Novo Nordisk puts health on the agenda in Rio

Today Novo Nordisk is hosting a side-event during the UN conference, Rio+20, on sustainable development.

The side-event – ‘Next Generation Living’ – will convene the global health and sustainability communities to discuss integrated ways to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and advance sustainable development.

“Health and sustainability go hand in hand, but are rarely discussed in the same room. We want to change that”, says Lise Kingo, executive vice president, Corporate Relations, Novo Nordisk.

The event will outline the links between NCDs and economic, social and environmental development and look at on-the-ground solutions in cities, workplaces and schools. Urban design and transportation planning, workplace wellness and health literacy are some of the topics on the programme.

Among the speakers are EU Commissioner for Climate Action, Connie Hedegaard, Director Emeritus of the Pan American Health Organisation, Sir George Alleyne, former Mayor of Bogota, Enrique Penalosa and head of UNICEF programmes, Dr Nicholas Alipui.

The event is organised in partnership between the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, the Global Health Council, The NCD alliance, Novo Nordisk and Sustainia.

Novo Nordisk has worked with sustainable development since the first Rio Conference on Sustainable Development in 1992 – the Earth Summit. The company is managed in accordance with the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) business principle, which means that any decision should always seek to combine three considerations: financial, social and environmental responsibility.

Read more about Novo Nordisk and sustainability.