Creating a healthy and inclusive environment for good health

Sanitas has been caring for people's health and well-being for seven decades. This is evident daily in its hospitals, medical and dental centers, senior residences, and health insurance plans. However, far from limiting its focus to taking care of its buildings and users behind closed doors, the insurance company extends its mission beyond its doors and works to make society a healthier, fairer, and more inclusive place, where people can enjoy a more active and healthier lifestyle, which also impacts the lives of its citizens.

As part of its commitment to caring for people so they can live longer, healthier, and happier lives, Sanitas also seeks to contribute to creating a better world. The reason, the company points out, is that optimal physical and mental health can only be achieved in an environmentally sound environment and a fair and inclusive society. To achieve this goal, it has developed two projects that are now becoming true social movements: Healthy Cities and Inclusive Sport.

8 trillion steps and 14 tons of CO₂ saved

The first of the sustainable projects is Healthy Cities, through which Sanitas encourages people to adopt healthy lifestyle habits while contributing to improving the urban environment. The formula for achieving this is very simple: the steps taken by participants—who commit to taking at least 6,000 steps a day—are counted through an app, and depending on the number of participants and their consistency in the two-month challenge, Sanitas funds are released and used for the city.

In the latest edition of Healthy Cities, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, more than 22,600 people participated, taking 8.1 trillion steps, the equivalent of 137 times orbiting the Earth. In addition to promoting physical exercise, the challenge also promotes more responsible mobility: during the challenge, participants used their cars less, avoiding the emission of more than 14.4 tons of CO2.₂, the equivalent of 99 Madrid-Barcelona flights. A saving that contributes to both individual health and environmental improvement in cities such as Madrid, Valencia, Zaragoza, Malaga, Melilla, and Los Llanos de Aridane, as well as various natural areas in the provinces of Barcelona, ​​​​Ávila, Valencia, Madrid, and Asturias, where more than 7 trees have been planted over the course of the program's 10 years of existence.

Yolanda Erburu, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Sanitas and Bupa Europe & Latin America, took advantage of the closing ceremony of this tenth edition to emphasize that "the commitment to health can no longer be separated from the commitment to the environment" and highlighted how the growing participation rate, since every step counts in building more sustainable cities and a healthier society.

First Inclusive All Star

Promoting access to sports is also a way of promoting health. This is the idea that has driven the Sanitas Foundation to promote inclusive sports for the past 15 years. Along these lines, on September 25th, Sanitas achieved another milestone through its foundation: holding the first Inclusive All-Star Game, a pioneering match in which two mixed teams, made up of three wheelchair players and two pedestrians, played a basketball game in Madrid's Magariños Arena. The match combined spectacle, excitement, and, above all, a message of equality, and enjoyed the support of Scottie Pippen, former Chicago Bulls player. Pippen acknowledged that it was the first time he had participated in an event of this nature and defined the Sanitas Foundation's Inclusive All-Star Game "as a great opportunity, as it unites athletes with and without disabilities, who compete together under inclusive regulations." The event also featured the support of players and personalities such as Felipe Reyes, Sergio Scariolo, Pepu Hernández, and Silvia Domínguez, and served to once again highlight Sanitas and its foundation's commitment to social transformation through sport.