Back to all weekly shorts
Weekly Short
3 February, 2023
Air pollution affects everyone and has dangerous (sometimes deadly) health impacts, most obviously respiratory disease but also less obvious diseases such as diabetes and dementia. It’s a big problem in towns and cities, and carbon, which gets a lot more attention, is something that almost every business contributes towards. But also, it’s a problem that every business can take action on.
In his Annual Report on Air Pollution, the Chief Medical Officer unequivocally called on businesses to make solving air pollution their responsibility, a position supported by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the UN Human Rights Council. So how can you build action on air quality into your business plans?
Our friends at Global Action Plan have provided their five top takeaways for businesses who want to be at the forefront of air pollution solutions, including making sure there are fewer and cleaner vehicles on the roads, choosing suppliers and partners who are acting on air pollution and focusing on indoor air quality as a workplace health issue.
Even if you aren’t running large fleets of vehicles yourself, there is an opportunity to think creatively about air pollution – can you support your employees to cycle to work, or build air quality into the specification for your next office refurbishment? At Good Business, we are taking action by shopping locally rather than relying on deliveries to our office where possible, and when we go out, we use the Mayor’s Office air pollution route mapper to identify ways to give our lungs a bit of a breather (so to speak).
If you want more information about air pollution, check out Global Action Plan’s Clean Air Hub, or get in touch with Global Action Plan’s Campaign Lead (and former Good Business employee!) Tessa Bartholomew-Good.
By Myriam Shovel