Climate change is increasingly recognized as a business risk for commodity supply chains, especially for perennial crops such as cocoa, coffee and tea. Traders and private-sector actors are exploring how sustainability standards can play a role in channeling adaptation support to farmers, but these frameworks often lack a robust, data-driven basis. ACLIMATAR fills this gap by providing credible, crop-specific climate projections and insights into agro-climatic shifts and risk gradients.
ACLIMATAR provides a unique solution by translating complex climate projections into digestible, crop-specific insights. While adoption of climate-smart certification standards is still nascent, conversations with several industry players and sustainability-focused NGOs have highlighted the tool’s potential to act as a reference for aligning Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives with on-the-ground adaptation needs.
For traders, linking standard compliance with climate-informed action, they can strengthen portfolio resilience, anticipate supply risks, and justify targeted investment in climate-smart practices. Traders and CSR officers can, for example, prioritize interventions in regions projected to face higher climate stress, channeling support efficiently while increasing the resilience of their supply base. For farmers, it means receiving support that is consistent, actionable, and tailored to local conditions - ensuring that adaptation measures are practical rather than symbolic. ACLIMATAR thus supports both scale and specificity, helping decision-makers act strategically without leaving producers behind.
A climate-resilient standard could, for example, part from reporting on the climate risk identified by using ACLIMATAR in production and sourcing regions. From there, companies could be asked to outline concrete measures to reduce identified risks, alongside strategies to channel funding effectively, and finally also support local implementation. This approach ensures that much-needed adaptation finance is directed to the areas most affected, enabling coordinated regional planning with a clear focus on supporting smallholder livelihoods.
Further resources: Teams interested in exploring ACLIMATAR for alignment with sustainability standards or CSR initiatives can reach out to request demonstrations or discuss tailored solutions. The platform’s flexible infrastructure allows integration into specialized tools or workflows, supporting targeted decision-making while leveraging the Alliance’s high-quality climate datasets.
Contact: Alliance-ACLIMATAR@cgiar.org