Governments, investors and businesses face the challenging task of trying to balance the cost of doing nothing with the cost of action.

Valerie Chort, partner and national leader of Deloitte's Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Practice, says, "Long-range planning is always challenging, given the risks of fluctuating costs, the magnitude of capital investments, potential for changes in domestic and international regulatory and political environments, technological risks and other unknowns. Now, climate change is introducing a further level of uncertainty, making it even harder to develop sound corporate strategies for the mid to long term."

Yet, in this complex environment, some companies are factoring emissions reductions into prosperous business plans.

Enbridge Gas Distribution has added an average of 50,000 new customers to its distribution system in the Greater Toronto Area in each of the past five years - while reducing its absolute greenhouse (GHG) emissions by 18 per cent between 1990 and 2005.

Chris Gates, manager of sustainable energy, says, "We're a mature utility, with a history of about 160 years in the Toronto area, so we have a mix of very old and brand new infrastructure. As we add new customers, we're using state-of-the-art technology, and our decision back in 1990 was to begin replacing the older infrastructure for system integrity and reliability reasons. As we were replacing that infrastructure, we were also reducing emissions.

"We think 'green design' is just going to become synonymous with 'good design' as we advance into a future of finite resources"

"Safety and reliability are key aspects of how we conduct our business, but when we're doing this kind of work, we're also benefiting the environment and the shareholder."

At Wal-Mart Canada, the country's largest commercial purchaser of clean energy, waste will be reduced by 87 million kilograms and CO2 emissions by 19,000 tonnes this year alone. Of Wal-Mart's far-reaching sustainability initiative, Andrew Pelletier, vice president corporate affairs, says, "By reducing waste and energy, if you're doing it properly, you're going to trigger cost savings. We don't believe you have to choose between a strong environment and a strong economy."

Such examples provide a useful model to Canadian corporations struggling to balance the risks of climate and regulatory change with the risk of investing in green efforts that may not be viewed as good value by shareholders.

One thing is certain - the need for action is clear. Gordon McBean, a professor at the University of Western Ontario, and chair for Policy in the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, says, "There will be an extra cost for greenhouse gas in the future. Those impacts are understood well enough that businesses should be factoring them into their decision processes."

Leading environmental lawyer Gray Taylor, a partner at Bennett Jones LLP, says, "The issue of climate change is front and center at this point, and the public isn't going to let it go away. There is a risk to the reputation of companies, there is regulatory risk and there is also the (somewhat lesser) risk of litigation."

But the most overlooked element of business planning for a carbon-constrained future may be the potential opportunities. "Climate change is going to transform the economy," says Mr. Taylor. "You really can't look to any business opportunity or technology without thinking about it. Companies should be focusing on opportunities to generate both reputation and financial value by capitalizing on greenhouse gas opportunities."

Businesses also need to plan for a changing climate, says Dr. McBean, in part because today's decisions will make a difference 20 years from now. In the shorter term, impact of changing environmental conditions including warmer, wetter, dryer or stormier weather - or rising sea levels - must be considered.

There is no question, says Ms. Chort, that effective climate change planning is becoming essential. "Tools such as enterprise risk frameworks and scenario planning can help address the heightened uncertainty that the issue of climate change presents, and allow businesses to be prepared for the most plausible future situations.

"Managing in the face of uncertainty is the name of the game, and those companies that demonstrate a comprehensive, integrated and in-depth management response to the risks of climate change have the opportunity to differentiate themselves and be rewarded in the financial marketplace."