Building climate resilience in Aged Care: key insights from Aon

Angela San Diego, Client Director – Global & Corporate, National Aged Care Practice Leader, Commercial Risk Solutions, shared Aon’s 2025 Global Climate and Catastrophe Insights Report, highlighting the pressing challenges and opportunities for aged care and retirement living providers. A link to the full report is attached for members who wish to explore the findings in more detail.

Angela emphasised that for aged care facilities, robust preparedness and comprehensive assessment across infrastructure, workforce, and operational systems are essential to strengthening climate resilience, ensuring workforce stability, safeguarding resident wellbeing, and maintaining effective technology and communication.

Key takeaways for our sector included:

• Extreme Weather Impacts: Heatwaves and severe weather are increasingly affecting workforce health, safety, and productivity, especially in facilities without adequate cooling systems or emergency protocols.
• Aging Infrastructure: Outdated buildings and a lack of climate-proofing heighten risk. Prioritising resilient construction and retrofitting, using physical climate risk modelling in design and renovation, and leveraging natural assets such as green buffers are all crucial strategies.
• Evacuation Planning: Effective evacuation protocols must consider resident mobility, medical dependencies, communication needs, and coordination with emergency services – critical in ensuring vulnerable populations are protected.
• Heat Stress Vulnerability: Older residents are highly susceptible to heat-related illness, underscoring the need for comprehensive cooling strategies, hydration protocols, and staff training.

Download the 2025 Global Climate and Catastrophe Insights Report here.