The largest casual dining restaurant chain in the United States with approximately 800 locations across 49 states – engaged BWD to conduct a climate scenario analysis, develop a climate adaptation and resilience plan, and prepare a disclosure that meets the requirements of California’s Climate-related Financial Risk Act (SB 261).

With significant geographic concentration in climate-exposed states and a business model dependent on agricultural supply chains, the company needed to understand and articulate how climate-related physical and transition risks could affect its operations, strategy, and financial position.  

BWD designed and led a four-phase engagement. We developed two climate scenarios – a disorderly transition scenario (<2°C) and a runaway climate change scenario (>3°C) – and mapped climate touchpoints across the company’s value chain, from upstream food and beverage suppliers through to restaurant operations and customers. Using TCFD-aligned impact pathways, we identified potential business impacts and their financial consequences, spanning extreme weather disruption, insurance cost escalation, energy infrastructure strain, decarbonization regulation, and shifting consumer preferences. We then conducted a governance and risk management deep dive to align climate-related risks with the company’s existing enterprise risk management framework.  

We delivered a Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan with prioritized management actions that distinguished “no regrets” actions from conditional measures that depend on scenario outcomes, alongside a TCFD-aligned disclosure compliant with SB 261. Critically, the approach integrates climate risk into existing corporate risk management categories, making it practical to maintain and update over time. The company is now positioned to meet its California disclosure obligations and manage climate-related risk as a core part of business strategy.