The Business Leaders Guide to Climate Adaptation & Resilience supports senior decision-makers and their functional teams to integrate climate adaptation and resilience into organizational strategy, governance, and operations. Developed by WBCSD, Bain & Company, and Jupiter Intelligence, with the support of leading global businesses, the guide contains nine modules, each of which includes tools, frameworks, and case studies to facilitate action across various adaptation challenges. 

Why this Guide matters 

Climate adaptation and resilience are crucial for businesses, as the risks posed by climate change are increasing, including disruptions in supply chains and infrastructure failures, workforce displacement, increased cost of inputs, and more. Businesses must act to safeguard the resilience of workforces, key supply chains, and the communities and natural ecosystems upon which they depend, building collective resilience and avoiding maladaptation.  

The cost of inaction is enormous, and investing in resilience can have high rates of return. Now is the moment for visionary business leaders to act fast to reduce risk and benefit from an early-mover advantage.   

This guide helps business leaders build or adjust their approach to managing risk, access practical frameworks for building resilience, and take immediate next steps for their organization’s adaptation journey. 

Key Themes 

Throughout the guide, three key themes emerge: 

• Act Now: The time to act is now to avoid risk, safeguard communities, and unlock new adaptation-related business opportunities. 
• Coordinated Business Strategy: Effective climate adaptation demands a coordinated transformation across all business functions, shifting from a reactive to a proactive risk management approach. 
• Local Collaboration: Collaboration with diverse stakeholders at local and national levels is essential to building collective resilience within and beyond the value chain. 

Expert insights 

The Business Leaders Guide is a comprehensive resource that offers insights and tools for businesses to take adaptation and resilience action. The guide was developed with WBCSD members from different sectors and regions and was supported by an expert panel of 12 leading global companies. These companies, including Bayer, Diageo, EDF, edp, Engie, Meta, Mitsubishi, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Philips, Swire, and Swiss Re, shared their knowledge and experiences to strengthen the guide test applicability for businesses worldwide. 

Join us and get started 

As the work towards climate-resilient businesses continues, we invite stakeholders and companies to join us on this transformative journey to accelerate action and investment in climate adaptation, to build a more resilient future for all. 

To find out more about WBCSD’s physical risk, climate adaptation and resilience work and/or to get involved, please contact Madeline Ojakovoh (ojakovoh@wbcsd.org).