By Glyn Richards, Director of Sustainability for Bupa Group
COP27 drew to a close earlier this month, signalling the end of a fortnight of negotiation and conversation on climate-change, and what more needs to be done to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement made in in 2015.
While a very welcome, and very necessary landmark deal was made to agree a fund that will help vulnerable nations worst hit by climate disasters, there was arguably little progress made to upgrade efforts that will reduce climate-change causing emissions.
We know that our health and the health of planet are interlinked. We believe that as a healthcare company we have an important role to play in addressing the climate crisis, and a responsibility to act now.
Glyn Richards at COP27
At COP we joined the climate and health conversation with the global healthcare and business community. It was particularly exciting to see representatives from across the healthcare sector coming together to highlight that the climate crisis is a health crisis and showcase the role that we can play on climate action.
During week one, as part of the Climate and Health Coalition, we launched a new report, Driving Co-Benefits For Climate And Health – 2022 Update: How the private sector can accelerate progress. We were joined by a diverse group, including: the World Health Organisation (WHO); World Business Council for Sustainable Development; Her Excellency Toyin Ojora Saraki; founder and president of Wellbeing Foundation Africa; Google; GSK; Pollination; The Clean Air Fund and our Climate and Health Coalition partners, Reckitt and Forum for the Future. Together we discussed the role of the private sector, and how the guidance within the report can help businesses deliver integrated net zero strategies to achieve this. At Bupa we’ve recently launched our new sustainability strategy which reflects the guidance of the Climate and Health Coalition report. You can read more about our commitments on our new sustainability hub.
Later in the week we joined our partners Health Care Without Harm for a critical conversation with the UN Climate Champions and WHO on how we can work together to build resilient and net zero climate health systems that deliver benefits for both people and planet. We believe that healthcare needs to be at the forefront of leading a net zero future. It really is up to all of us across the sector to ensure that we care not only for the patients of today but also for the ones that will come tomorrow. To deliver sustainable healthcare we not only need to understand that people and planet health are interlinked, but then act in a way that supports both. In practice, sustainable healthcare is underpinned by three core principles: sustainable prevention, sustainable pathways and sustainable practices – with collaboration at the heart.
It was also fantastic to have the opportunity to join the healthcare community to celebrate the Ride for their Lives at the WHO Health Pavilion. Ride for their Lives is an initiative that is inspiring and mobilising the healthcare community to advocate for climate action. Earlier this year we held our own Bupa Ride, cycling from London to Brighton and stopping at healthcare sites along the way to spread the word. It was so great to hear from all the other riders who participated in the campaign and how it has inspired them and their institutions to take further action.
Before heading home, along with a few of our Bupa Egypt colleagues, we saw first-hand what the brilliant VeryNile are doing to remove plastic from the Nile. They support local fishermen, and train local women from the community to upcycle the waste to create new, useful, products which are sold to support the local community. It’s a truly wonderful initiative that is empowering people who have been badly impacted by the pollution of the Nile, providing them with employment and skills while contributing to cleaning up the water systems. The Nile is crucial to the health of Egypt and cleaning it up is not only good for the health of those living around the Nile, but for our ecosystems too.
Glyn Richards pictured with Bupa’s Mar Soro and Amr Nabil
We’re feeling energised by the conversations with those we’ve met at COP27 and with a renewed determination to continue to collaborate with actors in healthcare to drive action to accelerate the transformation of the healthcare sector to deliver for people and planet. We’re looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.
