Drawing on the results of a 2010 survey of corporate signatories to the United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations Environment Programme Caring for Climate initiative, as well as on existing literature, this report makes the business case for private sector adaptation to climate change in ways that build the resilience of vulnerable communities in developing countries. It then offers actions that companies and policymakers can pursue to catalyze and scale up private sector action on adaptation. It is ultimately the responsibility of the public sector to meet the critical climate change adaptation needs of the poor and vulnerable; thus private sector engagement cannot substitute for critically needed public investment and policies. However, private sector investment can serve as a pivotal part of a comprehensive governmentled approach to addressing climate impacts.

This report is a resource for companies with a national, regional or global reach that are interested in increasing their strategic focus on adaptation in developing countries where they have operations, supply chains, employees and current or potential customers. This report is also aimed at national and international policymakers involved in climate change and sustainable development dialogues and decision-making, including those who will participate in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 (Rio+20). It is hoped that the report’s findings will be useful for a much wider range of actors as well, including small, local businesses in developing countries that are on the front line of climate impacts; civil society organizations seeking to strengthen their work around climate change and sustainable development; and subnational policymakers, who are in a key position to shape a productive interface among government, communities and businesses.