In 2025, Young’s, a leading UK pub company, engaged Simply Sustainable to reassess and strengthen its climate resilience, following its acquisition of City Pub Group. The acquisition significantly expanded Young’s operational footprint into new regions such as South Wales, East Anglia and the Midlands – areas with distinct physical and regulatory risk profiles. This shift created a need to evaluate the business’s climate-related risks and opportunities through a broader, more integrated lens.
Recognising that inherited assets and regional exposures could materially affect risk, Young’s commissioned Simply Sustainable to refresh its climate scenario analysis, update its risk register, and enhance its TCFD-aligned disclosures in line with the UK’s climate-related financial disclosure (CFD) regime. The work aimed to ensure consistent risk treatment across the enlarged business and provide a clear narrative of governance and resilience to key stakeholders.
Impacts and benefits
Enhanced climate oversight: Integration of City Pub Group sites into a revised risk framework, accounting for localised climate vulnerabilities such as increased flood exposure and infrastructure constraints in newly acquired regions.
Forward-looking disclosures: Strengthened FY25 CFD-aligned reporting, reflecting consistent governance and a more holistic understanding of climate-related risk across the full estate.
Deeper scenario analysis: Updated physical risk assessments using IPCC SSP pathways and UK Climate Projections, tailored to regional characteristics.
Data-led decision making: Following its first year of TCFD reporting, Young’s began systematically tracking the effects of extreme weather across its estate. This has enhanced internal visibility of climate impacts and will support the business to identify emerging trends over time. Sharing these insights in this year’s disclosures demonstrated to stakeholders that climate adaptation is being taken seriously and is underpinned by evidence.
Strategic risk integration: A refreshed climate risk register and executive-level workshop fostered greater alignment on risk ownership, strategic priorities and mitigation planning.
Our work with Simply Sustainable came at an important time for Young’s, helping us assess climate-related risks and opportunities across an expanded estate. Their understanding of the regulatory landscape, combined with a practical, engaging and business-focused approach, has enabled us to move forward with confidence.”Young’s
The story
Simply Sustainable worked closely with Young’s between January and April 2025 to deliver a structured update of its climate risk management approach, reflecting both the integration of City Pub Group and evolving regulatory expectations. The engagement began with a comparative review of City Pub Group’s previous disclosures and Young’s existing TCFD framework, allowing for a unified and coherent narrative to be developed.
Scenario analysis was extended to include new locations, identifying site-specific risks such as increased flood potential in South Wales and Norfolk, and regulatory developments such as mandatory food waste segregation in Wales. These were incorporated into an updated risk register and discussed in a tailored leadership workshop to align cross-functional understanding and decision-making.
Importantly, Young’s also began tracking extreme weather incidents across its estate from mid-2024 onwards – including flooding and storm damage – enabling a more evidence-based view of climate risk exposure. This dataset will help the business identify the most vulnerable locations and prioritise adaptation investments while also demonstrating to stakeholders a clear commitment to action and transparency.
The engagement concluded with a refreshed set of audit-ready TCFD disclosures aligned to CFD requirements, enhancing Young’s position as a responsible and forward-looking operator in a climate-constrained world.
To learn how Simply Sustainable can support your approach to climate risk and regulatory disclosures, request a call-back from one of our expert advisors.
