Resilience is key in climate crisis

The climate crisis is not in the future – it is already here.

2022 saw 421 notable natural disaster events. This cost the global economy $313 billion – 4% higher than the 21^st century average – according to data from Aon.

These disasters, and climate change in general, also had huge human cost.

“New extreme weather records were broken, and many regions saw prolonged drought and scorching heatwaves”, noted Aon’s 2023 weather, climate and catastrophic insight report. Aon’s research found that there were more than 19,000 heat-related fatalities in Europe in 2022.

“According to the World Health Organization, climate change represents the single biggest health threat facing humanity; a quarter of a million people are expected to die every year from climate change between 2030 and 2050 if no action is taken”, Madeleine Catzaras, Aon Health Solutions’ ESG people solutions and solutions development lead for EMEA, tells UNLEASH.

Heatstroke, asthma and emotional distress are the direct impacts of climate change on human health, but there are also indirect factors, such as worker absenteeism and reduced productivity.

This means that the climate crisis is directly impacting the private sector, and causing a huge risk to their business bottoms lines; this is confirmed by other research from the World Economic Forum and EY.

Therefore, it is time that the private and public sector work together to drive resilience.

How to build workforce resilience in climate crisis

The question is, what actions should businesses take to build a more resilient, agile workforce amid these climate challenges?

Aon’s Catzaras recommends that employers think carefully about the risks and vulnerability of the current workforce, including the different impacts depending on geography and demographics.

She shares an example: “If I operate a retail and delivery business, how are the employees who work in warehouses and drive delivery vehicles impacted by the effects of climate change compared to employees working in offices?” – for instance, are they being exposed to unsafe cold or hot conditions? Are they working in locations that are becoming more susceptible to natural disasters?

The next question is “do I have the right benefits, employee wellbeing programs, and health and safety policies in place to respond to these different vulnerabilities?” – to figure this out, ask your employees what additional support they need to thrive despite the climate uncertainties.

Aon also calls on employers to think more broadly about their definition of sustainability – how are organizations helping or empowering employees to make more climate conscious decisions, thereby mitigating the impact of climate change in their personal and professional lives?

This could include incentivizing employees to use renewable energy, rely more on public transport or reduce their meat intake. It may also mean redesigning the office to make it healthier and more eco-friendly – this is an area where companies can learn from green office trailblazers like Zurich Insurance, Disney and IBM.

Ultimately, for Aon, success is a workplace that “has the resilience to bounce back during volatility”, “is agile enough to bounce forward and seize opportunities for growth” and is “engaged with employees to repeat this process”.

If this article caught your interest, you can find more about risk and resilience here. Enjoy!