For non-executive directors, the challenge is not simply to understand climate and nature risks in conceptual terms. It is to develop the confidence and judgement to oversee challenging decisions in the real world. 

This new way of thinking requires a safe environment for leaders to explore difficult dilemmas and reflect on how decisions might shape their organisation’s future. To meet this need, over the last few years, GARP have collaborated with Chapter Zero to develop a series of Climate and Nature Risk Scenario Games. 

On 26 February, GARP will be running a live interactive session for the Chapter Zero network. This latest scenario game places the audience on the board of a multi-national fast fashion company, Blink Plc., as it navigates the increasing physical risk and the global transition to net-zero.  

During the session, participants are guided through three dilemmas spanning several years: 

• challenges arising from an evolving physical risk landscape at a major distribution hub 

• difficult issues relating to water stress and chemical pollution in a cotton region 

• a wider strategic question about the future viability of fast fashion in a world pursuing climate and nature recovery. 

These dilemmas are grounded in research and informed by expert input. Their purpose is not to predict events, but to create an environment in which directors can explore how today’s decisions can limit or expand strategic options tomorrow.  

It should also be stressed that while the audience will be taking on the role of board members of a fictional fashion firm in the real economy, the insights from the session will have broad applicability regardless of the audience’s sector. Key takeaways will centre around the potential impacts of physical, environmental, reputational and transition risks that are already emerging and often escalating across sectors and global value chains. 

Key Risk Considerations for Directors 

The Blink Plc. scenario has been designed to reflect the kinds of decisions that directors increasingly face. It focusses on judgement, trade-offs and governance under uncertainty. Participants are asked to consider not only what decision to take, but how and why that decision is made, and what it signals to investors, regulators, employees and wider stakeholders. 

While we do not want to give away the full details of the scenario ahead of the live session, it is helpful to offer a flavour of the ideas that will be explored and the lessons that tend to resonate most strongly with board members:

Climate and nature risks are interdependent.

Physical risks, water stress, biodiversity loss and pollution rarely occur in isolation. A vulnerability in one part of the system often amplifies problems elsewhere. Boards must therefore look beyond single risk categories and consider how operational, supply chain, legal and reputational risks interact. 

Assumptions must be challenged.

Across sectors, many long-standing assumptions about risk frequency, asset resilience, consumer behaviour and supply chain stability are becoming outdated. Blink’s dilemmas prompt directors to reflect on whether oversight processes are robust enough to identify such changes proactively.

Risk oversight frameworks must evolve.

Many traditional approaches struggle to keep pace with the speed and scale of environmental change. Directors should consider whether governance processes incorporate forward-looking data, assess risks across multiple time horizons, and embed climate and nature considerations into core strategy and capital planning. 

Decisions have path dependencies.

Choices made early, particularly those relating to capital allocation, supplier relationships or reputational positioning, create commitments that may restrict or expand future strategic options. Understanding these path dependencies is central to building long-term resilience. 

Short-term pressures can obscure long-term realities.

Boards often face the tension between near-term financial performance and long-term sustainability and resilience. The scenario highlights why this tension is becoming increasingly difficult to manage if climate and nature considerations are not embedded into core governance and strategy. 

Join the Live Scenario Session

All Chapter Zero members are warmly invited to take part in this upcoming Fast Fashion Scenario Game. It will be an opportunity to experience these dilemmas first-hand, learn from an expert panel and engage with peers in a supportive and reflective environment. 

To participate, please register for the event and join the discussion with fellow directors across the Chapter Zero community.