Bupa seeks eco start-ups to improve people and planet health

Bupa is on the lookout for the next breakthrough start-up with big ambitions to improve the health of people and the health of the planet. Today, the healthcare leader has launched its annual eco-Disruptive competition, which sees teams from across its UK and global businesses seek out sustainable start-ups to bring new and transformative concepts to the mainstream.

Budding eco start-ups can submit their forward-thinking products and inventions to the competition for a chance to collaborate with Bupa and roll out their solutions across its business and beyond.

Carlos Jaureguizar, CEO for Bupa Global & UK, said: “At Bupa, we’ve been looking after people’s health for the past 75 years. Today, this also means taking care of the planet as we know human health is dependent on planet health the two are intrinsically linked.

“Through eco-Disruptive, we want to collaborate with innovative start-ups to tackle some of the biggest sustainability challenges and reduce impact of healthcare on the environment.”

The impact of healthcare on the environment is well established: healthcare’s climate footprint is 4.4 per cent of the global total; meaning if it were a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter on the planet.

To address this, Bupa’s eco-Disruptive challenge is focusing on six areas that positively impact the environment and human health: decarbonisation; circular solutions; sustainable products and services; sustainable healthcare choices, healthy buildings; and urban restoration and regeneration.

Six start-ups working in each of these areas will receive initial funding to further develop business plans and share expertise in the health and care industry. The selected start-up will then go through to a global final to compete against teams in nine countries and regions that Bupa operates and be in the running to win up to £200,000 to further develop its solution.

Linda Ball, director of upcycled medical and eco-Disruptive 2021 regional winner, said: “Upcycled Medical’s participation in Bupa’s eco-Disruptive programme and what we learned from it really helped accelerate our path to commercialisation. Despite finishing runner-up, our innovative work is now playing an important role in helping Bupa to create an ecologically sound, circular re-use system.

“I’m incredibly proud that we recently delivered our first order of medical scrubs and aprons which are made from recycled plastic to the Cromwell Hospital.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

• Add me on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep up to date
• And follow Bdaily on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
• Submit press releases to editor@bdaily.co.uk for consideration

Looking to promote your product/service to SME businesses in your region? Find out how Bdaily can help →