Are actions to deal with the health alert exclusive of those needed to delay the climate emergency?

Innovation to turn difficulties into opportunities

Innovation to turn difficulties into opportunities

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In which order of priority should they be?

Oddly enough, if we add the economic crisis ahead as a result of the health alarm to these two dimensions and place the three dimensions on the same priority level, it is possible that, faced from an innovative perspective, activities to solve one dimension will improve the situation in another, without having to be exclusive.

Two simple examples:

  • Digitalization, in addition to the confinement, puts many jobs at risk, what activities can generate employment opportunities? The measures to increase health and care services, together with activities to adapt our cities to the climate emergency, through changes in building insulation, different mobility services and food supply, among others, will improve the health issue, create jobs and at the same time decrease air pollution.
  • Many citizens’ health checks are being postponed because of the risk of going to a hospital; the solution of tele-medicine, which until now faced the resistance of patients to use it, in addition to maintaining and improving the health issue, will redistribute the use of specialists for more patients and will reduce transfers and therefore the emission of CO2.

In conclusion, it is possible, and preferable, for all three dimensions to be a top priority simultaneously, and that activities to solve one dimension can become a solution for another.

The difficulty of this ideal situation is that it must be approached from the an angle of innovation, and this is not easy, nor a process that occurs naturally.

About the author:

Joaquín Garralda is a professor at IE University, a specialist in strategy and focused on the area of Corporate Social Responsibility. He is a speaker at several conferences and programs, and also acts as a driving force for CSR from various platforms. Chairman of Spainsif and Chairman of the Ethics Committee of the MicroBank Ethic Fund (Grupo Caixabank). He is a regular contributor to the leading economic information media in Spain and Latin America.