Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change 2025

3.4 Interventions Businesses can protect the health of their employees (and their bottom line) against climate change by mitigating worker risks and pursuing emerging opportunities for growth. Food and agriculture interventions TABLE 3Health risks also place additional strain on capital. Upstream, declining productivity caused by illness or heat can reduce attention on land, livestock and equipment maintenance, resulting in short-term losses (for example, more pests and disease) and long-term asset degradation, lowering value.Downstream actors face volatile input costs and may need to hold larger inventories or seek insurance to manage supply shocks. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Campbell’s Soup stockpiled 50% more key ingredients than usual to build a 90-day buffer.27 Food and agriculture value chain Agritech Agriculture and livestock production Food processingDistribution and retail Interventions for consumers1 Develop climate- resilient and nutrient- dense crops.3 Replace non-native crops and livestock with native crops found in local diets and livestock better suited to the regional climate.5 Optimize processing and storage of food to minimize food waste, incidence of food-borne disease and malnutrition. 2 Scale alternative calorie production methods, e.g. lab-grown proteins, insects.4 Manage farm waste and run-off to improve soil quality and prevent cross-contamination.6 Develop and produce nutrient-dense food to improve nutrition.7 Encourage behavioural change through pricing and marketing to improve consumption habits. Interventions for the workforce8 Apply agroecology methods to improve soil health, boost nutrition and lower air pollution from soil erosion. 9 Improve irrigation and drainage systems to control mosquitoes and reduce vector-borne disease. 10 Apply precision agriculture techniques to reduce farmers’ exposure to chemicals and lower input costs. 11 Modify working practices to reduce heat stress, avoiding peak heat hours outdoors and using cooling solutions indoors. 12 Change livestock handling and farming practices to improve animal health and reduce human exposure to zoonoses. Building Economic Resilience to the Health Impacts of Climate Change 18