I co-chaired the world’s first public health conference fully dedicated to the Commercial Determinants of Health—hosted by the Public Health Association of BC.
I’m grateful for the thoughtful connections made between global perspectives and local impacts of commercial practices, as well as discussions on alternative ecosystems that communities can foster.
The conference ThinkPiece is a useful reference point for a public health practitioner.
Here are a few notes, and I’ll write more in separate posts:
🌸 CDoH are systemic issues. Business models and corporate practices often sustain health harms.
🌸 Context matters. Industries affecting health vary by region: garment (SE Asia), construction (Eastern Mediterranean), food (Europe), and human rights concerns (Africa).
🌸 Monitoring needs a systemic lens. We often focus on behaviors rather than addressing ecosystems and governance.
🌸 Business practices need scrutiny. ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ratings exclude health metrics, leading to surprising results—like tobacco companies scoring high on ESG.
🌸 There’s useful examples of shifts too. Like
🌸 🌸 the Scottish government’s reshaping the way to works to support the well-being economy by requiring all government projects need partnering with communities https://lnkd.in/dkV2JHX2, and
🌸 🌸 the Welsh Future Governments Act that made it a requirement for public bodies in Wales to make decisions that meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. https://lnkd.in/dp_JJ2T8
Once you start exploring CDoH, connections emerge everywhere—tech, tobacco, fossil fuels, and beyond. For example:
👀 Tech: Big Tech lobbying against US Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act. https://lnkd.in/dsFNyEaf
👀 Tobacco: Fruity ‘click’ cigarettes targeting Latin American teens. https://lnkd.in/dT-cnkz2
👀 Tobacco: Tobacco industry lobbying to weaken WHO. https://lnkd.in/dfXXqqFy
👀 Fossil fuels: McKinsey’s deep ties to the fossil fuel industry. https://lnkd.in/danSe7s9
👀 Oil industry: Why Big Oil Doesn’t Mind Big Regulation https://lnkd.in/dJMdZnkr