As climate\u2011driven disasters become more frequent, many building owners still lack a clear roadmap for which resilience measures to pursue \u2014 or whether those investments will pay off.<\/p>\n
A recent study on the impacts of climate change on an identical multi-family residential building model in nine U.S. and three Canadian cities reveals some surprising findings: the right investments in resilience can result in significant monetary returns.<\/p>\n
In Miami Beach, a city facing high risk to flooding, for example, the study, called Investing in Resilience, found for every $1 invested in flood resilience there was a $42 return.<\/p>\n
Engineered deployable flood barriers were one of the priority measures in Miami, says Olivia Pink, the head of science and solutions at ClimateFirst, which conducted the six-month study.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are able to quantify the risk and put numbers around it, you are able to prove the really positive financial impact that investing in adaptation at an asset level delivers,\u201d says Pink.<\/p>\n A company of Guelph, Ont.-based RWDI, ClimateFirst applies software solutions to identify, quantify and manage physical climate risk. It down-scaled global climate models for the 12-city case study and then identified climate hazards at each of the sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pink says there were a wide range of climate risks, with at least one \u201chigh to very extreme risk\u201d at all the Canadian and U.S. sites.<\/p>\n While the study on U.S. cities has concluded, research findings on the three Canadian cities -Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax \u2013 won\u2019t be released until the end of the month.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But Pink did say that over 10 years, the highest risk in Canadian cities was at the Toronto multi-residential building level.<\/p>\n It faced a $2 million risk due to due to localized flooding. Extreme heat in Toronto is also a climate-change concern.<\/p>\n Rain was identified as a high-risk factor in Vancouver and extreme wind and flooding in Halifax.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Pink says resiliency measures and adaptation strategies don\u2019t always have to be \u201ca massive\u201d investment.<\/p>\n She says low to moderate measures to reduce risks that can have \u201ca big impact,\u201d include water sensors in elevators and attached to water-sensitive equipment.<\/p>\n More costly measures that can still pay off include flood barriers such as quickdams, a quick-install barrier that typically consists of a fabric tube with an absorbent filling. Flood gates in front of doors are other options. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Pink adds mechanical systems needing replacement should be sized for cooling and heating needs over the equipment\u2019s lifespan, not for today\u2019s climate. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are more things that can be combined with general maintenance etc. to make your asset more resilient.\u201d<\/p>\n She says the ideal time to consider resiliency measures is during the design of a building.<\/p>\n ClimateFirst partnered with the BMO Climate Institute and the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario to conduct the study.<\/p>\n Pink says the report has been well received by asset owners, developers and others.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is something that folks responsible for managing climate risk have been looking for,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a way to take climate risk to stakeholders who are making key decisions for assets and allow it to have a quantified understanding and business case around it the same way that other risks are managed so that true decisions can be made.\u201d<\/p>\n Pink hopes the findings will promote discussions in the insurance world which could lead to asset owners and operators rethinking financial decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would allow this conversation to move from a cost benefit analysis to a return on investment.\u201d<\/p>\n Of all the 12 cities, Phoenix faced the lowest risk to climate hazards over a 10-year period of $70,000 while Miami Beach had the highest at $5 million, she says.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Olivia](\"https:\/\/cc-production-uploads-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Olivia-Pinkheadshot.png\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/cc-production-uploads-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Map-of-Cities-Includedweb.png\")