Most organizations have focused climate efforts on mitigation—aiming to prevent future harm by cutting emissions. But as wildfires, floods, and droughts escalate, this research argues adaptation must move center stage. Climate change impacts are already here and, in many cases, unavoidable; businesses and researchers need to develop new strategies for coping with irreversible risks today, not just tomorrow.
The authors call for management scholarship and business strategy to address adaptation and mitigation as two sides of the same coin. Siloed approaches are no longer viable in a world of “compounding risks”—where climate events disrupt supply chains, operations, and communities. An integrated, systems-based perspective is essential: organizations must embed resilience, risk management, and adaptive learning at every level to navigate an increasingly volatile climate.
For business leaders, this means building adaptation into core strategy alongside net-zero targets—preparing operations and employees for the climate realities of today. For researchers, the challenge is to move beyond prevention and help organizations design frameworks that blend mitigation and adaptation for real-world impact. The future of climate response is both/and—not either/or.