S&P 500 companies mentioned "resilience" 600 times on earnings calls last quarter. The word is exploding, and it's losing meaning. New research shows only one kind of resilience moves stock prices.
The Weekly: Why Small Moves Beat Big Mandates in Resilient Real Estate
Incrementalism is often dismissed as not scalable enough to translate into population-level outcomes. But a series of incremental changes, conducted by various stakeholders in concert, can translate into new norms, higher standards, and more resilient cities.
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In this edition:
- Feature: A new article by Abby Ross on the case for incremental change in the commercial real estate sector. - In the news: Texas lawmakers repeatedly failed to pass legislation that could have protected residents from deadly floods. - From the archive: FORTIFIED roofs and homes are saving Alabama homeowners and insurers thousands.
Most organizations working on climate resilience have a good idea of what needs to happen. The harder question is how.
Last year, The Resiliency Company created a playbook for commercial real estate. From Vulnerability to Value, A Risk Mitigation Playbook to Drive Resilient Development is designed to show how the ecosystem of stakeholders in the sector—such as lenders, investors, developers, owners, designers, contractors, and insurers—can work in coordination to reduce weather-related risk and unlock new value.
We took an early draft to an event at Climate Week NY in 2025 to get feedback from industry leaders. Everyone was in alignment with the premise and utility of the playbook and acknowledged that the industry already has the knowledge, technology, and standards for risk reduction.
However, when we broke out into groups to explore how to actually operationalize the playbook in the context of the various stakeholder silos, the realities and obstacles to change became very real. People who were bought in on the concepts wrestled with the implementation and justification of how to directly attribute ROI.
It makes sense. We've built our current operating and investing models on assumptions and dynamics that, for many years, we haven't had to revisit. America's infrastructure was built during a period of relative climate stability—when weather could be treated as a constant. That's no longer true.
Success Is Not Always Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
In the executive summary of the Risk Mitigation Playbook, we wrote, "The time for incremental change has passed. Success demands decisive, collaborative action across the entire CRE ecosystem." Those words were intended to spark action—more rallying cry than nuanced analysis. As time has passed, I've come to question them.
Yes, we're seeing a meteoric increase in the number of billion-dollar disasters in the United States. Yes, investing and building with resilience is a strategic imperative. But what we need more is the broad adoption of incremental change. Incrementalism is often dismissed as not scalable enough to translate into population-level outcomes. But a series of incremental changes, conducted by various stakeholders in concert, can translate into new norms, higher standards, and more resilient cities.
In commercial real estate, the people with the most influence over a project's risk profile are rarely the ones who ultimately bear that risk. Developers make the decisions that determine how much a building can withstand, and then hand it off. Lenders underwrite the asset and then exit. Contractors build to spec and move to the next project.
The risk ultimately lands with owners, insurers, and communities. Incremental steps matter because they can shift behavior for each stakeholder, without waiting for the whole system to realign.
A few examples for incremental improvements from the playbook:
Investors can model insurance costs with escalation. According to a Deloitte report, commercial buildings in Florida, California, and Texas have seen 31% year-over-year and 108% five-year increases in insurance premiums. Modeling one deal on a realistic curve lets the investment committee see what the asset actually looks like by year seven.
Developers can require above-code resilience in one RFP—wind-rated glazing above local code in Miami, or a higher stormwater design in Houston—and evaluate design teams on how they meet that requirement.
Contractors can replace generic "act of God" language in one subcontract with a specific list of named perils, tying time extensions and cost-reimbursement consequences to each one. Construction projects worldwide are delayed by weather 45% of the time.
None of these changes requires coordination across the value chain to take effect. Each action works on its own, and when enough actors make enough small moves, the cumulative effect can become a new standard of practice.
Pre-development is where leverage is highest. This is why Shalini Vajjhala and Caroline George of PRE Collective argue that "in many ways, the business case for resilience looks more like preventative healthcare or early childhood education than traditional capital planning or infrastructure finance. Early action creates the greatest value." Incremental change isn't flashy. It flies below the radar. But it's also where we need to start.
Are ‘Moderate’ Hurricanes Getting Squeezed Out of the Atlantic? | Insurance Journal | Hurricane science is pointing toward a sharper risk profile: fewer middle-intensity storms, more weaker storms and category 4-5 hurricanes. For insurers, that shift translates into heavier tail risk, even when total storm counts remain steady.
USDA Wildfire Directives and Forest Service Reorganization Explained | The Hotshot Wake Up | This podcast episode breaks down the USDA’s 2026 wildfire preparedness memo and its directives for the Forest Service, offering a ground-level view of how federal wildfire policy is evolving ahead of what many expect to be another severe fire season.
Read more about resilient public infrastructure and government solutions on The Epicenter here.
Half of New York City’s Population Is at Risk of ‘Extreme’ Flood Damage | Scientific American | New research highlights extreme flood risk facing coastal U.S. cities, especially New York City and New Orleans. Over four million New Yorkers and nearly all New Orleans residents face potential inundation. The article suggests mitigation, urban redesign, and adaptation efforts that could help.
Read more about resilient real estate on The Epicenter here.
Private Investment
Adaptation10: Adaptation “Sommeliers” | ClimateProof | As climate risk platforms mature, a new category is emerging to bridge the gap between exposure data and implementable solutions. Dubbed “adaptation sommeliers,” these tools aim to match specific hazards and local conditions with the most appropriate interventions.
FORTIFIED Roofs and Homes Are Saving Alabama Homeowners and Insurers Thousands | The Epicenter Editors | Homeowners who built their homes to IBHS-certified FORTIFIED standards saved thousands after Hurricane Sally hit in 2020. The FORTIFIED building standard is saving homes from Category 3 storm damage, and also saving homeowners and insurance companies costs on annual insurance premiums and claims.
Rhode Island Offers a Blueprint for Financing Coastal Climate Resilience | Susan Crawford | Over the last 15 years, Rhode Island has seen cataclysmic inland flooding, tornadoes, and rapidly rising sea levels wearing away at its coast. But the state plans to be a safer, more stable place to live in 50 years.
Have thoughts to share or want to add your voice to the conversation? Reach out!
The Epicenter helps decision makers understand climate risks and discover viable resilience solutions. The Epicenter is an affiliated publication of The Resiliency Company, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and empowering humanity to adapt to the accelerating challenges of the next 100+ years.
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