Bupa has announced that six start-ups from Australia and New Zealand have received funding to develop pilot solutions that aim to positively impact the environment and people’s health.
Bupa said its eco-Disruptive program provides some of its staff to work with start-ups and social enterprises on innovative solutions across a range of industries.
Through the initial competition phase, the start-ups based in Australia and New Zealand have received approximately $280,000 in total, with around $380,000 available to the winning team as part of a popular vote in the global finals.
The six Australian and New Zealand start-up finalists competing in the November Pitch-Fest are XFrame, Office of Planetary Observations, DiaperRecycle, ClimateClever, CoolSan, and Medsalv.
Roger Sharp, Bupa APAC's chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer, said the eco-Disruptive program has empowered its people to innovate and collaborate to create new solutions that will help make a healthier planet for healthy people.
“eco-Disruptive is a vital program for us at Bupa because the healthcare sector has a significant environmental impact due to energy-hungry settings like hospitals, dental clinics and retail stores," he said. “We are extremely excited by the amazing ideas that our teams have come up with to solve complex environmental issues and we look forward to them competing against our global Bupa counterparts in December where an eventual winner will be crowned.”
In addition to funding, the winning start-up will also have the opportunity to embed its solution within Bupa’s operations. Cassava Bags Australia, winner of the 2022 eco-Disruptive competition, is now rolling out its products across the company's operations.
“We are in a hurry with our journey towards net zero because our planet cannot afford decades of more complacency. Moving forward, we believe our relationship with the start-up community will grow even further to help us meet this challenge,” added Mr Sharp.