Sustainable Health Verification Programme

Both health problems and sustainability issues have become more acute over the past decade and it seems prudent to believe that the pressures to find solutions that meet both health and sustainability claims will not decrease in the coming years—quite the contrary. Climate change may affect productivity and yield negatively, create food supply problems and increase food insecurity. Modern everyday life may lead to unhealthy shifts in dietary patterns and increase in lifestyle diseases. Increased use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and GMOs may impair the environment and aggravate health problems. Further, the intensification of agricultural production may create new health and environmental problems, if the direction of intensification is not changed. Growing socio-economic inequality between the North and the South and within the highly industrialized countries are other problems pushing for integration of health and sustainability.

in the other hand, Health is a worldwide concern. Indeed, it is the third of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)— “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”; it is also strongly related to most of the other SGDs.

During a climate of increased concerns about the quality of health-oriented products such as supplements, herbal medicine and …, Sustainable Health Verification Programme as a voluntary plan can help enhance a manufacturer's competitive position and brand recognition by promoting the manufacturer's commitment to produce quality products for consumers.

Commitment to Sustainable Health Verification Programm indicates that the product:

• Has been made according to International/ National Practices and standards using sanitary and well-controlled procedures. Assurance of safe, sanitary, well-controlled, and well-documented manufacturing and monitoring processes indicates that a supplement manufacturer is quality-conscious, and that the supplement will be manufactured with consistent quality from batch to batch.
• Contains the ingredients listed on the label, in the declared potency and amounts. Tests have shown that contents of some supplements don't match the label and some contain significantly less or more than the claimed amount of key ingredients.
• Does not contain harmful levels of specified contaminants. Some supplements have been shown to contain harmful levels of certain heavy metals (e.g., lead and mercury), microbes, pesticides, or other contaminants. At specific levels these contaminants can pose serious risks to one's health.

• Respect to Sustainability

Humans are exceeding the carrying capacity of the earth at current levels of consumption and standards of living. The ways we produce food, travel, and use water, land and energy resources, combined with a growing world population, have severely compromised the environmental resources upon which we depend. Global environmental change, including climate change, ecosystems degradation, and species and biodiversity losses, has been so extensive that we now risk major impacts on human health and well-being. In fact, evidence indicates that these health impacts are already occurring.

Those who are the most vulnerable will be affected earliest, and most: children, elders and those with the fewest resources. The Company is committed to enhancing the health, productivity, and quality of life of our community through the design and maintenance of the built environment and the development of cutting-edge well-being programs.

How to obtain Sustainable Health Verification Mark?

Health-oriented products that meet the program's testing and evaluation criteria in accordance with SDGs are awarded the Sustainable Health Verified Mark. The Mark can be used on product labeling, packaging, and promotional materials to help distinguish products in the marketplace and aid consumers in their decision-making process.

To obtain the Sustainable Health Verification, manufacturers must undergo:

• Manufacturing facility assessment for compliance with SDGs and International Standards such as GMP, ISO, …. It confirms that the manufacturer has the appropriate quality systems needed to ensure product quality.

• Review of manufacturing and quality control product documentation with a focus on SDGs to ensure quality procedures are consistently being followed and to explore how those procedures provide adequate and appropriate control to ensure continued quality compliance
• Sustainability Assessment: A sustainable health is achieved by delivering high quality product or services and improved public health without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage. this assessment involves ‘greening’ the sector with particular attention to energy, travel, waste, procurement, water, infrastructure adaptation and buildings. This ensures resources (physical, financial and human) used in the sector are:

1. Used efficiently (e.g. buildings and homes are well insulated and use less fuel to heat)
2. Used responsibly (e.g. clinical waste is disposed of safely to protect local people)

• Laboratory test reports of samples of products for conformance to standards of quality found in International Scales. The laboratory should be an accredited one. it provides assurance that the product conforms to its identity and quality specifications and contains the ingredients listed on the label in the declared strength and amounts.

The distinctive Sustainable Health Verified Mark is awarded by Sustainable Health Programme to health-oriented products that successfully undergo and meet the stringent requirements of this voluntary Verification Programme.

It indicates that the product:

• Has been made using safe, sanitary and well-controlled manufacturing practices according to International and Local guidelines
• Contains the ingredients listed on the label, in the declared potency and amount
• Does not contain harmful levels of specified contaminants
• Considering the sustainability of everything that impacts on health and well-being and promote Better, equitable and sustainable health and wellbeing for all ages

Benefits of Verification

• Sustainable Health Verification Program is open to manufacturers of health-oriented products from around the world. When it comes to these kind of products, many consumers and healthcare practitioners look for independent oversight from an independent third-party not associated with the manufacturer, and with the necessary expertise to assess quality.
• Sustainable Health Verification Program helps manufacturers demonstrate the quality of their product ingredients.

Sustainable Health Verification Program uses a multi-step evidence-based process to confirm the accuracy of the information supporting the quality of each product being verified in a particular program.

Verification is not a one-time event. Sustainable Health Programme annually evaluates the quality of the products through the three-step process listed above.