Willis, the insurance broker, took its mission to protect clients against climate risk to another level by broadcasting live from the South Pole about climate issues and capturing its expedition in an informative book.
Conscious of the threat posed by natural disasters, the global insurer and risk adviser seeks new ways to help businesses understand how to improve their resilience.
In December 2013 the company launched the “Willis resilience expedition”, a scientific journey to the South Pole designed to help its clients and the private sector understand how climate change is shaping our world.
Led by a 19-year-old explorer and climate campaigner, Parker Liautaud, the Willis team made a 1,800km crossing of Antarctica, gathering hundreds of ice samples and broadcasting live to audiences across the world as it went.
Nathan Hambrook-Skinner, the company’s head of communication, co-ordinated international media interviews with Parker, and the team shared their experiences via a series of written and audio blogs on a dedicated website.
Working from a purpose-built communications centre (in the form of a truck), they sent live and recorded material to a TV studio at Willis’s head office in London. There a professional TV production crew produced a daily “expedition news” show.
Covering issues including extreme weather and food security, the 16 hour-long programmes included lively debates with MPs and climate experts. The resulting book, Exploring Extremes: Building Resilience for the Future, was visually compelling and featured the latest views on adapting to climate change and resisting disaster.
The Willis team provoked global interest in the climate change debate and raised awareness of the need for businesses to take action.
