The UK’s climate continues to shift, and the consequences for businesses are becoming increasingly difficult to overlook. The Met Office’s State of the UK Climate 2025 report confirmed that 2025 was the warmest year since records began in 1884, while the last decade was 0.51°C warmer than the 1991-2020 average. In regions including Greater London, the number of days above 30°C and nights remaining warmer than 18°C has more than quadrupled when compared with the 1961-1990 baseline.

For organisations, this is no longer a distant environmental issue but an immediate operational and financial challenge. Research by the London School of Economics and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change found that one record-breaking June heatwave resulted in an estimated £1.15 billion loss to the UK economy through 24 million lost working hours. Around 1.25 million people reported being unable to work due to extreme temperatures, while 87% experienced at least one heat-related health effect. The financial and productivity impacts of rising temperatures are already being felt across UK businesses and the wider economy.

Rising temperatures are driving greater cooling demand

As UK summers become increasingly hot, many organisations are investing more heavily in cooling technologies to protect employee wellbeing and sustain productivity. Recent heatwaves have been associated with a 320% rise in requests for domestic air conditioning installations, while businesses are finding themselves running cooling equipment more intensively and for longer periods.

As discussed on BBC 5 Live by TEAM Energy’s Commercial Director, Tom Anderton, “We have previously come from a place where we were concerned about the cold winters and having to heat properties and be more efficient in our heating. However, with recent heatwaves and increasingly hotter summers, organisations are forced to shift into this new challenge of cooling and managing their own cooling strategies.”

However, increased reliance on air conditioning presents its own set of challenges. Greater cooling demand leads to higher energy consumption, increased operational costs and rising Scope 2 emissions, while also placing additional pressure on electricity infrastructure during peak demand periods. It creates a cycle that can be difficult to break: higher temperatures increase cooling requirements, which then drive up energy use and associated carbon emissions.

Additional pressure may soon come from regulation as well as operations. The UK’s independent climate adviser, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), has recommended the introduction of maximum workplace temperature limits, warning that extreme heat is now one of the most significant climate-related threats to public health, productivity and infrastructure. The CCC predicts that over 90% of existing homes could experience overheating during severe heatwaves by the middle of the century, with workplaces, schools and hospitals facing similar challenges in maintaining safe indoor conditions.

Energy efficiency offers the most effective response

Energy and sustainability consultancy TEAM Energy is encouraging organisations to take a proactive rather than reactive approach. The business stresses that the solution goes beyond installing additional cooling capacity and instead requires a focus on ensuring existing systems operate at maximum efficiency.

“Many buildings across the UK were never designed to cope with prolonged periods of high temperatures, so cooling systems are increasingly working overtime,” says Timothy Holman, Head of Consultancy at TEAM Energy. “The organisations that plan ahead, reviewing how their systems perform and where energy is being wasted, will be far better placed to protect their people, control costs and support their net zero goals.”

As organisations continue to invest in cooling and ventilation systems, TM44 air conditioning inspections play an important role in assessing system efficiency, controls and maintenance arrangements. These inspections help businesses identify areas of wasted energy and opportunities for performance improvement. They are a legal requirement for systems with a combined effective rated output exceeding 12kW and must be completed every five years. Beyond compliance, they offer a practical way to reduce operating costs and strengthen resilience during periods of elevated demand.

When combined with effective energy monitoring and targeting programmes, TM44 inspections provide organisations with greater visibility into how extreme weather impacts energy consumption and where efficiencies can be achieved. If workplace temperature regulations are introduced in the future, ensuring cooling systems operate effectively could become critical to maintaining safe, comfortable and productive working environments.

Getting ready for a warmer future

With hotter summers increasingly likely to become the norm, TEAM Energy’s consultants recommend that organisations review their energy and asset management strategies today. This includes assessing whether cooling equipment is appropriately sized and maintained, understanding how energy consumption changes during heatwaves, and identifying opportunities to improve building performance while reducing waste.

“Climate volatility is no longer a future risk; it is a present day reality for most businesses” added Holman. “Acting early to balance comfort with efficiency is one of the most practical steps an organisation can take to stay resilient in the years ahead.”