Summit ties sustainability to improved public health

摘要

Armed with enthusiasm, expertise, and a desire for sustainable solutions to meet the current and future needs of society, participants met 7-8 November 2011 in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, for the fourth annual summit of the Research Triangle Environmental Health Collaborative, titled "Incorporating Public and Environmental Health into Sustainable Solutions."Over the course of the 2-day summit, the attendees discussed and fine-tuned a list of suggestions addressing the 3 pillars of the sustainability paradigm as defined by the United Nations-society, environment, and economy. Suggestions revolved around finding concrete ways to connect the cost savings associated with sustainable products and services to improved public health outcomes, communicating with the public and engaging it in sustainability decision making, and focusing on long-term creation of a built environment that supports healthier people. The final recommendations will be presented by the Collaborative to policy makers on the local, state, and national levels and submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.