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From Greenwashing to Measurable Impact: Highlights from the ClimaTech Webinar

 

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As infrastructure investors face increasing pressure to address climate risks, many still struggle to identify which strategies are truly effective. In a webinar hosted by IPE and led by the EDHEC Climate Institute, experts introduced ClimaTech — a science-based tool designed to help stakeholders go beyond greenwashing and make climate risk assessment more systematic, measurable, and actionable. This article outlines the key takeaways from the session.
ClimaTech_Webinar_IPE

On 15 July 2025, the EDHEC Climate Institute conducted a webinar titled "Beyond Greenwashing: Proven Strategies to Protect Infrastructure from Climate Risk," hosted by Investment & Pensions Europe (IPE). The event explored how infrastructure owners, managers, and investors can make climate resilience more actionable—by moving away from symbolic measures and toward interventions grounded in data, engineering science, and practical relevance.

The session was led by Nishtha Manocha, Project Lead of ClimaTech, and Conor Hubert, Sustainability Research Engineer, both of the EDHEC Climate Institute. Together, they introduced the ClimaTech project: a multi-year research initiative designed to provide structured, science-based support for climate risk assessment and adaptation in the infrastructure sector.

The Gap: A Lack of Reliable, Usable Data

Despite growing awareness of climate-related risks, many infrastructure investors still lack access to tools that connect asset type, exposure, and appropriate mitigation strategies. Unlike financial instruments, infrastructure assets are physically exposed, location-specific, and operationally diverse—making them difficult to assess without in-depth technical data.

As Nishthanoted, many smaller or mid-sized investors don’t have the in-house expertise to conduct asset-level assessments of flood exposure, wind risk, or emissions sources. As a result, well-meaning efforts often result in fragmented or superficial disclosures, failing to capture material risk.

This reality was reinforced by polling conducted during the session: nearly half of the webinar audience reported still developing their climate risk approach, and a majority cited a lack of access to reliable data and decision-support tools as their primary barrier to progress.

The Response: Introducing ClimaTech

ClimaTech was developed to directly address these gaps. It combines two years of engineering-led research and nine peer-reviewed publications into a comprehensive, open-access platform. The tool maps more than 1,800 applications of 103 strategies across 101 infrastructure types, covering both:

  • Transition risks – including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions; and
  • Physical risks – including flooding, extreme heat, wildfires, and extreme wind.

Crucially, ClimaTech does not merely list possible actions. It evaluates them according to their effectiveness, links them to relevant enabling technologies, and provides guidance on design thresholds (e.g., protection against 1-in-1000-year flood events). These insights are backed by quantified inputs and scientific literature, making them both credible and practical.

The tool is designed to support a wide range of stakeholders—including asset owners, regulators, lenders, and consultants—especially those with limited technical resources.

DecarbonisationStrategies_Transport_ClimaTech

 Example Output – Transport Sector 

Going Beyond Greenwashing

One of the central themes of the webinar was the need to move beyond greenwashing: superficial reporting that obscures real climate risk. Conor explained that this often occurs in three forms:

  • Obfuscation: hiding or misrepresenting emissions data
  • Omission: failing to report entire segments of the risk profile
  • Over-emphasis: focusing on low-impact measures, such as energy-efficient lighting, while ignoring major risk drivers

These trends persist even in the presence of reporting frameworks like SFDR, SBTi, or SASB. ClimaTech addresses this challenge by identifying which strategies are material, measurable, and context-specific—enabling organisations to focus on what works, rather than what’s easy to report.

As Nishtha highlighted, ClimaTech supports a shift from compliance-driven disclosure toward risk-driven decision-making, helping investors align fiduciary duties with long-term asset resilience.

Case Study: An Australian Airport

To demonstrate the tool in action, the team presented a case study of a large Australian airport. Initial modelling of its flood risk resulted in a very high exposure score. However, by incorporating information disclosed in public sustainability reports—such as elevation of critical systems and installation of flood barriers—the ClimaTech framework was able to adjust the score and reflect the real-world impact of these interventions.

Flood risk dropped from 96/100 to 66/100, and the asset’s overall physical exposure rating improved from F to C. This example illustrates ClimaTech’s value in quantifying the effectiveness of adaptation strategies and supporting transparent, evidence-based risk communication.

 

 

Open Access for Broader Impact

True to EDHEC’s mission of conducting research for impact, ClimaTech is being made publicly available. An interactive version of the database will soon be accessible through the EDHEC Climate Institute website, free of charge. Users can explore sector-specific strategies, apply geographic filters, and access accompanying technical documentation.

For those seeking more granular assessments, the session also introduced Scientific Climate Ratings, a new initiative that builds on ClimaTech’s foundations to deliver systematic asset-level ratings for over 6,000 infrastructure assets worldwide. Basic ratings are freely available; advanced use cases can be supported upon request.

Further Resources