Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI)

What Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI) does

Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment (GARI) Group, Inc. is a U.S.-incorporated, private investor-led non-profit founded in 2015 and headquartered in New York City. The organization convenes hundreds of private sector investors — pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, banks, and investment managers — through in-person and remote meetings, climate conferences (COP, New York Climate Week, London Climate Action Week), and as of April 2026, an annual Summit. Its core function is producing research, frameworks, and convening services that help investors identify, evaluate, and construct portfolios around climate adaptation and resilience opportunities.

GARI's product surface is a portfolio of free, investor-facing publications and frameworks distributed via its website. Flagship assets include 'The Unavoidable Opportunity' (March 2024), which presents an AI-powered framework identifying 800+ publicly traded resilience companies; the CRISP framework covering all regions, asset classes, growth stages, and sectors; the 2022 'State of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Investment' paper; the 2017 and 2019 Investor Guides; and the 2016 'Bridging the Adaptation Gap' discussion paper. The CAIL initiative, led by Director of Strategy and Programs Sara Shoff, extends programming around innovation learning.

The business model is philanthropic grant-funded (Kresge Foundation in 2020; Bezos Earth Fund and ClimateWorks Foundation for report work), with no membership fees, no paid products, and no licensing revenue disclosed. GARI earns no commercial revenue from its frameworks or events in the available data. The organization employs 8 staff and distributes content through self-serve website downloads, event participation, and partner networks (MSCI Sustainability Institute, The Lightsmith Group, Pollination Group).

Name

Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI)

Legal name

Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment (GARI) Group, Inc.

Website

https://garigroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GARI is a U.S. non-profit founded in 2015 that convenes institutional investors and publishes research — including an AI-powered framework of 800+ climate resilience companies — to catalyze private capital into climate adaptation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Finance Research and Investor Education

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Environmental Consulting Services (541620), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability, ESG & Climate Risk Advisory (BPAHAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

ESG/Sustainable Investment Advisory (FSAEAAAJ), Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Climate resilience investing
• Climate adaptation research
• Investor education frameworks
• Sustainable finance thought leadership
• Impact investing convening

Headquarters

HQ city

New York City, New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Philanthropic Support: GARI received support from Kresge Foundation in 2020 to form a non-profit focused on broadening stakeholder network, expanding thought leadership, and identifying new financial instruments. Additional support from Bezos Earth Fund and ClimateWorks Foundation for report development.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GARI is a private, investor-led working group that convenes hundreds of private sector investors and stakeholders through in-person and virtual meetings, providing education, research, frameworks, and investor guides to catalyze investment in climate adaptation and resilience solutions. Its flagship deliverables include the "Unavoidable Opportunity" investor report (with an AI-powered framework identifying 800+ publicly traded resilience companies) and the CRISP (Climate Resilience Investments in Solutions Principles) framework, alongside an annual summit and participation in COP conferences and Climate Week events.

