Planetary Health and Environmental Sustainability

Because of the rise of the earth’s temperature, there has been an increase in extreme weather and the scale, severity and intensity of natural disasters, like heatwaves, wildfires, floods, storms and hurricanes. These events can cause death, injury, transmission of disease, displacement of communities, loss of homes and livelihoods, and destruction of health infrastructure - like hospitals and emergency services.

Extreme heat itself can have broad-ranging health impacts – causing crop failure, malnutrition, water scarcity, and an increase of non-communicable diseases (diseases like diabetes, heart disease or cancer, that are not transmitted through infection). Heat can also contribute to a rise in vector-borne diseases (diseases spread via insects, like malaria), and water-borne diseases (such as cholera or hepatitis A). Changes to climates will mean that these diseases will occur in countries that have not been exposed in the past, such as the UK.

Increasing levels of air pollution are worsened by harmful emissions, extreme heat, and natural disasters (like droughts and wildfires). This is causing a rise in respiratory infections and disease.

There may be mental health impacts for those experiencing the effects of climate change. Extreme weather events can bring about unemployment, homelessness, and food and water insecurity – all of which can affect mental health. Children and young people are often also unfairly impacted by these events, through disruptions to education, something that is a key social determinant of mental health.

Climate change is also driving forced migration and displacement, which can destabilise communities and economies – increasing political tensions. Many people experience a sense of betrayal due to inadequate government responses, further compounding emotional and psychological strain.

Read more from a Foundation-funded study that explores the impacts of climate change on mental health and overall wellbeing.

Many of the health impacts of climate change are likely to be more indirect, and therefore harder to measure. Changing climates may force populations to relocate, may have socioeconomic impacts on communities as industries will suffer (e.g. agriculture), and put pressure on healthcare services - all of which could impact people’s physical and mental health.

It remains difficult to accurately estimate the scale and range of this, or the measures that could be put in place to control or eliminate these impacts.

That’s why research on the health impacts of climate change is so vital.

Our investments

We hold investments in order to generate returns that we use to fund vital medical research. In December 2023, our equity portfolio was divested of its fossil fuel assets. Our investment managers are instructed to pay appropriate regard to environmental, social, and corporate governance matters in the ongoing management of the portfolios.

You can read more about our investments and gain further detail on our exclusionary approach and previous divestments.

Personal finance for employees

The default investment fund within our employee pension scheme is Standard Life’s Sustainable Multi Asset Pension Fund. The Fund will invest through other funds, selected from across the industry; these funds will mainly use strategies that take into account the responsible investment issues that can impact fund performance.

Office management

We aim to further reduce the environmental impact of our office by:

- Using no single use plastics

- Using 100% green products

- Moving towards ensuring our office sends no waste to landfill

- Always switching to the greenest energy tariff available

- Reducing energy usage year-on-year

- Ensuring devices such as monitors are turned off after use (see the office sustainability video above for an example of this!)

- Reducing data records in storage (physical and cloud-based) and reducing our printed documentation

Catering

We use vegetarian catering as standard for all Foundation business, with exceptions for specific dietary needs or where vegetarian catering is not offered, such as during some overseas travel.

Reducing environmental impact

We aim to minimise the environmental impact of business travel by:

- Reducing the number of journeys through alternatives like virtual meetings.

- Choosing lower carbon impact modes of travel.

- Offsetting carbon emissions from flights.

Our business travel policy applies to all staff and non-employees travelling for Foundation duties, including our Trustees, Expert Review Panel members and grant applicants invited to interview.

Carbon efficiency

We prioritise carbon efficiency in travel by:

- Making train travel mandatory within Great Britain and between Great Britain and mainland Europe (unless the scheduled train journey will be more than 8 hours or more than double the time of the aeroplane journey, including airport transfers. Where an individual is unable to complete a same day return journey by rail, the Foundation will pay for overnight accommodation).

- Encouraging active transport (walking, cycling, e-bikes, e-scooters)

- Using public transport within cities and towns.

- Only using taxis and ride-hailing when public transport is not feasible.

- Only using privately owned vehicles when necessary and encouraging car-sharing.

- Only using flights on occasions when other transport modes are impractical. Flights are economy class, with business class only permitted for the odd instance where long or overnight flights are needed.

Office Emissions Working Group

Our Office Emissions Working Group brings together staff members who meet regularly to identify ways to reduce carbon emissions in the office. The group has introduced a soft plastics recycling scheme, developed clear signage on waste and recycling, and regularly presents to the wider team to raise awareness and identify ways in which we can all reduce carbon emissions in our daily lives.

We ensure environmental sustainability is at the forefront of all our decision-making by embedding this within our decision-making processes.