Date:
21 December 2017
'Companies Promoting Health - WHP Lombardy Network' Protocol signed
Milan, 21 December 2017 – Today at Palazzo Lombardia, the Lombardy Region and Confindustria Lombardia signed a memorandum of understanding for the development and dissemination of the regional programme for health promotion and chronic disease prevention, "Companies Promoting Health – WHP (Workplace Health Promotion) Lombardy Network".
The agreement stipulates that the association, which represents 13,000 companies and 700,000 employees in Lombardy, commits to promoting a specific programme across the region aimed at preventing chronic diseases and encouraging healthy lifestyles. The presentation of the Protocol was attended by the President of Confindustria Lombardia Marco Bonometti and the Regional Councillor for Welfare Giulio Gallera.
For the President of Confindustria Lombardia Marco Bonometti, “Businesses play a social role every day; this role translates into the creation of value, employment, and widespread well-being, but also into the promotion of health. As demonstrated by the many best practices across various territories, the Workplace Health Promotion programme, strongly supported over the years by our local associations, testifies that Lombardy's businesses, even in times of process revolution through digitalisation, always put the person at the centre”.
“The commitment of Lombardy's companies within the WHP network – continues Bonometti – even exceeds the legal obligations regarding health and safety in the workplace, confirming the high level of maturity of our entrepreneurial ecosystem, whose vocation for safeguarding and protecting the environment is reflected not only externally but also internally, confirming a continuous search for improvement in the quality of lifestyles in workplaces, places where people spend most of their time,” concluded Bonometti.
"Today, the Lombardy Region and Confindustria are signing a very important protocol through which the association, which represents 13,000 companies and 700,000 employees in our region, commits to disseminating a specific programme across the region aimed at preventing chronic diseases and encouraging healthy lifestyles. A session of the General States of Health, which will take place on 30 January, will be dedicated to these topics, which are fundamental for improving people's quality of life," declared the Regional Councillor for Welfare Giulio Gallera.
"Companies Promoting Health," explained the Councillor, "is a project launched in Lombardy in recent years that has already achieved good results. In 2016, 482 public and private companies joined the initiative, involving a total of over 200,000 workers. Thanks to the support of Confindustria, we expect to reach a much wider audience in the coming years."
"The prevention of chronic diseases," emphasised the regional health head, "represents a priority for the healthcare system but is simultaneously a challenge for the world of work, also in relation to economic and social implications. The Lombardy programme has the specific priority objective of promoting organisational changes in order to make environments favourable to the competent and conscious adoption of healthy lifestyles for the prevention of chronic diseases that have risk factors such as obesity, sedentary behaviour, or smoking. This is precisely to delve into the importance of spreading healthy lifestyles and prevention."
In 2017, the Lombardy programme was recognised by the EU as one of the best European practices for the prevention of chronicity within the framework of the "Joint Action on Chronic Disease – Chrodis" (2014–2017). Meanwhile, the Directorate General for Welfare is currently collaborating within the new "Joint Action on Chronic Disease – Chrodis Plus" (2017–2020) to transfer the programme to other European regions.
Companies that join the programme, with the collaboration of the ATS, initiate a process of continuous improvement within their organisations. Each year, every ATS issues a "Workplace Promoting Health" certificate to all companies that have implemented one or more recommended practices.
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