Climate change may have an adverse impact on our business and the business of our suppliers and customers. Global climate change may result in certain natural disasters and climate-related events occurring with increasing frequency and severity and its physical impact on the U.S., China and other major regions where we have operations has the potential to disrupt our business and those of our customers and suppliers. Our headquarters and some of our operations and facilities are located in areas that are susceptible to earthquakes and tsunamis, wildfires, extreme storms, extreme heat, drought, freezing and other natural disasters. Water and energy availability and reliability in the regions where we have facilities and where our suppliers have operations is important to our business. Certain natural disasters, including drought, wildfires, storms, sea-level rise and flooding could disrupt the availability of water necessary for the operations of our business or those of our suppliers and customers. Global climate change may also result in chronic changes that result in certain natural disasters occurring more frequently or with greater intensity, which could disrupt our operations, or the operations of our third parties. Such disruptions could cause delays in manufacturing or shipping our products, affect our supply chain and may result in the loss of business, and additional costs to maintain or resume operations, any of which could adversely affect our business and results of operation. We may also experience contractual disputes relating to supply chain delays resulting from climate change related disruptions, which could result in increased litigation and costs. Data centers depend on access to clean water and reliable energy, thus potential power or water shortages could impair our customer’s ability to expand their data center capacity and consume our products and services.
Although we maintain insurance coverage for a variety of property, casualty, and other risks, the types and amounts of insurance we obtain vary depending on coverage, availability and cost. Some of our policies have large deductibles and broad exclusions. Additionally, our insurance providers may be unable or unwilling to pay a claim. Losses not covered by insurance may be large, which could harm our results of operations and financial condition.
Our business and the business of our suppliers and customers may also be subject to further climate-related regulations, contract terms and lawsuits. New increased regulations regarding carbon taxes, greenhouse gas emissions, fuel or energy taxes and other climate-related risks could result in greater costs; for example, as a result of carbon pricing impacts on electrical utilities and/or necessitating that we purchase more renewable energy than otherwise planned. Our supply chain manufacturing suppliers may be exposed to increased costs of doing business should they be affected by new climate-related expectations such as those affecting abatement equipment, renewable energy, and/or alter production processes and materials selections. The additional compliance costs incurred by our suppliers may be passed on to us and result in greater indirect costs to us. These costs and restrictions could harm our business and results of operations by increasing our expenses, impacting our reputation if there is actual or perceived non-compliance, or requiring us to alter our operations and products. The long-term effects of climate change on the global economy and the technology industry are unclear but could be severe.