We're rolling out our Healthy Cities programme globally as part of our ambition to support one million people to improve their health each year by 2025, through restoring and regenerating nature.
The initiative encourages people to adopt healthy, long-term habits in their day to day lives, while preserving and regenerating green spaces. By completing activities and challenges set via the Healthy Cities app, participants can unlock investment from Bupa into the restoration of the environment in urban areas – including tree planting to help with reforestation and creating new urban forests.
The programme has been implemented successfully already across parts of Europe and Latin America and will now be expanded across further territories including Australia, New Zealand, UK and Hong Kong.
If our planet is not healthy, our own health will suffer too
According to the World Health Organisation, the climate emergency is a major threat to our own health, as well as the planet's. Research shows that exposure to thriving green spaces can reduce the risk of conditions and diseases such as type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stress. However, environmental changes caused by the climate crisis and unsustainable human activities are damaging ecosystems and biodiversity.
Cities in particular are a key contributor to climate change, as urban activities are major sources of carbon emissions - according to UN Habitat, cities produce more than 60% of GHG emissions. They’re also home to more than half of the world's population, a figure that is projected to rise to 68% by 2050. To improve both people's health and the health of our planet, it's vital we all act now to restore the natural world.
People across 83 cities participated in the Healthy Cities programme last year and achieved five billion steps which resulted in more than 93,000 trees planted across Spain, Poland, Chile and Mexico in collaboration with NGOs and government organisations. This investment included supporting the restoring of damaged ecosystems due to forest fires, planting new trees to regenerate forests and protecting regions from desertification.
“As a global healthcare company, we understand the relationship between our health and the health of the planet, from the way in which people’s health can be affected by the environment to the impact that the healthcare sector has on the environment and climate.
“One pillar of our new sustainability strategy, Mission Regenerate, focuses on creating healthier, greener spaces where people can thrive – with a long-term ambition for Bupa to play a leading role in improving people's health through the restoration and regeneration of nature. Scaling Healthy Cities globally is critical to increasing our impact on restoring key natural ecosystems on which our health depends on.”
Nigel Sullivan, Chief Sustainability & People Officer at Bupa
Empowering people to improve their health and the health of the planet
Having greater access to nature promotes physical activity, which is linked to a more active lifestyle and better physical health. In particular, exercise in outdoor environments has a positive effect on our mental state and an improvement in overall health, especially our cardiovascular health and mood.
The challenges that are set via the Healthy Cities app reflect physical activity recommendations from the WHO, and aim to help people feel empowered to play their part in restoring green spaces and reap the benefits of spending more time in nature.
Notes to editors
About the Healthy Cities challenges
- The WHO has highlighted the importance for adults to limit the amount of time they're inactive and break up long periods of sitting by taking up physical activities.
- While these activities can vary in intensity, individuals should aim to be active on all, if not most, days throughout the week. The benefits include reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety and preventing and managing diseases. The frequency and intensity of activities set as part of the Healthy Cities challenges, for example, walking 6,000 steps or 45 minutes a day, aim to help create habits of regular, daily physical activities and reduce the risks of being inactive.
- The app tracks progress by either monitoring movement or allowing individuals to manually add activities.
