Smoke shrouding Manhattan viewed from Summit One Vanderbilt as wildfires in Canada blanketed the city on June 7, 2023 and made New York the most polluted major city in the world.
David Dee Delgado | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Recent fallout from Canadian wildfires has been a jarring reminder to companies that you don’t have to be in California or Asia to grapple with air pollution issues.
Now, just like when Covid hit, companies are at a crossroads, needing to make decisions on what they should be doing, or doing differently, to help ensure the safety of their workers at times when air quality is at its worst. Most companies, and public officials, didn’t take quick, drastic steps in early June. And that was the same in the case of Covid, with many employers slow to embrace work-from-home as the virus spread before Covid shelter in place orders were issued by local and state governments.
As New York City’s air quality reached the top of the list of the world’s most unhealthy cities, Google was among the first firms to tell workers across the East Coast to stay at home on June 7. It may have helped Google to make a decision that many other East Coast employers did not that California-based companies have more experience with hazardous air quality issues. New York Mayor Eric Adams issued a statement on the same day urging all New Yorkers to limit outdoor activity, but no stricter order.
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