14. – 15. October 2026

Turning Climate Risks
into Business Opportunities

Name: Corporate Climate Adaptation 2026
Start: 2026-10-14T09:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-15T15:00:00+02:00
Location: Handelsblatt Media Group

A factory slows down production during a heat wave. A logistics route becomes unreliable after extreme rainfall. An investment committee assesses which assets will remain viable in the long term – and where investments should be made in the future.

Climate adaptation is no longer a distant concern. It has become a series of strategic business decisions regarding productivity, resilience, capital allocation, and growth.

At the same time, a new market is emerging. As climate-related pressures mount, companies are developing solutions in areas such as data and analytics, cooling, water management, resilient infrastructure, and risk modeling. What was once seen as a protective measure is increasingly becoming a field for innovation and competitive advantage.

The Handelsblatt Conference Corporate Climate Adaptation brings together decision-makers from industry, finance, startups, academia, and politics to discuss how organizations can manage climate risks while capitalizing on the opportunities presented by the emerging adaptation economy. We focus on practical implementation: how climate adaptation is integrated into corporate strategy, operational processes, governance, and investment decisions – and how scalable solutions are developed across industries.

After all, the question is no longer whether climate adaptation is relevant for businesses. The question is where value is created – and who reaps the benefits.

Super Early Bird Tickets

Days

Hours

Minutes

Seconds

What is Corporate Climate Adaptation?

Speaker Announcements

Prof. Dr. Johan Rockström Director – Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

Christian Brüchle Chief Financial Officer (CFO) – WELEDA AG

Prof. Dr. Caroline Rudzinski Professor of Strategic Management – HWR Berlin

Dr. Andreas K. Gruber Chief Sustainability Officer – DKB

Matthias Beer Head of Climate – Siemens

Prof. Dr. Christian Geiß Head of Research Group Georisks – German Aerospace Center (DLR)

Live Roundtable

We provide a personal and open forum for dialogue between experts, local decision-makers and thought leaders in the field of climate adaptation. The aim is to address relevant perspectives at an early stage, discuss current challenges openly and generate concrete ideas for the future.

Find out more

What to Expect

What to Expect — Two Days. One agenda. Zero hedging.

Day 1 — From Climate Realism to Practice

Climate Realism: The data, the risks, the psychological barriers — confronted head-on
Adaptation Tech Awards: 8 startups pitching scalable solutions
Adaptation in Practice: 4 parallel tracks, 12 company case studies across Governance, Supply Chains, Technology & Valuation

Day 2 — Designing a Resilient Future

The Adaptation Economy: Finance, policy & the business case for resilience
Ecosystem Action Labs: Hands-on working groups designing the building blocks of a resilient
Closing & Outlook: What Germany's corporate sector commits to — from Düsseldorf to COP

Your added value

Practical insights from leading companies

Learn how organizations integrate climate adaptation into governance, strategy, and operational processes.

Concrete solutions and technologies

Discover innovations and startups developing scalable solutions for climate resilience.

Strategic Perspectives from the Financial and Political Worlds

Understand how investors, insurers, and political actors are shaping the emerging adaptation economy.

High-caliber networking

Network with leaders, sustainability experts, investors, and climate resilience professionals.

Health begins with the air we breathe, the water we drink, the plants we eat, bearable temperatures, and peaceful coexistence. All of these life foundations are in danger, and none of them will get better on their own. We don't need to save „the climate“ – we need to save ourselves!

Dr. Eckart von Hirschhausen Doctor, science journalist, and foundation founder, Healthy Earth – Healthy People

Companies that invest in sustainable transformation today not only secure their own future viability but also unlock new business potential. Transformation is not a cost factor, but a business case.

Christiane Rudolph Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH

Climate change is not a distant threat, but a current challenge – and at the same time, an opportunity to create resilient solutions together that protect people, businesses, and our environment.

Prof. Dr. Matthias von Harten Team Lead Climate Resilience Germany, Zurich Resilience Solutions, Germany

Climate adaptation deals with current problem symptoms, while climate mitigation addresses long-term root causes. Understanding the consequences of their different natures, as well as managing potential conflicting demands, is key to successfully integrating corporate climate adaptation and mitigation measures.

Prof. Dr. Nadine Pratt Professor of International Management and Sustainability, FOM University of Applied Sciences

The time to act is now! Adapting to climate change is not just an option, but an urgent necessity to protect our society, economy, and planet for future generations. Every day of postponement brings us closer to irreversible damage – we must act immediately to secure a sustainable and resilient future.

Daniel Schneiders Head of Climate Program, Bayer AG

In a world already affected by the impacts of climate change, we must urgently develop sustainable strategies to make our business more resilient.

Helen Kappel Senior Sustainability Manager, Climate Risk, Jungheinrich AG

At LIXIL, we believe climate adaptation starts with innovation, both in product innovation and in our own manufacturing processes. As our products touch the lives of more than a billion people every day, LIXIL has a unique responsibility in creating an adaptive and resilient future.

Philipp Lüders Head of Business Unit B2C, LIXIL Europe / GROHE

Given the increasing physical climate risks, adaptation must be brought more into focus – and this requires close cooperation between business, politics, and the financial sector.

Viktoriya Brand CSO/Group Sustainability, Deutsche Bank AG

Catalyzing private capital into adaptation solution investments will remain unattractive until climate risk is correctly priced, policy distortions are removed, and expectation lags are shortened. Overcoming these barriers is the task of creating adaptation markets and, more broadly, economies.