Session
Rising Temperatures, Rising Risks: What Investors Should Know About Heat Hazards and Worker Safety
Thursday, October 8, 2026 · 12:35 PM – 1:35 PM ET
Chapel
About this session
While climate change is driving headline-grabbing catastrophic storms and floods, it’s also the force behind another, equally dangerous, but silent threat: prolonged, extreme, and increasingly lethal heat across the globe. These heat events are among the most dangerous weather-related threats to human health and carry serious impacts for the global economy due to workforce disruption, rising costs, and risks for businesses.
Failing to protect workers from heat hazards in the workplace is not merely an operational oversight; it exposes workers to serious harm and creates significant financial, legal, and reputational risks for companies.
As temperatures soar, investors can benefit from better understanding how companies can assess heat risk exposure, prevent heat injuries, and enhance worker well-being. NRDC and Trillium Asset Management have written a report on these impacts and risks, “Rising Temperatures, Rising Risks: An Investor Guide to Heat Hazards and Worker Safety.” This session would be a companion to that report and would cover how extreme heat events and chronic heat harm the health and safety of workers; the business case for taking action to protect against heat; steps companies can take to reduce business risks associated with heat-related health threats; and questions investors can ask companies to evaluate whether they are taking action to reduce these risks.
By the end of this session, investors will be able to:
• Understand why occupational heat exposure is an emerging investor and human rights concern, including its implications for worker health and safety, while recognizing that heat risk extends beyond outdoor work and heat waves.
• Identify the key business risks associated with chronic and acute heat exposure, including operational disruption, injury-related costs, workforce retention challenges, legal liability, reputational risk, and supply chain impacts.
• Credibly engage with companies to learn more about company oversight, disclosure, and management of heat-related risk and implementation of heat-safety protections across direct operations and supply chains, contributing to a growing body of knowledge of company practices.