ACSH submits suggestions.

Heat waves, droughts, the threat of floods and other extreme weather conditions have increased in recent years. For society, this means that it will have to adapt more frequently to the conditions caused by advancing climate change. Rising temperatures not only have short-term consequences such as dehydration, but also result in more workplace accidents due to reduced concentration and performance. Although the EU's Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2021-2027 does not explicitly address extreme heat or heat stress, ACSH (Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work) has identified the issue of extreme weather conditions as being relevant to workplace health and safety. Two opinions relating to climate change were adopted at its last meeting in November 2024.

Better preparation for high temperatures

In addition to the introduction of definitions for "heat" and "heat stress", ACSH also advocated the systematic, long-term and consistent implementation of workplace health and safety management, especially with regard to climate change-related weather changes and heat stress. This includes implementing organisational, personal and technical measures to minimise occupational exposure to extreme heat and UV radiation, especially in specific sectors that are more affected by extreme heat and heat stress.

The use of early warning systems needs to be expanded, in addition to preparing guidelines covering best practice and experiences gathered from different companies about how they have dealt with heat stress in the workplace. Member states must be involved in this, as they will play a major role in analysing the appropriateness of measures to protect workers from heat and other extreme weather conditions and in raising awareness and expanding training opportunities. To facilitate implementation, the measures must be customised for small and medium-sized enterprises and workplace inspectors must also be provided with adequate resources.

ACSH has also suggested that gaps in the legislation should be closed at EU level. Further ACSH consultations are planned for this year in order to prepare more detailed proposals. Eurostat should improve data collection processes involving statistics about occupational diseases and heat-related accidents in order to better monitor measures against extreme heat and heat stress.

The role of standardisation in climate change

In conjunction with the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 45007 from the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), ACSH has addressed the risks and opportunities for occupational health and safety caused by climate change and climate protection. The so-called ISO/PAS 45007 is intended to provide organisations with guidelines for setting up management systems and practices in the workplace health and safety sector.

In contrast to the product safety sector, which works with standards to support it, the workplace health and safety sector uses with minimum requirements. In its statement about ISO/PAS 45007, ACSH has pointed out that aspects of workplace health and safety at company level cannot be adequately addressed by just a standard alone. It is often better to regulate this through legal acts and agreements between the social partners. However, the PAS can also be helpful as long as it does not conflict with any legal requirements.

As employers, governments and trade unions are not equally involved in ISO/PAS 45007 and this standard was developed outside the European context, it should not become part of workplace health and safety legislation. Nevertheless, ACSH has emphasised in its recommendations that Europe can build on the PAS. The priority should be to strengthen the role of the strategic advisory group on occupational health and safety, established by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). Efforts must also be made to monitor developments in legislation covering workplace health and safety risks with regard to climate change and climate measures at both European and national levels.