Evidence is mounting that the financial impacts of climate change are already being taken seriously.

Analysis from consulting firm, McKinsey, found that across 200 earnings calls, analyst/investor days and press releases among a cohort of public firms, between 2021 and 2025, mentions of climate resilience-related terms jumped 55%.

New research from the European Central Bank says that climate-related events can raise the cost of debt.

And around the world, several partnerships have emerged, in which environmental and sustainability(E&S) consultancies are helping clients navigate the very real risks accompanying a changing climate.

In February, London-headquartered ERM announced it is partnering with Jupiter Intelligence, a specialist in extreme weather risk and adaptation analytics, to help organisations translate the risks into strategy.

We spoke with ERM about what is driving this partnership, and how it brings out the two organisations’ strengths to meet the moment.

What is driving the partnership?

This market is at an interesting point in time, Michael Mangiante, global climate risk and resiliency lead at ERM, tells Environment Analyst.

He says many companies have gone through their inaugural climate risk assessments – for example a TCFD analysis, or for regulatory requirements under SB 261in California, or IFRS.

Now, they are asking “what’s next?”

Clients are thinking not only about how to manage risks within their businesses, but how to integrate this into standard operating procedures, and to inform capital allocation.

Some companies are more inclined to invest in climate risk management if they have more to lose, due to physical exposure.

In this light, this market is driven by a blend of meeting compliance obligations and realising broader commercial value.

Further, some of the disclosure methodologies are asking more complicated questions, like quantifying downside and residual risks, Mangiante says.

To help clients answer the “so what” question that follows initial risk reporting, he says ERM’s partnership is based on the understanding that data and its interpretation are only pieces of a broader puzzle.

The collaboration is designed to combine best-in-class, science-based data, with ERM’s subject matter expertise around things like understanding risk pathways and financial models.

Knowledge of the specific ways climate-related events impact different assets, and hence financial outcomes, is one of the highly sought after traits in this industry, Mangiante says.

For instance, ERM brings engineers who have helped clients navigate natural disasters, experience that is rare and valuable.

Sustainability to resilience: how the approach differs for different companies

The partnership comes as sustainability repositions itself as a more pragmatic, resilience-based movement that can speak the language of C-suites and those who control purse strings.

Mangiante says that when it comes down to it, much of this work is about saying “can we put a dollar sign to this?”

While the overarching framework for managing climate risks remains similar across different client projects, the approach for communicating them can differ from client to client.

For instance, a telecommunications company that has many different towers along its network encounters different risks and different priorities to a manufacturing business, he says.

An understanding of different companies and the potential impacts of various risks on their balance sheets, and the diverse ways such risks can be transferred, are strengths Mangiante says ERM brings. It is then about implementing the right actions across the business.

Leaning into ERM’s strengths, while meeting the market where it is

Environment Analyst’s market data shows that since 2019, ERM has been either the first or second-largest firm by global revenue in the environmental risk, due diligence and transactional service area.

In 2024, the company generated over $500m from such services – only one other exceeded $250m.

This part of the market is forecast to expand at a 5-yr CAGR of 7.0% out to 2029, which would make it one of the fastest growing.

Further, ERM’s partnership announcement highlights it has already worked with Jupiter Intelligence on engagements across finance and manufacturing.

Again, our market data indicates ERM is already very strong in these markets.

In 2024, the company was the second largest by E&S consulting revenue from finance clients, and fifth largest by revenue from industrial, manufacturing and chemical clients.

Mangiante says that as well as meeting the global market for E&S consulting services where it is, the partnership doubles down on ERM’s strengths.

He points to an example from the finance sector. When working on due diligence for an M&A transaction, in the past, climate has often been considered a “red flag screening level”.

What Mangiante is trying to achieve with Jupiter Intelligence is to bring in better data to help such clients identify exposures among different assets to the range of possible extreme events.

He advocates for this to be a more integral part of decision-making in M&A.

Mangiante looks to leverage this partnership to identify where his work can move the needle the most, as the challenges businesses are confronting heat up.