Workforce Health Across the Value Chain 2025

From awareness to action: Building a scaffold for organizational change3 Effective action starts with clear governance. Alignment, clarity and accountability are essential to turn awareness into action. Momentum is growing across sectors to address the impacts of climate on workers’ health, including for those in supply chains. The interviews reflected this shift: half of participants, spanning sectors and organizational levels, noted an increasing awareness of the intersection between worker health and climate risk. These findings reflect a broader trend seen in policy and practice, where organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO),54 the World Health Organization,55 the World Economic Forum56,57 and others58 have positioned worker well-being as central to economic and climate resilience. For example, the ILO’s Vision Zero Fund has worked with companies such as Nestlé in Indonesia to integrate climate adaptation into occupational safety and health practices and address risks such as heat stress in agricultural supply chains.59 Insights from the semi-structured interviews underscored the importance of governance as “scaffolding” – that the interplay of regulation, standards, commitments and internal mechanisms help organizations move from intention to action. Regulation plays a dual role here: defining the “rules of the road” and establishing a floor for responsible behaviour, while also inspiring action and elevating accountability. Participants widely acknowledged regulation as a necessary foundation for action. Nearly two-thirds described regulation as a baseline and essential driver of company behaviour. They emphasized its role in compelling compliance through mandates, legal frameworks and minimum standards. For example, the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD/CS3D) require companies to assess and address their environmental and human rights impacts across their operations and supply chains.60,61 These frameworks mandate disclosure and enforceable obligations on occupational health and safety (OHS) and climate-related risks, elevating expectations beyond compliance to active risk management. Regulation has actually become one of the most powerful catalysts. Take the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive: on the surface, it’s compliance. But once you’re investing that level of money and effort, the real question becomes: why stop at compliance? We see it as a chance to accelerate our transition towards a more sustainable business, deliver on our net-zero commitments and help drive transformation across the health system. Not everyone is taking that approach, but for us, that’s exactly where the opportunity lies. Glyn Richards, Group Director of Sustainability, Bupa Workforce Health Across the Value Chain: Organizational Insights to Mitigate Risk and Create Sustainable Growth 16