Product overview

Global Adaptation and Resilience Investment (GARI) Group is a private sector, private investor-led initiative that provides education, research, and resources to catalyze investment in climate resilience. GARI operates as a knowledge and convening platform offering a portfolio of investor guides, research reports, frameworks, and events. Core offerings include the 'Unavoidable Opportunity' investor toolkit and AI-powered framework (identifying 800+ resilience companies), the CRISP (Climate Resilience Investments in Solutions Principles) framework, the 'State of Climate Adaptation' discussion paper, and the foundational Investor Guides series (2017, 2019). GARI also convenes investors through its annual GARI Summit and participates in major climate events including COP31 in Turkey, London Climate Action Week, and New York Climate Week.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Unavoidable Opportunity Report First-of-its-kind investor report and AI-powered framework identifying over 800 publicly traded companies in the business of resilience, with methods investors can use to find these companies and incorporate climate resilience into investment product design.
• CRISP (Climate Resilience Investments in Solutions Principles) Framework A comprehensive framework for identifying relevant companies considering all regions, growth stages, asset classes and sectors for climate resilience investments.
• The State of Climate Adaptation and Resilience Investment 2022 discussion paper released at COP27 in Egypt assessing global progress on physical climate risk and resilience understanding, evaluating the developing investor market through stakeholder surveys, and providing recommendations and paths forward for resilience investments.
• GARI 2019 Investor Briefing on Physical Climate Risk and Resilience Investor briefing released at COP25 in Madrid providing latest developments in adaptation finance relevant for investors.
• GARI 2017 Investor Guide to Physical Climate Risk and Resilience Five-page plain language introduction to physical climate risk and resilience for investors along with suggestions for next steps and additional follow-up reading.
• Bridging the Adaptation Gap 2016 seminal paper released at COP22 focusing on approaches to measurement of physical climate risk and examples of investment in climate adaptation and resilience.
• GARI Summit 2026 Inaugural Global Adaptation and Resilience Investment Summit held on April 20, 2026 in New York City, convening investors and experts to discuss investment opportunities, share strategies, and engage capital with climate resilience solutions.
• GARI Stakeholder Meetings Since 2016, GARI has convened over 50 in-person and remotely-accessible meetings in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, and London, bringing together over 400 private sector investors and stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800+ publicly traded companies identified as part of climate resilience investment universe
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Pollination GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025GARI collaborated with Pollination Group on the article 'De-Risking Climate Adaptation Investment: Building resilience investment frameworks for an unavoidable future' published as part of GARI insights.
• MSCI Sustainability InstituteflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024MSCI Sustainability Institute provided data and analytics for 'The Unavoidable Opportunity' report and collaborated on the AI-powered framework for identifying climate resilience companies. Also collaborated on 'The Hidden Adaptation Economy' report in 2026.
• The Lightsmith GroupflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024The Lightsmith Group provided data and analytics for the AI-powered framework and co-developed the CRISP framework with GARI. Jay Koh, GARI's Founder and Chair, is also Co-Founder and Managing Director of The Lightsmith Group.
• UN Secretary General's Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape (A2R) Climate Resilience InitiativeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015GARI was launched at COP21 in conjunction with the UN Secretary General's A2R Climate Resilience Initiative and is now an official partner of A2R, designed to bring together private investors and stakeholders to focus on climate adaptation and resilience investment.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Climate Advisers: Climate Advisers is a policy and investment advisory firm supporting climate finance initiatives and emerging-economy transitions. It is comparable to GARI in producing investor-focused research and policy engagement on climate capital flows.

Emerging players

• The Lightsmith Group: Climate adaptation-focused private equity firm co-founded by GARI's founder Jay Koh. Lightsmith co-developed the CRISP framework with GARI and operates adjacent to GARI in the climate adaptation investment ecosystem, making it a closely linked peer with overlapping leadership.

Direct peers

• Pollination Group: Pollination is a specialist climate advisory and investment firm that collaborates with GARI on resilience investment frameworks. It is comparable as a climate-focused advisory partner serving investors and corporates on adaptation and decarbonization strategy.
• Ceres: Ceres is a nonprofit sustainability advocacy organization that convenes institutional investors and corporate leaders on climate and ESG issues. Like GARI, it produces investor-facing research, frameworks, and convening events aimed at mobilizing private capital toward climate outcomes.
• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI): PRI is a UN-supported investor network advancing responsible investment, including climate adaptation and resilience themes. It is comparable to GARI as a UN-aligned investor convening body producing research, frameworks, and signatory engagement for institutional capital allocators.
• Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC): IIGCC is a European-based investor membership body focused on climate change, with parallel convening, policy advocacy, and investor guidance functions. It is comparable to GARI as a climate-investor network producing practical guidance for capital deployment, though more mitigation-weighted.

Broad incumbents

• South Pole Group: South Pole is a large climate solutions provider offering advisory, carbon credit, and nature-based solutions services to corporates and investors. It is comparable to GARI in providing climate advisory services and helping clients identify climate-aligned investment opportunities.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): CDP runs a global environmental disclosure system used by thousands of companies and institutional investors to assess climate risk and adaptation. It is comparable to GARI as an investor-facing climate data and reporting ecosystem, though focused on disclosure rather than convening.
• Boston Consulting Group (Climate & Sustainability Practice): BCG's Climate & Sustainability practice produces investor-facing research on adaptation and resilience, including the May 2025 study on the private equity opportunity in climate A&R. It is comparable to GARI as a producer of institutional-grade research on adaptation investment opportunities.
• MSCI Sustainability Institute: MSCI's sustainability research arm provides data, analytics, and thought leadership on climate resilience to institutional investors. It is comparable to GARI as a producer of investor-facing climate research and the co-author of the Unavoidable Opportunity and Hidden Adaptation Economy reports.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/global-adaptation-and-resilience-investment-working-group-gari-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI)