With support from BCG, the government of Japan is accelerating its net zero ambition—partnering across industry and civil society to drive climate impact, industrial renewal, and global technology leadership.
Our Approach to Climate Risk, Adaptation, and Resilience
BCG empowers organizations to move from reactive risk mitigation to strategic climate resilience—embedding sustainability into decision-making, strengthening systems, and exceeding regulatory expectations. We bring trusted partnership, sector-specific insight, and advanced analytics to support governments and companies alike.
For the Public Sector
We help governments and international organizations define climate resilience as a national priority—and deliver it at scale.
- Benchmark plans, raise ambition. Assess local and national adaptation strategies using BCG’s proprietary framework and global best practices.
- Clarify climate risks and impacts. Deploy advanced analytics to model physical risk across social, economic, and natural systems.
- Make the case for action. Quantify the cost of inaction and define a bankable pipeline to secure adaptation and resilience financing.
- Align stakeholders. Partner across government, civil society, and industry to accelerate implementation and ensure inclusive climate protection.
For the Private Sector
We help companies turn climate risk into competitive advantage—fortifying operations, protecting assets, and upholding responsible business practices. When companies treat regulatory and societal expectations as strategic inputs, they unlock cost efficiencies, revenue growth, and long-term value.
- Map exposure. Identify physical climate risks, such as extreme heat and flooding, across geographies and facilities.
- Quantify impact. Assess how risk translates to operational disruption and financial loss down to EBITDA effects.
- Prioritize response. Identify and sequence adaptation measures based on risk severity, feasibility, and business value.
- Advance collective resilience. Partner with public actors and peers to shape systemic solutions and co-invest in resilient infrastructure.
Our Client Work in Climate Risk, Adaptation, and Resilience
Our climate risk consulting experts developed an analytical approach to assess impact across the broad span of climate risks to the assets of a main roads' infrastructure operator, informing strategic considerations for the most-relevant areas for resiliency intervention.
Our climate adaptation consulting experts supported a Southeast Asian city to identify priority actions to deliver resilience against a range of anticipated sea-level rise scenarios. Different solutions were assessed from a social, economic, and natural asset perspective to provide a rigorous analytical fact base for both the development of project solutions and the design of an effective national adaptation plan.
Our climate resilience consulting experts supported a megacity government in West Africa to enable data-driven decision-making for the bolstering of its climate resilience by determining the cost of climate inaction in terms of population affected, damage to infrastructure, and impact on the city’s GDP. Based on this, an Adaptation and Resilience (A&R) project pipeline was developed with financing from both the public and private sectors.
Our climate risk assessment experts reviewed a major developed country’s official A&R strategies to both determine the best starting point and assess gaps against best practices and then designed an approach and timeline of action required to develop a national adaptation plan within a short timeframe.
Client Impact
BCG experts helped launch a clean energy tech hub with $80 million+ in funding—driving innovation and jobs in underserved communities.
Alberto Milvio, former CFO of Autostrade per l’Italia Group, and Concetta Testa, head of sustainability, share how the company is working to realize sustainable infrastructure.
Our Partnerships in Climate Risk, Adaptation, and Resilience
UN High-Level Climate Change Champions
As part of our collaboration with the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions, BCG has conducted in-depth research to define the challenges and requirements for achieving the Sharm el-Sheikh Adaptation Outcomes by 2030. Drawing on global experience across public and private sectors, our reports outline what’s needed to meet bold—but actionable—goals in four critical areas of climate resilience.
The private sector can be instrumental in building a climate-resilient future through vital systems such as food and agriculture, health, and infrastructure.
There is an adaptation and resilience financing gap that needs to be met. Enabling these flows requires a fundamental transformation of the financial system.
Only ~20% of country governments are planning the necessary A&R actions. Stakeholders need to come together now to plan, fund, and implement them.
We are on the brink of a catastrophic and multifaceted food crisis. Systemic transformation is needed to both fortify against climate impacts and reduce emissions.
Our Insights on Climate Risk, Adaptation, and Resilience
As the largest employer and controller of capital and supply chains, the private sector is well positioned to set new industry standards and support planetary and human health in the face of climate change. Actions to strengthen food systems, rethink urban infrastructure, improve health care responses, and reshape insurance models will be essential to mitigating risks and building climate resilience.
Article
September 18, 2025
Governments and businesses can take steps that collectively create the enabling environment needed to attract investment, scale solutions, and drive lasting change.
Slideshow
September 16, 2025
Despite public signals of retreat, companies are quietly accelerating climate action where it creates business value—generating financial returns and long-term resilience through targeted investments and digital tools.
Article
July 18, 2025
The mantra in business used to be “cost is king,” then “resilience at all costs.” But in these uncertain and complex times, companies need an approach that delivers both.
Report
May 6, 2025
A comprehensive map of opportunities in Climate A&R solutions shows that the market is primed for investors to act now.
Article
March 12, 2025
The investments necessary to mitigate and adapt to climate change are far less than the cost of inaction—11% to 27% of global GDP by 2100.
Our Climate Risk, Adaptation, and Resilience Consulting Experts
Our experts in climate resilience consulting and climate adaptation consulting help both private and public sector clients identify and address their most pressing vulnerabilities surrounding climate impact. Here are some of our experts on the topic.
