Companies will first focus on adaptation within their direct sphere of influence. This can include measures to improve company buildings and infrastructure, the production process, the situation of employees or the storage of supplies and produced goods. Collaboration on adaptation with external stakeholders, such as suppliers, buyers, governmental authorities or the financing community is more challenging.

Which adaptation measures a company chooses depends on the climate change impacts and risks it faces. These are dependent on the company’s location, sector, technology level, and adaptive capacity. Deciding factors include investment costs for measures, the type of risk covered, the comprehensiveness of the measure and whether there are (positive or negative) side effects to be expected – thus, ultimately, the costs and benefits of measures.

See the Climate Expert Website for case studies from Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Morocco, Nicaragua and Rwanda.