Climate change will bring opportunities as well as risks for UK businesses so they need to be prepared, said environment secretary Caroline Spelman.

Recent DEFRA-funded research, Opportunities for UK Business from Climate Change Adaptation, said that business opportunities “are most clearly concentrated in the construction and retrofit” sectors, but also exist in other areas.

However to harness these opportunities, companies need to put more effort into factoring in climate risks and opportunities when making investment and operations decisions.

The industry should also join innovation partnerships and collaborative R&D competitions and focus on improving skills and understanding of climate risks and impacts, said the research.

Companies would also be helped by the use of public investment and procurement in public construction, which would drive activity and innovation in the private sector, it said.

Ms Spelman said: “A warmer climate will bring both opportunities and challenges for businesses of all sizes. I want to ensure that UK businesses are well placed to take advantage of the new opportunities that arise as well as ensuring they are ready for the difficulties that higher temperatures and more adverse weather could mean for their staff and working practices.”

For construction, opportunities “will cover both building retrofit (homes, office, industry etc) and the redesign and re-engineering of towns and cities, for example through ‘green infrastructure’,” said the research.

Despite these opportunities, an Ipsos Mori survey for DEFRA found that less than a quarter (23%) of UK businesses have begun to prepare for climate change.