CILT(UK)Fighting Through Climate Chaos

When: 21 May 2025 - 10:00AM - 11:30AM

Where: Teams Call

Speaker 1: Gökçay Balcı, University of Leeds

Speaker 2: Brigadier Tim Symonds, British Army

Agenda:

10:00-10:10 Opening remarks, introductions and house keeping – Chair: Air Commodore Mark Clulo, Royal Air Force

10:10-10:30 Presentation 1 – Speaker: Gökçay Balcı, University of Leeds, will provide an overview of the threats facing logisticians, with an organisational/sectoral view on best practice for risk management.

10:35-10:55 Presentation 2 – Speaker: Brigadier Tim Symonds, British Army, will acknowledge defence's role in managing the most extreme war/humanitarian scenarios, but focus on the shared logs challenges & opportunities to work/learn together.

10:55-11:30 Discussion - Chair: Air Commodore Mark Clulo, Royal Air Force

In recent years, media headlines have reported a range of incidents which have had significant effects on logistics supply chains. Climate and environments related topics are increasingly common, such as the 2021 drought on the Rheine which dramatically reduced shipping capacity, or a typhoon in Malaysia which interrupted the global semiconductor supply.

Other interruptions relate to human activity, accidental and otherwise. From the accidental obstruction of the Suez Strait in 2021, to Houthi hijacks on the Red Sea trading routes.

Esch of these cases required an emergency reset amongst logisticians, whether civil or military, as they worked to re-route supplies and personnel to the right places. Some also worked to manage immediate security risks, and others may have even participated in associated humanitarian response.

In the future it is possible that we could see intentional disruptions intended to exploit environmental stressors, creating new security concerns for those tasked with managing international movement. This possibility presents an opportunity for a range of logisticians to come together and improve our resilience by considering the future risks and threats that may be encountered.

In this webinar, Gökçay Balcı from the University of Leeds will provide an overview of the environmental and geopolitical context, highlighting a range of examples that could be learned from. Brigadier Tim Symonds from the British Army will follow to reflect upon how defence logistics experiences some of the same challenges and explore some of the defence specific security considerations.

These expert presentations will be followed by discussion time, led by the event chair Air Commodore Mark Clulo from the Royal Air Force, allowing attendees to share some of their own experiences, concerns and successes. Register to attend to join the conversation and help CILT to identify the ways that civilian and military logisticians can work towards a better future together.

In this event we want to move beyond conversations that define climate security, and talk about how organisations are planning for some of the man-made emergency scenarios that could arise as a result of climate change, e.g., new legislation that denies access, piracy, insurgency. To survive, all organisations will have to become more adaptive and reactive, and better understand how we can work together in times of emergency.

We hope you can join us.

Competency:

• SUS1.1 Social, Economic and Environmental Resilience
• SC1.1 Supply Chain Networks, Design and Optimisation
• EQ2.1 Risk Identification, Reduction and Safety Management

Note: If you are not a current Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, please be aware our membership team may be in touch with you using your email address provided regards membership opportunities. If you do not wish to be contacted please email and let us know at Forums@ciltuk.org.uk.