Private sector/corporate actor/company

One of the first public institutions to rise to the climate change challenge in the Philippines is the LLDA, which unveiled a two-wing, four-story green building in Quezon City to mark its 48th anniversary in 2014.
Reflecting the critical mandate of the LLDA to protect the country’s largest freshwater lake, the LLDA building features its own water treatment facility, material recovery facility, and a rain collection system that can hold 60,000 gallons of water. In order to be certified by the Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence, several greened areas have been installed in the building: two “pocket gardens” on intermediate levels and a green roof (Bio Roof) which covers an area of 208 m2. The Bio Roof is integrated within the building’s structure. Its vegetative layer protects the waterproofing membrane from climatic extremes, which allows for the reduction in maintenance and the reduction in the size of stormwater handling facilities. [1]

A green wall of 73 square metres was constructed on the building of the Federación de Entidades Empresariales Privadas de Cochabamba (FEPC, the Federation of Private Business Entities of Cochabamba) (Ref. 1). The vertical ecosystem comprises over 3000 plants of 35 species and is considered the first vertical garden to have been created in Bolivia (Ref. 1). The green wall is considered to have 'beautified' the city of Cochabamba, but is also considered to "contribute... effectively to the preservation of the environment" (Ref. 2).

Park Podnikolie, with an area of about 100 hectares, is part of the water-green frame of the city and is included in the conservation zone of the historical and cultural value of the city of Mogilev [4,11]. Since olden times on the territory of Podnikol, there were up to 400 manor plots, occupied mainly by vegetable gardens. Now Podnikolie is a large park, which has become a favourite place for residents and guests of the regional centre [1]. More than 1125 tree saplings have been planted on the territory of Podnikolie to preserve the integrity of the historical ground, the historical territory [1,9,10,11]. Thus, the park is also called the "green heart" of Mogilev city. The densely planted area is officially a quiet recreation area where people "merge" with nature [1,2,6,10]. The project's goal is to improve the urban management system, promote the implementation of the principles of green urban planning, and improve citizens' quality of life through effective cooperation between local authorities and the population [2,9,10].

The intervention targeted a section of the Dominguez Creek for restoration, with the aim of achieving a "multi-benefit project [which] creates passive and active recreation opportunities for park-poor communities, reestablishes native riparian plantings and captures stormwater before entering the channel along the Dominguez Creek in cities of Gardena and Hawthorne" (Ref. 2). Previously being characterised by the local community as a “Triple U” (Undesirable, Unsafe and Unusable) area, the project aimed to support a variety of environmental, sustainability, and humanitarian activities (Ref. 1). The nature-based solution interventions which were implemented as a result of the project mainly pertained to the planting of in situ trees, shrubs and groundcover plants; restoration of the riparian habitat; temporary installation of a "mini-urban forest for a shaded respite from the harsh downtown streetscape"; aiding in stormwater capture; conservation of water resources through using native plant species; and creating "watershed awareness" (Refs. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8).

The Sustainable Residential Complex project was a measure taken by the city of Dubai, one of the largest city ecological footprints, with a goal to reduce it to the smallest ecological footprint by 2050. For the past two decades, the UAE government has made an effort to lower its own dependency on fossil fuels, shifting toward more environmentally-friendly sources to power its cities. The sustainable residential complex development project is one of the few initiatives taken by the city administration of Dubai under Vision 2021. Located just outside Dubai the area is the first operational net-zero energy residential complex in Dubai. [1, 2]

The City of Fort Collins is "taking steps to restore flows, fish passage, and ecological function" of Colorado's Cache la Poudre River (Ref. 6). The river was "heavily manipulated for irrigation and mining" throughout the early 20th century (Ref. 6), and today continues subject to the impacts of gravel mining, agriculture and urbanisation (Ref. 1). Regional climate change predictions further complicate our ability "to understand how the river’s hydrology and ecology may respond to warming climate scenarios" (Ref. 1).
The City of Fort Collins was, therefore "invested heavily in this urban river through extensive planning efforts, purchase of approximately 700 hectares of lands within the river’s floodplain, projects to address stormwater control and conveyance, water quality management, and acquisition of in-stream flow water rights", and in 2011, the City’s Natural Areas Department published the Cache la Poudre River Natural Areas Management Plan which outlined "opportunities and challenges in supporting the river’s ecological function and reducing risks to life and property during significant flood events", particularly through the implementation of nature-based solutions (Ref. 1). A suite of nature-based solutions has since been proposed and implemented by the City of Fort Collins, two of which are the Sterling Pond Ecological Restoration (also referred to as North Shields Ponds), and the McMurry Natural Area Ecological Restoration (Refs. 1 and 2).

Ecosystem-based adaptation planning in Osh will support the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in establishing its National Adaptation Plan (NAP) process and is consistent with the government’s strategic vision for climate change adaptation. Additionally, this project also contributes to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and UNDP’s objectives by increasing resilience for the most vulnerable people, communities, and regions, by strengthening institutional and regulatory systems for climate-responsive planning and development, and by strengthening adaptive capacity and reducing exposure to climate risks. The priority sectors for the project are: (1) disaster and emergency management; (2) health; (3) biodiversity conservation; (4) and agriculture and irrigation water. The relevant agencies and stakeholders of these four sectors will be key to ensuring these plans catalyse investments to enhance adaptive capacity in the city. [1, 2]

The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s coastal zone stretches 40 km and comprises the towns of Muanda, Banana and Nsiamfumu. The problem of coastal erosion has intensified since 1980 with the significant retreat of the coast in the Banana-Muanda segment, this retreat has been estimated as much as 2,300 meters. According to the report of the second national communication on climate change (2010), the Democratic Republic of Congo’s coastal zone, with a coastline of about 40km, is facing coastal erosion due to a combined effect of topography, sandy nature of the soil and ocean dynamics (height and direction of the swell, tide height, current velocity, storms etc.). With the rate of shoreline retreat that is likely, it is expected that the road between Banana-Muanda will be completely lost between 2050 and 2100. The proportion of lands lost to encroaching sea will double (200 m around Nsiamfumu and 100 m between Muanda city and Banana). In total, DRC can expect to see the reach of its coastal zone reduced from 50-100 m by 2100. To respond to some of these complex challenges the Department of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism, Democratic Republic of Congo implemented the present intervention partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). (1,2)

Ecuador is considered one of the most biodiverse countries in the world (one of the 17th most diverse), due to the high diversity of their natural species. The country has around 23.056 taxonomic species of animals and plants reported, which constitutes the 6,1% of all species reported worldwide. (6) Quito, the country's capital makes no exception and is considered a biodiversity hotspot. In recent years, urban expansion has had a detrimental effect on the environment and the city’s ecology. All of these actions exacerbate the stresses on the different ecosystems, contaminate water sources and networks, and put the city’s capacity to supply ecosystem services at risk. To respond to many of these challenges the municipality of Quito initiated in 2020 a nature-based solution program under the EU framework of Clever Cities. (1) The project intends to position nature-based solutions as a means to improving public health, social cohesion, citizen security and increasing economic opportunities in those areas. (3)

The Anderson Road Quarry, once a vacant 40-hectare site is getting transformed into a sustainable residential neighbourhood while ensuring climate resiliency and low environmental impact in Hong Kong. The site will supply housing for 25,000 people. In addition to this, the city is employing a wide array of adaptive and resilient approaches including saving around 3,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, helping the city live up to its 65% to 75% carbon reduction goal by 2030 set in Hong Kong Climate Action Plan. [1]