Reimagining Resilience: The 10 Trailblazing Climate Adaptation Consultants Powering a Stronger Europe

Adaptation as Europe’s New Imperative

As Europe faces the growing realities of climate change, from sudden floods to chronic drought, adaptation is no longer a distant consideration but a critical, urgent task for communities, industries, and policymakers. Across the continent, a new wave of climate adaptation consultants and climate tech startups is powering this shift, providing the expertise and innovation needed to translate scientific risk assessments into resilient strategies, implement nature-based solutions, secure adaptation financing, and build the systemic, climate-read solutions Europe demands.

This article spotlights the Top 10 EU-based adaptation consultants and celebrates their pivotal roles, and discusses the essential topics they tackle—including climate risk, systemic resilience, and nature-based adaptation—while guiding readers to explore further at the upcoming European Climate Change Adaptation Summit.

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The Evolving Landscape: Why Adaptation Consultants Matter ?

Adapting to climate change is a complex, multi-sector challenge that demands a blend of technical, financial, and policy know-how. Today’s adaptation consultants:

• They design robust risk assessments for cities and regions facing threats like floods and heatwaves, translating climate science into clear, actionable strategies tailored to local vulnerabilities.
• They help businesses systematically quantify and address the physical risks climate change poses to their supply chains, enabling proactive risk management and operational resilience.
• They pioneer and implement innovative, nature-based solutions—such as restoring wetlands, enhancing urban green infrastructure, and developing cooling strategies—to reduce exposure and strengthen both communities and ecosystems.
• They secure vital access to adaptation finance and guide clients in investing in resilient infrastructure, structuring projects to attract funding, meet regulatory standards, and ensure long-term climate security.

Meet the Leaders: Top 10 Climate Adaptation Consultants in Europe

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1. EcoAct (Atos Group) (Paris, France)

• Core Focus: Carbon analytics, adaptation planning.
• What They Do: EcoAct supports businesses in understanding and reporting their physical climate risks and shaping adaptation strategies aligned with regulatory frameworks.
• Impact Example: Their guidance has enabled leading corporations to implement climate risk disclosures and future-proof supply chains.

2. Anthesis Group (Congleton, United Kingdom)

• Core Focus: Circular economy, climate risk, business resilience.
• What They Do: Anthesis works across sectors to help companies embed resilience into their operations, often linking circular economy opportunities with climate adaptation.
• Impact Example: Their experts have designed corporate risk mitigation plans, helping multinationals strengthen both climate and financial resilience.

3. ERM (Environmental Resources Management) (London, United Kingdom )

• Core Focus: Corporate climate risk, strategic adaptation.
• What They Do: ERM advises major infrastructure projects and global companies on integrating climate risk assessments and resilient planning into their long-term strategies.
• Impact Example: Notably, ERM has managed large-scale resilience planning for major new transport and energy infrastructure in Europe.

4. Adelphi (Berlin, Germany) 

• Core Focus: Climate adaptation and vulnerability, environmental policy, sustainability strategy, circular economy, peace and security, international development.
• What They Do: adelphi is a prominent European think-and-do tank that partners with governments, municipalities, and private organizations to deliver climate risk analysis, policy guidance, capacity building, and practical adaptation strategies. Their work draws on in-depth research, broad stakeholder engagement, and on-the-ground project delivery, tackling issues including urban heat, water scarcity, climate migration, and climate security.
• Impact Example: adelphi played a pivotal role in the RESIST (Regions for Climate Change Resilience through Innovation, Science and Technology) project, collaborating with advanced and less-advanced European regions to develop and transfer innovative adaptation solutions tailored to distinct risks. Through comprehensive assessments and stakeholder workshops, they deployed scalable strategies for regional resilience.

5. Ricardo (United Kingdom) 

• Core Focus: Engineering, scientific and consulting expertise, sustainability, decarbonization, environmental innovation.
• What They Do: Delivers strategic, technical, and scientific solutions for climate adaptation, transport, and energy systems, operating across 23 countries.
• Impact Example: Advanced climate resilience by designing decarbonized transport, clean air/water solutions, and adaptation strategies for private and public sector clients.

6. Buro Happold ( Bath, United Kingdom) 

• Core Focus: Climate vulnerability assessment, resilience strategy, adaptive infrastructure
• What They Do: Integrates climate resilience into urban and regional planning through assessments, stakeholder engagement, and adaptive design.
• Impact Example: Led climate action and adaptation assessments for major cities.

