Capgemini Reports Businesses Accelerate Climate Adaptation Investments

Capgemini, a leading business transformation partner for enterprises in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), reports that businesses are accelerating their climate adaptation investments to bolster resilience. According to the fifth edition of the Capgemini Research Institute’s A World in Balance: The resilience reset report, nearly 70% of executives are now prioritizing climate adaptation to enhance business resilience. However, only 15% of organizations have fully quantified the financial impact of climate-related risks.

The report highlights that climate disruptions, water stress, resource constraints, and geopolitical volatility are increasing operational pressures on businesses. Water scarcity is expected to pose a greater constraint on business growth than energy availability over the next five years, as 61% of executives believe. This shift in focus is driving organizations to integrate energy and resource resilience into their business and sustainability strategies.

To address these challenges, 68% of executives say their organizations are actively prioritizing climate adaptation, up from 56% in 2025. Sustainability strategies are increasingly centered on resilience, business continuity, and access to critical resources. Nearly two-thirds of executives identify energy and critical resource security as key drivers of sustainability investment. More than 70% of executives say securing access to critical resources, including energy, water, and materials, now has greater influence on sustainability decision-making than emissions-reduction targets.

While awareness of these risks is growing, operational readiness remains inconsistent. Just 15% of organizations have fully quantified the financial impact of climate-related disruptions. Only 26% of executives say their organization has assessed climate risks across its extended value chain or deployed climate-risk analytics tools or platforms. However, the share of executives who say their organization is underprepared for climate impacts has fallen from 54% in 2025 to 44% in 2026.

Cyril Garcia, Global Head of Sustainability Services and Corporate Responsibility at Capgemini, commented, "Climate change disruptions have become our new normal, and yet there is still a wide gap between business leaders' awareness of the risks and actual implementation. In order to protect their supply chains, operations, infrastructure, and access to essential energy, water, and materials, they can no longer defer climate action."

Despite the challenges, sustainability investments continue to demonstrate a positive return on investment. Nearly 70% of organizations say their sustainability initiatives have generated a net-positive return on investment. Almost two-thirds of executives (64%) say sustainability investments have boosted sales, up from 47% in 2025. Additionally, 74% acknowledge that sustainable practices have enhanced their brand equity.

Looking ahead, 83% of organizations say they will increase climate adaptation spending over the next 12 to 18 months. This investment is helping organizations manage business disruption, as nearly two-thirds of executives from manufacturing or asset-intensive sectors say these investments have improved operational efficiency under supply constraints. Over half of these executives also say they have enhanced their ability to anticipate and respond to operational and supply-chain disruptions.

However, businesses are struggling to follow through with their net zero commitments. While 84% of organizations have set science-based targets, only 42% say they are on track to meet their 2030 or interim targets. The number of organizations falling behind on their net zero goals has increased more than tenfold since last year. Moreover, 29% say they have postponed their net zero objectives, compared with just 8% last year.

Nearly two-thirds of organizations acknowledge that aligning sustainability efforts with science-based targets is challenging. Data availability, measurement, and value-chain visibility remain significant hurdles. The proportion of organizations able to measure and collect data across all Scope 3 emissions has fallen to 34%, from 54% in 2025, underscoring the difficulty of tracking and managing emissions beyond direct operations.

AI is increasingly seen as a tool to help turn sustainability ambition into action. Nearly two-thirds of organizations say they use AI to advance their sustainability agenda, and more than a third use or plan to use agentic AI for sustainability initiatives. However, oversight and disclosure of the technology remain limited. Nearly half of executives say AI has significantly increased greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, concern about AI's environmental impact appears to be outpacing organizations' ability to measure it. Just over a third of executives say their organization measures the energy consumption of AI systems and workloads, and the associated carbon footprint.

In conclusion, while businesses are stepping up their climate adaptation efforts, significant gaps remain in the quantification and implementation of climate-related risks. As climate and political risks evolve, organizations must continue to embed sustainability into their core business strategy and day-to-day operations to ensure resilience and long-term success.