In response to the record-breaking heatwaves experienced across the country, 37% of UK businesses have invested in heat adaptation, with a further 23% considering doing so, according to the survey.

The bank stated that the most common priority was upgrading cooling equipment such as air conditioning and ventilation, with 28% of businesses investing in this. Another 23% said they were adopting energy efficiency measures to lower their energy use.

According to Barclays’ data, this rising interest in cooling saw air conditioning suppliers increase their cash inflows into Barclays accounts by 4.3% year-on-year.

Beyond investment in physical interventions, almost 30% of businesses also said they had introduced other wellbeing measures, including 23% that said they had offered flexible or remote working and 21% that adjusted working hours.

In response to this year’s heatwaves, Green MP Hannah Spencer proposed legislation that would pave the way for maximum workplace temperatures in the UK.

The bill would establish an independent body to recommend maximum safe workplace temperatures and advise on how those recommendations should be implemented.

The Health and Safety Executive has previously said it does not support a single maximum workplace temperature because excessive heat can result from workplace activities as well as weather conditions.

Although there is no legal minimum workplace temperature, the guidance recommends 16C for most workplaces and 13C where work involves significant physical effort.

The Barclays survey also found that businesses were not impacted equally; 27% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) reported that the hot weather had harmed their productivity, while 47% of large businesses reported a boost in productivity.

A focus on construction

Given its immediate exposure to the high temperatures outdoors, the construction sector and project management were especially impacted by this summer’s extreme heat.

Of over 1,000 UK-based project professionals surveyed by Censuswide for the Association for Project Management (APM), 96% said their main project was affected, with 64% saying their project was affected significantly by the heat.

A quarter reported having to change working hours to adapt, while 24% said work had to be paused or delayed.

Workers noted other impacts, including heat-affected materials or equipment (23%), the need for more health and safety measures (23%), the suspension or reduction of outdoor work (22%) and reduced productivity due to extreme temperatures (21%).

As a result of the extreme weather, 24% of construction professionals said they are now less confident that their organisation’s future projects will be resilient against climate impacts.

Dr Hugo Minney, network lead of APM’s Sustainability Interest Network, said: “The message for organisations is that climate change is now a delivery risk and a cost risk, not a distant environmental issue. Project leaders can mitigate against these risks in three practical ways: carry out climate-specific risk assessments at the start of every project; build informed flexibility into schedules, contracts, budgets and supply chains; and protect the workforce through robust heat, safety and wellbeing plans.

“This is not simply about responding better when disruption occurs. It is about designing projects that can continue to deliver in the conditions they are likely to face. Organisations that fail to take this seriously may find that extreme weather exposes weaknesses in planning, procurement and governance, with consequences for cost, confidence and completion.”

Consumer spending

In addition to impacting business operations and internal investment patterns, Barclays’ recent UK Consumer Spends Report also noted that the hot weather had changed demand and trading conditions for businesses, in particular retailers.

Spending across all retail grew 2.1% in July, with face-to-face retail also up 1.4% from June. This included increased spending across clothing, gardening, and electronics, with almost a quarter of people reporting having bought some kind of cooling device.

Almost 40% of people also said they had bought cold food and drinks in July to cope with the soaring temperatures.

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