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Rotman Insights Hub | University of Toronto - Rotman School of Management

Too hot to handle: How extreme heat damages businesses' bottom lines

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Nora Pankratz

Heat is costing businesses. One estimate pegs heat-related losses at more than US$100 billion annually. So what are companies doing about it? It turns out, we don't really know because we don't have the full picture. 

Assistant profressor Nora Pankratz has been studying the impact of climate change on firm finances. Her studies have shown that high temperatures have a real cost on supplier relationships, investor success, worker safety, company profits, and more. So what can and what should organizations do? She joined the Executive Summary to explain her findings, explore mitigation strategies, and plea for organizations to be more transparent with how they're dealing with extreme climate risk. After all, if you can't track how a program is working, how do you know it is? Give it a listen above, or catch up on the entire season below. 

And make sure to subscribe to the podcast on SpotifyApple Podcast and Amazon now.

Prefer to read rather than listen? Check out the transcript


Nora Pankratz is an assistant professor of finance at the University of Toronto Mississauga with a cross-appointment to the Rotman School of Management.