Assessing the health impact of transnational corporations: its importance and a framework

Abstract

BackgroundThe adverse health and equity impacts of transnational corporations’ (TNCs) practices have become central public health concerns as TNCs increasingly dominate global trade and investment and shape national economies. Despite this, methodologies have been lacking with which to study the health equity impacts of individual corporations and thus to inform actions to mitigate or reverse negative and increase positive impacts.MethodsThis paper reports on a framework designed to conduct corporate health impact assessment (CHIA), developed at a meeting held at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center in May 2015.ResultsOn the basis of the deliberations at the meeting it was recommended that the CHIA should be based on ex post assessment and follow the standard HIA steps of screening, scoping, identification, assessment, decision-making and recommendations. A framework to conduct the CHIA was developed and designed to be applied to a TNC’s practices internationally, and within countries to enable comparison of practices and health impacts in different settings. The meeting participants proposed that impacts should be assessed according to the TNC’s global and national operating context; its organisational structure, political and business practices (including the type, distribution and marketing of its products); and workforce and working conditions, social factors, the environment, consumption patterns, and economic conditions within countries.ConclusionWe anticipate that the results of the CHIA will be used by civil society for capacity building and advocacy purposes, by governments to inform regulatory decision-making, and by TNCs to lessen their negative health impacts on health and fulfil commitments made to corporate social responsibility.

Corporate practices and health: a framework and mechanisms

“…For example, in their otherwise thorough framework for conducting corporate health impact assessment Baum and colleagues do not mention how corporations may interfere with the research process and redefine what constitutes scientific evidence for policy making. Neither do they include a measure of how corporations engage in changing the social discourse around the role of the state or the social value of regulation [32, 33]. …”

A citizens’ jury on regulation of McDonald's products and operations in Australia in response to a corporate health impact assessment

“…T he practices of transnational corporations (TNCs) affect population health through production methods, shaping social determinants of health, or by influencing the regulatory structures governing their activities 1–4 . It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 TNCs operating globally, 5 with growth driven by increasing demand for TNC products in developing countries; facilitated by a broader global context that promotes neoliberal policies of trade liberalisation and strengthened private property rights 6 . TNCs in different industry sectors use a variety of financial strategies to influence policy, including decreasing costs by avoiding taxation 7 .…”

“…Chronic diseases are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in Australia, accounting for 90% of all deaths in 2011 12 . The subsequent impacts on health and wellbeing have established the importance of developing an integrated research agenda 6,13 measuring health impacts, 14 and gaining citizen feedback on health impact findings to strengthen impact on policy 15…”

Alcohol industry marketing strategies in Latin America and the Caribbean: the way forward for policy research

“…As noted by Baum et al . , transnational corporations (TNCs), particularly those operating in sectors such as food and beverage, tobacco and pharmaceuticals, can be harmful to health because of the products they produce and the influence TNCs have on government regulations. These authors have promoted the use of corporate health impact assessments (CHIAs) to identify the social, environmental and economic factors that influence health and health equity outcomes.…”

“…CSR activities) ways in which it influences alcohol policy and alcohol consumption. The CHIA framework , for example, can be applied to alcohol TNCs to study the effect of different regulatory structures on the exposure of vulnerable populations to potentially harmful alcohol marketing and to compare different alcohol TNCs within and across countries.…”