The Resiliency Company - Adaptation Connector Interview
'Unbound Showcase' is a globe-spanning series of interviews with pioneers of climate adaptation and resilience solutions. We're questioning innovators, business leaders, policymakers, academics, buyers, and investors taking on the challenge of our lifetime—how do we adapt to the changes we know are coming from climate change?
Can you give a broad overview of The Resiliency Company?
Abby Ross - Rising temperatures, extreme weather, increased flooding events, and other disasters have impacted 90% of counties in the US in the last decade. Over that same period, the US spent $1.1T rebuilding communities after disasters.
We founded The Resiliency Company to adapt to the accelerating challenges and create a more abundant and equitable future for all. How we rebuild and adapt our infrastructure in the era of climate instability is the defining challenge of today, and for generations to come.?
We have the solutions, but need to deploy them faster and at scale. This opportunity requires trillions in investments into solutions - and we’re here to make sure that the funding, policies, and engineering is directed towards helping communities adapt. By shifting markets and minds toward resiliency, we can reduce the costs of disasters in the U.S.?
We define resiliency as the ability of infrastructure—the physical, economic, and social systems central to the functioning of an economy and a society—to withstand extreme climate impacts and recover from them quickly. To make this happen, we’re really focused on:?
We know that if we continue as things are today–without integrating a resiliency lens into how we build and invest as a country–communities, businesses, and investors won’t be able to afford the costs associated with accelerating climate driven disasters. While we mostly talk about costs in the financial sense, we of course know that disasters have social and cultural costs which have to be addressed as well.??
What inspired The Resiliency Company to focus on ending billion-dollar disasters in the U.S., and how has this mission evolved over time?
Abby Ross - The Resiliency Company is built on the legacy of Network for Good, a nonprofit donor-advised fund that has granted over $5 billion to 400,000+ charities since 2001. Throughout Network for Good’s history, our fund has surged with donations to communities during times of disaster. After going deeper into the dynamics of climate disasters and hazards, we realized that the opportunity to help our country prepare for and recover from climate disasters and hazards was an opportunity that required an elevated ambition and scope. The Resiliency Company was created to advance the business case for investing in resiliency and foster the conditions required to motivate more capital to flow to resilient infrastructure for communities. We act as an umbrella parent company for people and organizations that are driving capital into these focus areas.
The vision and mission has remained consistent, but the strategy for how we get there has evolved. We explored creating a fund and launching a studio incubator for companies that will help adapt our infrastructure. Ultimately, we’ve landed on a strategy where we believe we can have an outsized impact based on our size by inspiring capital flow.
Can you describe the community of investors you've built, and how they contribute to advancing resilience and adaptation financing?
Abby Ross -?One of the most impactful parts of resiliency work is that there are so many people taking steps towards resiliency and adaptation, but may not label themselves as “resiliency professionals”. As Jay Koh astutely says, “Nobody wakes up in the morning and buys a loaf of adaptation”. With a growing audience of capital allocators from across the private and public sectors, our goal is to help this community of investors understand the material risks posed by a changing climate, and create clear links to the tangible measures they can take to mitigate those risks.?
Our ultimate ambition is to engage investors across the entire capital stack from public capital markets, government programs, private investments, venture capital, social impact, and philanthropy. The Resiliency Company seeks to make the business case for why resiliency as a lens for investing will be critical.
What types of opportunities is The Resiliency Company pursuing to support reducing the impacts of natural disasters?
Abby Ross - Communities, natural resources, and infrastructure across the US are at risk and in need of adaptation. But, one big question stands: who pays for it?
We believe that there are three pillars that offer untapped reserves of capital that could be highly leveraged towards adaptation and resilience investment: public finance, insurance, and real estate. We selected these because they are massive markets with a lot to gain or lose in the next several decades and will be defined by how well they incorporate the risk of disasters and hazards. Matt Posner leads our Public Finance practice and we work closely with Carolyn Kousky, an insurance expert from Environmental Defense Fund and Insurance for Good.
Our goal is to source projects and pilots to find opportunities where we can: 1) Increase the scope of the infrastructure to include resiliency 2) Increase the velocity and likelihood that climate resilient infrastructure gets built.
How have you been able to engage with your audience towards telling this big story of adaptation and resilience?
Abby Ross - Adaptation is a multi-trillion dollar market that requires crisp, compelling storytelling to help mobilize action. But, it’s not always obvious why investing in resilience/adaptation is important or realistic. To make the case for everyone to understand why they are part of resiliency work, Resiliency Co. has launched a publication called The Epicenter. In addition, Probable Futures also recently joined The Resiliency Co. as a fiscally sponsored organization. They provide climate risk and adaptation education for a broad audience of institutional capital allocators and everyday consumers, and offer a suite of digital materials, data tools, and engagements to better prepare individuals and organizations for our changing climate.??
What are the primary obstacles you've faced in mobilizing capital for climate adaptation and resilience projects, and how have you addressed them?
Abby Ross - As mentioned above, it is not always obvious why investing in adaptation and resilience projects is necessary or makes sense. To overcome some of these challenges, we’ve tried to take a data-driven approach to make the case for resiliency extremely clear. A recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce study found that for every $1 invested in resilience, there are $13 in savings. There are numerous other examples of savings, including from the National Institute of Building Sciences that have found that measures such as building (and adapting) above code can save $4 for every $1 spent. This translates to $15.5B of co-benefits in savings with an investment of $3.6B. However, even with these values, we need to work to address human behavioral change towards thinking with a lens of resilience and adaptation. One way we are trying to address this is by working to connect the ecosystem of resilience/adaptation players and utilizing all of the incredible work out there to? create a repository of examples of resilience and adaptation projects. Doing so hopefully makes this work clear, tangible and actionable.
How can individuals, organizations, or businesses aligned with your vision get involved or collaborate with The Resiliency Company?
@Abby Ross - There are many ways to get involved!? We’re always happy to chat.
What message would you give our readers about the most important things to focus on in the months leading up to 2030? What are the things that should be a significant focus for people and decision-makers in this space?
Abby Ross - As we approach 2030, the focus must shift beyond just decarbonization to actively investing in climate adaptation as a value driver. Climate instability is already reshaping financial markets, and as insurers, lenders, and investors increasingly price climate risk into their models, sectors unprepared for these shifts will face rising costs of capital and devalued assets. A recent analysis indicates a potential $1.47T decline by 2055 in home values due to rising home-insurance costs and homeowners avoiding climate-risky neighborhoods. The key opportunity lies in viewing adaptation not as a defensive cost but as a growth strategy—investing in resilient infrastructure, climate-proofed real estate, and emerging financial products tied to resilience. Private capital will play a crucial role, as governments move slowly, and businesses that integrate adaptation into their strategies early will gain a competitive edge. With regulatory pressures and mandatory climate risk disclosures expanding, decision-makers must recognize that adaptation is no longer optional—it’s a market opportunity that will define economic stability and growth in the coming decade.
Unbound Summits' mission focuses on connections, new insights, and unbound adaptation & resilience opportunities.?Find out more about The Resiliency Company at https://resiliency.com/