Adaptation That Delivers More: Social Value as a Strategic Outcome of Climate Resilience
The publication of CCRA4 and the Well-Adapted UK report from the Climate Change Committee on 20th May put sharp into focus the growing scale of climate risk and the need for more systemic adaptation. The Well-Adapted report goes much further in its ambitions to bring people into the process, including conducting a Citizen Panel to understand views on climate adaptation. As adaptation becomes more place-based, there is a clear need to better connect climate resilience, infrastructure, and social value in decision-making.
To explore this, Accelar and Ambrook spoke with organisations across infrastructure and the built environment about how they are approaching adaptation and social value in practice.
Key insights
Adaptation is broadening from asset protection to people and place
A strong cross-cutting theme is the shift away from narrow asset-focused thinking towards a broader and more holistic view of adaptation. Interviewees described adaptation in terms of operational continuity, service reliability, workforce safety, passenger experience, community impacts, and place-based resilience. This reflects a wider move from asking “How do we protect the asset?” to “How do we protect the service, the user, and the places connected to it?”
For example, Lendlease’s Silvertown regeneration shows what happens when adaptation stops being framed as asset protection alone and starts being used to shape better places. At the Royal Docks, measures such as flood attenuation, greening, waterfront amenity and a low-carbon energy network are doing more than reducing climate risk, they are being used to support affordability, wellbeing and social equity.
HS2 Ltd shows how adaptation can extend beyond asset protection to wider outcomes for people and place. Measures such as resilient drainage, rainwater reuse and climate-responsive design are intended not only to protect infrastructure, but also to improve passenger experience, support workforce safety and reduce wider impacts on surrounding areas.
Social value is often visible, but not always explicit
The interviews suggest that social value is already being created through adaptation, even where it is not named or measured consistently. Some examples of social value emerging through adaptation include:
• reduced disruption and maintained connectivity
• improved accessibility
• better passenger experience
• community amenity and greener space
• health and wellbeing benefits
• reduced future bills / improved affordability
• local employment and skills
• economic activity supported by resilient infrastructure
But in many organisations, this is still emergent rather than systematically integrated.
Local context shapes better adaptation outcomes
Another strong theme is the importance of local context in shaping adaptation outcomes. Interviewees highlighted how decisions can be influenced by a range of factors, including geography and climate exposure, existing assets and infrastructure, local deprivation and housing need, patterns of movement and access, and the priorities of communities and delivery partners. This is where adaptation and social value naturally connect – the more place-specific the intervention, the more likely it is to produce meaningful local benefits.
Siemens Mobility’s social value approach shows that better adaptation outcomes come from responding to local context, not applying a one-size-fits-all model. Through local site assessments and work with community and sector partners, it tailors responses to specific needs around flood resilience, green space and access.
Engagement helps widen the adaptation conversation
Stakeholder engagement appears to be one of the main ways organisations begin to connect resilience with social outcomes. Interviewees discussed a range of approaches, from workshops and academic collaboration to community dialogue and cross-function collaboration, which help to surface critical questions around who benefits, who may be excluded and how local priorities should shape interventions. While engagement approaches are still uneven and inconsistent within and across sectors, it’s clear that adaptation becomes more socially meaningful when treated as a genuinely collaborative process, rather than a purely technical exercise.
RSSB’s work with train operators shows how engagement can widen the adaptation conversation. Through workshops, guidance and academic collaboration, it helped shift thinking beyond infrastructure risk alone to consider wider impacts on operations, staff, passengers and the people around assets.
Image: Thermometer in sand
The Challenges
• Social value is not yet consistently embedded in adaptation decision-making. It is often acknowledged conceptually but not treated as a core decision criterion.
• Metrics and evidence remain fragmented. Interviewees pointed to inconsistent measurement frameworks and difficulty evidencing benefits.
• Organisational silos limit integration. Social value, sustainability, resilience, and investment decisions may sit in different teams.
• Adaptation is still often seen as technical or compliance-led, this can narrow the conversation and underplay wider social outcomes.
• Community influence is not always strong enough. Some projects are shaped more by assets, standards, or delivery structures than by local priorities.
The Opportunity
The opportunity now is to design social value into adaptation from the start. Using methodologies, such as cascading impacts and user profiles, put the user at the centre of decision making which will also drive better social outcomes. That means building a stronger investment case, better place-based evidence and more consistent measurement, and embedding social value earlier through strategy, design, collaboration and clearer ownership.
A special thank you to HS2 Ltd, Lendlease, RSSB and Siemens Mobility for their contributions.
Collaborate with Accelar: Discover consultancy services in climate, infrastructure and nature recovery alongside digital tools like acra, Sustainability Business Tracker and BNG Finder. Email: [info@accelar.co.uk]
Collaborate with Ambrook: With a place-based and locally focused approach, we can help you embed positive social outcomes into projects and programmes by aligning data driven research, stakeholder engagement and strategic communications. Email: susan.emmett@ambrook.co.uk