{"id":8662,"date":"2021-12-25T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2021-12-25T07:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cbcsd.cz\/?p=8662"},"modified":"2021-12-24T15:06:39","modified_gmt":"2021-12-24T13:06:39","slug":"vision-2050-health-wellbeing-pathway-we-can-help-people-feel-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cbcsd.cz\/en\/vision-2050-health-wellbeing-pathway-we-can-help-people-feel-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Vision 2050 Health & Wellbeing Pathway: We can help people feel better"},"content":{"rendered":"

Diane Holdorf<\/a>, Executive Vice President (EVP) Pathways, World Business Council for Sustainable Development WBCSD), with James Gomme<\/a>, Director People & Society, WBCSD<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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It is now almost two years since the first cases of COVID-19 were recorded in late 2019. The resulting pandemic and tragic consequences experienced by communities all over the world have brought the issues of health and healthcare to the forefront of the global political and economic agenda in a way rarely seen before.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 has provided a sharp reminder of the critical importance of health and wellbeing as the bedrock for prosperous societies and economies around the world. It has also prompted much reflection on what can be done to promote and protect health more robustly and equitably moving forward, and to help us realize many of the ambitions laid out in Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing.<\/p>\n

I recently got back from COP26. Among the huge-range of climate challenges that were being discussed, work was also being done to recognize the climate and nature crises that we face as also being a health crisis for current and future generations.<\/a> To discuss this and WBCSD\u2019s Vision 2050\u00a0 Health & Wellbeing pathway, I sat down with James Gomme, Director People & Society at WBCSD.<\/p>\n

James \u2013 tell me a bit about the Health & Wellbeing challenges we face as global societies.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even before the pandemic, the world was falling critically short of many of the SDG\u2019s health-related targets. We were not on track to deliver universal health coverage, to end epidemics such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable diseases by 2030. COVID-19 has thrown progress further off track. Over 5 million people have now lost their lives to COVID-19, while the physical and mental health impacts of the pandemic also look set to have devastating consequences.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, other, potentially even more devastating health crises lurk on the horizon. Environmental disruptions such as the climate emergency and nature loss, are compounding health concerns and threaten to overwhelm our healthcare systems in the long-term. O<\/em>ver two thirds of the global health workforce signed an <\/em>open letter<\/em><\/a>\u00a0ahead of COP26 calling for national leaders and country delegations to step up climate action and avert an impending health catastrophe, and, ahead of the just concluded COP26, the World Health Organisation published a <\/em>Special Report on Climate Change and Health<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

So, what can business do to promote better health and wellbeing across the world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s critical for the global business community to play its part in developing and driving solutions in support of health promotion and disease prevention across a wide range of dimensions. The business case for doing so is undeniable. By recognizing and working to improve their impacts on health and wellbeing among their own employees and across global value chains, businesses can help to foster and benefit from a more robust economy and marketplace, a healthier, happier and more productive workforce, and more resilient supply chains.<\/em><\/p>\n

Can you tell me about how W<\/strong>BCSD’s Vision 2050 can support companies driving these changes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Health sits at the heart of WBCSD\u2019s <\/em>Vision 2050: Time to Transform<\/em><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 <\/em>our<\/em>\u00a0framework for business<\/em>\u00a0action<\/em>, developed in collaboration with 40 companies, that offers companies comprehensive guidance on how they can lead the transformations needed to bring about a world in which 9+ billion people can live well, within planetary boundaries, by 2050.<\/em> One of Vision 2050\u2019s nine transformation pathways focuses specifically on <\/em>Health & Wellbeing<\/em><\/a>. The pathway envisions a world in which the <\/em>\u201cthe highest attainable standard of health & wellbeing for everyone\u201d<\/em><\/strong>, and where:<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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  1. People live healthy lives. <\/em><\/li>\n
  2. Health is promoted and protected.<\/em><\/li>\n
  3. Everyone has access to robust resilient & sustainable healthcare services.<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. Workplaces promote wellbeing.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Achieving this vision will demand that we make progress as global societies across a set of transitions including: evolving products and services to promote healthy lifestyles; promoting health literacy and restoring trust in science; investing in capacity to prevent the emergence and spread of communicable diseases; working to ensure universal access to healthcare; embracing new healthcare technologies responsibly; protecting and promoting worker health and wellbeing throughout operations and supply chains; and finally, recognizing the climate and nature crises as the health crises that they are and taking action to address them accordingly.<\/em><\/p>\n

