On April 12, La Isla Network CEO Jason Glaser participated in a virtual panel with the National Construction Safety Executives on climate change and resilience. The conversation was centered on climate change, specifically how various areas in the US are being affected and what construction companies can do to ensure climate resilience in future development.
One especially important area of discussion was the effect that climate change is having on the workforce at the base of the construction sector. This workforce is especially vulnerable to the heat-related consequences of climate change and experiences some of the highest occupational rates of heat stress and heat-related injury in the United States.
Glaser highlighted the opportunity for collaboration between construction companies, insurers, banks, architectural designers, and NGOs like La Isla Network to ensure that climate resilience in the construction sector prioritizes the health needs of workers. The hazards that affect these workers are both chronic and acute, from increased risks of accidents and injuries due to heat stress to detrimental health consequences like heat-related kidney disease, an illness that has killed tens of thousands of outdoor workers and is an increasingly global public health crisis.
The panel included executives from over 30 of the top companies in the construction industry from all geographic areas of the United States. The companies represented employ over 300,000 workers who perform over 1 billion hours of construction and construction-related work each year.
