Bupa seeks eco start-ups to improve 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% 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.”

Start-ups from across the UK can express an interest in taking part in Bupa’s eco-disruptive programme until 12 October. For more information and to apply, visit: www.bupa.com/sustainability/eco-disruptive/eco-disruptive-programme