How Costa Farms Goes Above and Beyond in Worker Heat Protection
September 3, 2024 
Photo: Costa Farms
Like most companies in the floriculture and nursery industries, Costa Farms prioritizes its employees’ health and safety. But as climate change brings more frequent and intense heatwaves, the usual standards weren’t cutting it. In response, Costa developed comprehensive heat protection measures to address these challenges.
The company’s goal: to be at the forefront of safety standards in the horticulture industry and South Florida. By working alongside the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), using employee feedback, and creating new policies, Costa is committed to providing a safe working environment and advocating for industry-wide improvements.
Addressing heat-related challenges from the changing climate is essential to ensuring workers’ health and safety amidst more frequent heatwaves. Costa Farms’ commitment to these practices highlights its dedication to sustainability and sets a standard for industry-wide improvements with these protection measures:
- Regular breaks in shaded, cool areas
- Adjustments in work hours during heat waves
- Ample electrolyte water hydration stations are placed strategically across the farm
- Continuous training programs for employees on heat safety and prevention
- Education to ensure all employees know the signs of heat stress and how to protect themselves
- Employment of full-time registered nurse on site to educate and aid employees with heat safety.
Greenhouse Grower also recently caught up with Arianna Cabrera de Oña, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief People Officer at Costa Farms, to learn more.
Greenhouse Grower (GG): How does Costa Farms communicate its heat protection policies with its workers, its management team, and the local community?
Cabrera de Oña: “At Costa Farms, we have several tools we use to ensure we communicate information about heat safety as well as other safety or training information. Our five-minute huddle, an important part of our “Costa Production System” or CPS, is a daily meeting where every team member on our farms receives information about safety, quality, and productivity, as well as the opportunity to provide feedback about concerns. The supervisors who run these daily huddles are regularly trained on heat safety and then pass that training along to each team member.
In addition, we have an on-site nurse who participates in the huddles, providing more detailed training and tips on how to identify and deal with heat stressors.
We also kicked off this summer with a heat safety campaign, including heat safety as one of our safety golden rules, and adding posters in strategic locations reinforcing the trainings. This year, we invited local leaders to visit our farms to see the work we are doing in promoting heat safety.”
GG: Heat protection is likely an issue all industries in South Florida must face. How did, and how does, Costa work with industries outside of horticulture to set up its policies, and how does it keep up with changing regulations?
Cabrera de Oña: “We work with local farms and groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce, partnering with large Florida companies in other industries that face the same challenges we do with an outdoor workforce, such as construction and hospitality, to learn and share best practices.”
GG: How do any of the protection policies differ between Costa’s locations?
Cabrera de Oña: “The foundation and essential aspects of our heat protection policies are consistent across our locations. We give our farms in different geographic locations the ability to add safety measures, depending on local conditions.”
GG: Do you have any tips for growers who want to set up their own policies?
Cabrera de Oña: “The advice I would give to a grower wanting to establish their own policies is to start by looking at OSHA guidance, current and proposed, and ensure that your policy meets current standards, obviously, and then work towards establishing standards that mirror proposed standards. At the end of the day, your policy should be guided by common sense and the standard of doing the right thing for your employees.”
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