess what increasing extreme weather risks may mean for their businesses in years to come. By working with Axa Climate, we’ve developed a programme that gives them a launchpad to begin to explore building an effective adaptation strategy to identify and address their exposure to extreme weather risks.

She added: “It’s a free, bitesize resource that’s easy to implement. It helps SMEs focus on practical steps they can take that will have a positive impact on their own businesses, customers and wider society against a backdrop of rising costs and an increasingly difficult operating environment for SMEs.”