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Climate disasters like hurricanes and heat waves can send people to the hospital with problems ranging from injuries to heat stroke.
This can lead to unexpected medical bills for families – and rising costs for employers who help pay for their employees’ health insurance.
Watts: “Every CFO in America knows how much they’re spending on health care benefits for their workers and family members.”
Tracy Watts is with the HR consulting firm Mercer, which worked with the National Commission on Climate and Workforce Health to create the Climate Health Cost Forecaster.
The online tool shows companies how extreme heat, poor air quality, floods, and hurricanes could increase the cost of their employees’ health care over the next decade.
Better understanding these costs could motivate companies to take action to protect their employees as climate change causes more extreme weather.
For example, companies can provide cooling and hydration stations and create safety plans for extreme weather events.
Watts: “If you have some targeted adaptation strategies, it will greatly benefit not only your business, but your people as well, which are probably your greatest asset.”
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
