By Paul Drury, Product Director at GeoSmart Information
In my presentation at GEO Business, I explored how geospatial intelligence can be applied to flood risk analysis to help future-proof property portfolios. Flooding continues to have a devastating impact on property, creating growing resilience challenges for the real estate and insurance sectors, as well as asset and portfolio managers. Flood risk can affect property value and marketability, and there’s increasing demand for transparent disclosure of environmental risks.
A showcase of geospatial innovation
GEO Business is a platform for emerging geospatial technologies, and each year the pace of innovation is more evident. Throughout my 20-year career in developing geomatics data products, I’ve attended the event many times. It’s always informative and inspiring to speak with exhibitors and explore business synergies.
In the environmental risk management space, the demand for better data and more efficient ways to extract insight is constant. That’s why I was keen to demonstrate how flooding and climate-related risk can be more clearly understood, and mitigated, using innovative, cost-effective approaches.
Automating insight: A smarter approach to flood risk
At GeoSmart, we use automated GIS workflows to quantify flood risk under current and future climate conditions, while also recommending practical flood mitigation options. Thanks to the convening power of GEO Business, my audience included both commercial and government organisations with a shared need to protect property.
I explained how our online platform supports site-specific analysis, risk management at the portfolio level, benchmarking, and reporting for disclosure. These tools help stakeholders take proactive steps to manage and reduce environmental risk exposure.
Understanding complex flood scenarios
In my talk, I emphasised the need for comprehensive flood risk assessment – considering river, coastal, surface water, and groundwater sources. Flooding is complex, involving varying sources, depths, frequencies, spatial extents, flood defences, and climate scenarios.
Our methodology calculates a flood risk score for each asset under current conditions and future projections (including 2050s and 2080s scenarios using RCP 8.5). This helps stakeholders understand how flood risk will evolve over time and make informed decisions for long-term resilience.
A real-world case study: Royal London Asset Management
To make the value of our approach clear, I shared a case study from Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) – a typical example of an asset manager needing to factor flood risk into strategic planning. We assessed over 200 high-value commercial property assets, collectively worth over £7 billion.
Flood risk can affect operating costs through insurance premiums and reduce the attractiveness of assets to investors or occupiers. As climate events become more frequent, planning constraints around flood risk are also becoming more influential in the acquisition process. Businesses must also be prepared for the operational impacts of flooding, including threats to life, property damage, and business disruption.
Strategic advantage through better data
I was able to show how geospatial tools help asset managers reduce exposure and gain a strategic edge through improved risk awareness. Flooding remains the most damaging natural hazard in the UK, so presenting detailed visualisations of risk maps and analytical outputs helped bring this issue to life for the audience.
The 30-minute session provided ample time to share insights and engage in a lively Q&A. Feedback was positive, and many valuable conversations have continued since the event.
Reflecting on the experience
It was a pleasure to present at GEO Business and share our work with the wider community. The support provided to speakers was excellent, and the quality and variety of other presentations was impressive.
Congratulations to the organisers for another successful event.