Finalist
Raising Awareness of the Economic and Health Impact of Pollution
Summary of work
Pure Earth, an international non-profit organisation dedicated to addressing pollution problems in low- and middle-income countries, had the ambition to elevate awareness of pollution not only as a public health problem but also as an economic issue. Pure Earth identified the need to bring this issue to life by quantifying the cost of pollution, and the cost of inaction against pollution, measured in lives, money and lost opportunities for sustainable development. Pure Earth developed a multichannel communication campaign centred on the publication of a report in The Lancet; which was the first global analysis of pollution, its impact on the world population and health and productivity with evidence demonstrating the extent of the issue. Pure Earth partnered with TogoRun to raise awareness of the report and therefore the issue of pollution and health by leveraging traditional and social media, writing an open letter to media publications highlighting the gravity of the problem as well as creating a mini-documentary film to raise awareness of pollution as a public health issue. A series of launch events and briefings also took place in locations across the globe including New York, Brussels and Paris.
Judges’ comments
The judges were wowed by TogoRun and Pure Earth’s entry as it was the first time they had seen anything like this entered into Communiqué - the first environmental cross over campaign seen at Communiqué. The entry was the definition of public health. There’s a massive place for this piece right now, it is heart of the moment and is very contemporary. Will be good to see where it goes in the future.
