Triodos Sustainable Investment Funds work towards the achievement of SDG 3 through our strict methodology we use to select companies for potential investment. The Goal addresses several health issues including reproductive, maternal and child health, communicable and non-communicable diseases, and access to health care services and medicine. It is also relevant when we screen companies in sectors such as Food, Beverages and Tobacco.
Boosting access to healthcare
Universal health coverage, including access to essential health care services for all, is one of SDG 3’s targets. Triodos Sustainable Pioneer Fund contributes toward the achievement of this target by investing in companies whose activities contribute to realising a healthy lifestyle. A good example is Teladoc, a telehealth company that uses telephone and videoconferencing technology to provide on-demand remote medical care. Patients gain access to the platform through their employers, health plans or health systems, and are connected to physicians via mobile devices, the internet, video and phone. The services are provided in the US and are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The platform improves the accessibility of healthcare by being available whenever and wherever the patient chooses. It also reduces costs of healthcare, as an estimated one third of ambulatory care visits can be treated through telehealth. It’s also helping solve physician shortages in the US through improved efficiency.
Preventing non-communicable diseases
Another target of SDG 3 is to reduce pre-mature mortality from non-communicable diseases by one-third. According to the UN, estimates from 2012 indicate that 68% of total deaths worldwide were attributable to non-communicable diseases, and that 52% of premature deaths (under the age of 70) resulted from non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic respiratory diseases. It further claims that reducing the use of tobacco is critical if we are to meet the proposed target. Triodos has always considered tobacco an unsustainable product in part due to health consequences of smoking, and we have always excluded the tobacco industry for investment.
Reducing substance and alcohol abuse
A third target of SDG 3 is to strengthen prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including harmful use of alcohol. The UN’s Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform claims that the average alcohol consumption worldwide in 2015 was estimated at 6.3 litres of pure alcohol per person for those aged 15 or older. There are variations depending on region, with the highest in developed regions (10.4 litres per person) and the lowest in Northern Africa (0.5 litres per person). While we do not exclude producers of alcoholic beverages, we do require a policy that explicitly rejects the excessive use of alcohol. We also look at how a company prevents sales and marketing of alcohol to minors, who are highly vulnerable to alcohol abuse.
Note: The issues explored in this article are relevant for sustainable investments on the stock market. Triodos Bank believes that our socially responsible investments are a powerful means of promoting our values and working for greater sustainability, while enabling us to offer a complete range of attractive investment options to customers who choose to invest on the stock market.