Case Study: The Value-Add of Adaptation
The Summer Berry Co.
The Summer Berry Company operates in Portugal’s water-stressed Odemira region and was once fully reliant on irrigation from the Santa Clara dam. As reservoir levels started to decline and allocations tightened, this created a clear operational risk.
The company acted early, investing in rainwater harvesting and expanding on-site storage. Since 2020, it has increased internal water sourcing from 0% to 66%, significantly reducing dependence on external supply.
This shift has protected the business from in-season water shutoffs and operational disruption. In 2025 alone, 22% of EBITDA could have been impacted through crop losses and missed sales. That downside was avoided through proactive adaptation.
This is hard proof of how targeted investment in climate adaptation can preserve financial performance.