Bupa Arabia for Cooperative Insurance, a leading healthcare service provider in Saudi Arabia, integrates sustainability practices into all its operations to reduce energy consumption and environmental pollution.
The company has taken up several initiatives to save water and electricity consumption, such as replacing conventional lighting with LED lights in its offices, installing water aerators at sales branches, timers in air conditioners, and lighting panels in all its buildings.
With these steps, the company aims to bring about a transformation in healthcare and make a positive impact on society in line with the sustainability goals of Saudi Vision 2030. Bupa Arabia’s efforts are also in line with Bupa Global’s commitment to sustainability.
In the company’s recent Bupa Eco-Disruptive Live event, Bupa Global selected 18 sustainability-focused startups from around the world, which received financial support and marketing expertise to develop pioneering solutions and products that address climate change in new and innovative ways.
Held in London recently, the event attracted more than 400 attendees, with 20 experts speaking on the importance of startups leading sustainable innovation.
Bupa Global CEO Iñaki Ereño expressed the company’s commitment to supporting sustainability startups in order to “explore new solutions to our most significant environmental challenges.”
He said: “As a major healthcare service provider to millions of people globally, Bupa understands the relationship between the environment and human health, and our sustainability strategy prioritizes both human health and the environment.”
Ereño expressed hope for other companies to join in supporting the next generation of sustainability pioneers and startups to accelerate innovation, take necessary actions to confront climate change, and reduce its impact on human health, especially during the current challenging economic situation that sustainability startups are facing in seeking support.
Chosen from more than 1,000 applicants from around the world, the 18 startups were picked based on the positive impact of their work on health and the environment.
The qualifying finalists were awarded 25,000 pounds ($32,136) each to develop a sustainable product applicable to Bupa’s operations, and the winning startup will receive 200,000 pounds annually to advance its idea.
Bupa Eco-Disruptive Live is a crucial step toward promoting a sustainable environment by supporting startups to develop more efficient healthcare technologies, which address climate change, preserve the environment and provide health benefits.
The program aims to partner with startups and integrate their solutions into Bupa’s products and services, driving innovation and sustainability in healthcare. The initiative was launched in 2021 as part of the company’s sustainability strategy.
During the event, Bupa Global showcased the latest eco-friendly and sustainable innovations from the participating startups, including “Clearbot,” an electric, self-driving and sustainable robot boat system that helps maintain and improve the physical health of the ocean and waterways we rely on, and “Upcycled Medica,” a process that manufactures medical garments from recycled polyethylene terephthalate waste collected from the oceans.
The event included a wide range of discussions drawing more than 20 speakers, including sustainability impact investor and TV personality Deborah Meaden, futurist Shivvy Jervis, and 2022 Earthshot Prize winner and co-founder of NotPla Pierre Paslier.
