Climate resilience is becoming a business imperative as physical climate risks increasingly threaten operations, assets and supply chains. Yet companies struggle to translate these risks into investment decisions. Chief financial officers (CFOs) have a critical role in bridging this gap by integrating resilience into financial planning, risk management and capital allocation. Beyond avoiding losses, resilience investments can improve operational efficiency, protect enterprise value and strengthen long-term competitiveness, making resilience a strategic business priority.
The Chief Financial Officer Playbook for Resistance Capital: From Climate Risk to Value Creation introduces the Resilience Capital Ladder which outlines four actions CFOs can take to unlock resilience investment: establish accountability and clear risk appetite; translate climate risks into financial evidence; build business cases capturing operational returns, business continuity and risk reduction; and mobilize funding through existing budgets and capital plans.
Companies need not wait for perfect forecasts or new financing instruments. By embedding resilience into financial decisions, CFOs can protect enterprise value and strengthen long-term competitivene