Companies which have not responded to environmental issues do so at risk to themselves, their customers and shareholders, consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers said on Tuesday.

"Companies who have not yet 'gone green' are placing themselves and therefore their shareholders at a serious competitive disadvantage," Rob Ashdown, a consultant in PWC's governance and sustainability department said in a statement. Climate change would have two significant impacts on a business.

The first was that shifting weather patterns would affect all operations "in some way or another".

The second – according to Ashdown – was the rapidly-changing regulatory environment created by governments to minimise the harmful impact of business.

Regulation was coming in several different forms, as a result of, among others, the Kyoto Protocol, REACH which is specific to chemical and related industries, the Equator Principles, the Carbon Disclosure Project, the Carbon Principles and the UN Global Compact, he added.

"On the downside, these regulations could lead to increased compliance, costs of mitigation and product or process adaptation."

The advantages of a well-managed climate change strategy included increased sales through market differentiation, utility cost savings and income through selling carbon credits.

Ashdown said the concept of shareholder value had changed as green issues moved higher up the corporate agenda.

"Previously, shareholders demanded a return only on their economic capital... This measurement then expanded to include social development and it now extends to natural capital, being the environment."

Sapa