Impact of Business and Corporate Practices on Health

Abstract

Abstract Business and corporate practices play an increasingly important role in shaping population health. They influence every aspect of human experience, from diet, air pollution, work, and health care to personal identity, lifestyle, sexuality, and governance. Businesses influence health through various pathways, including the impact of their production practices on the health of workers and the larger environment, their products on the health and lifestyle of consumers, and their political practices on governance and the ability of the state and civil society to protect public health. Businesses have both positive and negative influences on health; the goal of public health is to propose and implement policies and programs that maximize the former while minimizing the latter. In response to the growing power of corporations to shape health, a variety of countervailing forces have emerged. These include global alliances of governments and civil society groups that set standards for corporate behaviors that influence health, non‐governmental organizations that take action to promote corporate social responsibility for health, government regulation, and social movements and advocacy campaigns to modify harmful business practices.