    And, can you tell me what WBCSD is doing to help business put this into practice?<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The Health & Wellbeing<\/em>\u00a0pathway further outlines 10 priority action areas for business to focus on over the course of the next decade, both to significantly accelerate the pace and scale of change, as well as to support the achievement of the SDGs. <\/em>These action areas span innovative products, services, technologies and business models, as well as ways that companies can help create the right enabling conditions for change. They are not exhaustive but cover the most urgent and important priorities in the crucial decade ahead. Vision 2050\u2019s 10 business action areas for the Health & Wellbeing pathway are:<\/em><\/p>\n

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    1. Innovate and re-balance product portfolios to support healthy diets and lifestyles, while moving away from addictive and harmful offerings.<\/em><\/li>\n
    2. Influence consumer behavior towards more healthy diets and lifestyles via marketing activities, information campaigns and collaborative education platforms. Refrain from marketing harmful products.<\/em><\/li>\n
    3. Scale business models to address indoor and outdoor air pollution, particularly in highly industrialized and densely populated urban environments.<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. Implement programs that ensure the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing for employees throughout global operations and value chains, while expanding access to basic preventive services at places of employment.<\/em><\/li>\n
    5. Support efforts to safeguard biodiversity and eradicate the conversion of wildlife habitats to prevent the future spread of zoonotic diseases.<\/em><\/li>\n
    6. Collaborate with governments and inter-governmental organizations to invest in systems that build international health system resilience to respond to pandemics and other health risks.<\/em><\/li>\n
    7. Collaborate with policymakers to establish clear standards and guidelines to uphold data privacy in the context of an evolving digital healthcare system.<\/em><\/li>\n
    8. Develop new technologies that enhance capacity to prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases, with a focus on ensuring access to healthcare in low- and middle-income markets.<\/em><\/li>\n
    9. Collaborate with governments and other stakeholders to eradicate anti-microbial resistance due to the misuse of antibiotic treatments and invest in new antibiotics to ensure their continued effectiveness in treating infection.<\/em><\/li>\n
    10. Fundamentally reshape perceptions of the boundaries of the healthcare system, underlining the importance of healthy lifestyles and cross sector collaboration. Work to understand and account for the true value of health-related externalities.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      WBCSD member companies have formed a cross-sectoral coalition to drive progress on the agenda laid out in Vision 2050\u2019s Health & Wellbeing pathway, focusing on stakeholders including corporate employees and vulnerable populations around the world. In April 2021, over 20 companies came together to launch a new <\/em>\u201cHealthy People, Healthy Business\u201d<\/em><\/a>\u00a0project to support the global business community in realizing its full potential to pave the way towards universal access to the highest possible standards of physical health and mental wellbeing.<\/em><\/p>\n

      Thanks James!<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The COVID-19 pandemic, although tragic, has presented businesses all over the world with an important inflection point to explore in more depth how they are interacting both negatively and positively with the health of their employees, customers and communities. I\u2019m excited to see how WBCSD\u2019s Healthy People, Healthy Business<\/em> project will advance this agenda as it supports companies on this journey and we of course welcome the opportunity for continued stakeholder engagement around this critical topic<\/a>. Health, after all, is everyone\u2019s business.<\/p>\n

      VISION 2050 INSIGHT SERIES<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      This article is part of an ongoing insight series into WBCSD\u2019s Vision 2050: Time to Transform.<\/strong><\/p>\n