Occupational heat stress (OH-Stress) is a major societal challenge associated with climate change, as
intensified thermal stress directly impacts worker-health and reduces productivity in key industries,
causing serious socioeconomic ramifications. This paper was invited to provide perspectives from the
HEAT-SHIELD project: a multi-national, inter-sectoral, and cross-disciplinary initiative, incorporating
twenty European research institutions, as well as occupational health and industrial partners, dedicated to
reducing health and productivity impairments associated with working in a warming world (see
www.heat-shield.eu for further information). This invited review will primarily focus on the
methodological advancements we developed allowing climate forecast models to incorporate humidity,
wind and solar radiation to the traditional temperature-based climate projections, providing the basis for
timely, policy-relevant, industry-specific and individualized information. Further, we provide an overview
of the industry-specific guidelines we developed regarding technical and biophysical cooling solutions
considering effectiveness, cost and the practical implementation potential in outdoor and indoor settings,
in addition to field-testing of selected solutions with time-motion analyses and bio-physical evaluations.
All recommendations were adjusted following feedback from workshops with employers, employees and
adjacent stakeholders such as local or national health policy makers. The cross-scientific approach was
also used for providing policy-relevant information based on socio-economic analyses and identification
of vulnerable regions considered to be more relevant for political actions than average continental
calculations. From the HEAT-SHIELD experiences developed within European settings, we discuss how
this inter-sectoral approach may be adopted or translated into actionable knowledge across continents
where workers and societies are affected by escalating environmental temperatures