7. Climate-KIC (London, United Kingdom)

• Core Focus: Regional innovation, systemic climate resilience.
• What They Do: The EU’s flagship platform for climate innovation; coordinates pilots, funds adaptation projects, and builds cross-sector knowledge networks.
• Impact Example: Enabled over 100 climate adaptation projects across Europe, including water management and urban resilience pilots.

8. Gaia Consulting (Sweco Sustainability Consulting) (Stockholm, Sweden) 

• Core Focus: Climate adaptation, risk assessment, circular economy, biodiversity.
• What They Do: Develops tailored adaptation and Net Zero strategies for cities and industry, now leveraged through Sweco’s wider network.
• Impact Example: Supported municipalities and corporates in the Nordics with advanced adaptation and emissions reduction roadmaps.

9. Quantis (Geneva, Switzerland) 

• Core Focus: Science-based climate and nature strategy, value chain adaptation.
• What They Do: Equips businesses with robust adaptation and climate risk assessment, nature-positive strategy, and holistic reporting tools.
• Impact Example: Delivered adaptation and scenario analysis for global brands in food, fashion, and consumer goods, driving supply chain resilience.

10. 3Keel (Oxford, United Kingdom)

• Core Focus: Climate change, resilient agriculture, sustainable commodities, circular economy, biodiversity, landscape innovation
• What They Do: Specializes in supply chain resilience, climate risk analysis, and sustainable sourcing for agriculture and nature-positive business.
• Impact Example:
  
  • Supported Just Eat Takeaway.com in carbon reduction planning.
  • Enabled Oddbox to assess and cut food waste.
  • Developed nature-positive strategies for the UK food system and sustainability frameworks for industry groups.

What Do Adaptation Consultants Actually Do?

Climate Risk Assessment

• They use sophisticated analytics to quantify exposure to hazards like heatwaves, wildfires, droughts, or floods.
• Consultants often develop advanced modelling tools and run scenario analyses, helping their clients anticipate shifting risks at local, regional, and continental levels. 

Strategy & Policy Advisory

• Experts work closely with public institutions to draft adaptation plans aligned with the EU’s goals of achieving climate resilience by 205025.
• Consultants guide the integration of resilience into investment decisions, urban planning, and supply chain management.

Nature-Based & Innovative Solutions

• Many focus on nature-positive interventions: restoring floodplains, promoting urban greening, and reinvigorating coastal barriers315.
• Engineering firms and technology startups collaborate to create green infrastructure and deploy new digital risk forecasting tools.

Financing and Implementation

• Consultants unlock funding from EU, national, and private sources, designing projects that maximize co-benefits for society and ecosystems39.

Hot Topics in Adaptation & Resilience

• Nature-Based Solutions: Protecting and restoring natural capital such as wetlands and forests to buffer communities from climate impacts.
• Systemic Resilience: Not just patchwork fixes—these consultants advocate for ‘whole-system’ change, embedding climate adaptation into everything from disaster management to fiscal planning.
• Just Resilience: Addressing social inequalities by directing support and adaptation actions to the most vulnerable communities.
• Digital & Data-Driven Adaptation: From early-warning systems to satellite-enabled risk mapping, digital tools are reshaping how decisions are made. 

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What’s Next? Attend The Global Flood & Water Risk Summit – Amsterdam: December 10 & 11, 2025

2025 Europe summit is the premier gathering for global leaders, innovators, and investors committed to shaping a resilient future in the face of escalating physical water risks.

Why Attend?

Engage with a highly senior audience, including corporate leaders, innovators, policymakers, and financiers. Schedule dedicated 1-on-1 meetings, participate in exclusive networking sessions, and leave with invaluable industry connections and insights.

Event Details:

• Dates: 10 & 11 December 2025
• Location: The Venue Collective HQ, Amsterdam
• Who’s Going: 200+ leaders from government, business, science, investment, NGOs, and innovation
• What to Expect: High-impact keynotes, targeted panels, and purpose-driven networking focused on building a flood-resilient world

The Bottom Line: Adaptation Can’t Wait

You are invited to join the movement—connect, collaborate, learn, and lead. Want to help define what a flood-prepared and water-resilient world looks like?

Want to get to know the innovators and solutions making these solutions real? Join the Global Flood & Water Risk Summit in Amsterdam this October.

For more on adaptation solutions, climate intelligence, and the upcoming Amsterdam event, visit Adapt Unbound Europe.