Businesses Boost Climate Adaptation Spending
A new Capgemini report finds 68% of executives now prioritise climate adaptation, with 83% planning to increase spending.
Nearly 68% of business executives now actively prioritise climate adaptation, a significant rise from 56% just a year ago. This shift in focus comes as companies face severe supply chain disruptions and struggle to meet their own decarbonisation deadlines.
The research, which surveyed 2,100 executives from 701 large organisations across 13 countries, reveals a corporate world pivoting towards tangible resilience. For many leaders, securing operations against climate shocks is becoming more urgent than chasing abstract emissions targets. Nearly nine in ten organisations reported that climate-related events had already disrupted their supply chains.
The Adaptation Investment Surge
About 83% of executives said their organisations expect to increase spending on climate adaptation over the next 12 to 18 months. This financial commitment is driven by direct experience of disruption and growing concerns over critical resources. More than seven in ten organisations said securing access to energy and water now has greater influence on their sustainability decisions than emissions reduction targets.
Nearly 61% of executives expect water scarcity to pose a greater constraint on business growth than energy availability within the next five years. Despite this surge in spending, a major knowledge gap persists. Only 15% of companies have fully quantified the financial impact of climate-related disruptions on their business.
Stalled Progress on Net-Zero
The increased focus on adaptation unfolds against a backdrop of faltering net-zero ambitions. While 85% of organisations have set science-based targets, only 42% report being on track to meet their 2030 or interim goals. The data shows clear backsliding.
| Metric | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Organisations falling behind on net-zero goals | 1% | 11% |
| Organisations that postponed net-zero objectives | 8% | 29% |
| Organisations able to measure all Scope 3 emissions | 54% | 34% |
Companies are finding it particularly difficult to track emissions across their value chains. The capability to measure Scope 3 emissions has dropped sharply. The share of executives who feel their organisations are underprepared for climate impacts has fallen, but remains high at 44%.
AI's Double-Edged Role
Artificial intelligence is becoming a common tool in corporate sustainability programmes, with nearly two-thirds of organisations using AI to advance their agenda. More than a third use or plan to use more advanced agentic AI for these initiatives.
However, AI introduces new environmental challenges. Nearly half of the executives surveyed said AI has significantly increased their greenhouse gas emissions. Seven in ten reported that the sustainability implications of AI are discussed at board level, yet measurement is lagging. Just over a third of organisations actually measure the energy consumption and carbon footprint of their AI systems.
The report concludes that the corporate emphasis is shifting decisively. Executives increasingly view climate adaptation not as a secondary concern, but as essential to business survival, even as the path to decarbonisation grows more complex.
