MADRID, December 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Six startups are competing for 200,000 pounds (around 230,000 euros) after reaching the final phase of the global talent and sustainability innovation program ‘Eco-Disruptive’, organized by Sanitas and Bupa, which has seen more than a thousand participants.

This program was developed in several countries where Bupa and Sanitas operate, namely Spain, England, Australia and New Zealand. In the first stage, the company team selected 18 start-ups to work with the entity’s employees with the aim of developing a minimum viable product. For this, selected projects receive assistance of 15,000 pounds (approx. 17,400 euros).

In the second phase, six start-ups have advanced to the global finals where they will compete for a prize of 200,000 pounds which will help them continue to develop their products. At the global final, 82,000 Bupa employees worldwide will vote to choose the final winner.

Chief People Officer of Sanitas and Bupa Europe & Latin America, Elena Juárez, emphasized that their goal “is to reduce the impact of healthcare on the environment and build resilient health systems.”

The ‘DiaperRecycle’ project in Australia, one of the program’s finalist projects, is based on the recycling of disposable diapers which ensures new uses for fiber and plastic, and emits 80.6 percent less carbon than if they were thrown into landfill. Second, ‘Howz’, from the UK, is a remote monitoring technology that offers permanent insight into behavior and identifies indicators that a person may need medical support.

Additionally, New Zealand’s ‘Medsalv’ helps New Zealand hospitals reprocess single-use medical equipment and return them to hospitals for safe clinical reuse. In line with this, one of the Spanish finalist projects, MiMark, has developed a tool that aims to improve the diagnosis of gynecological conditions, including endometrial cancer, thereby providing a rapid, accurate and less invasive diagnosis.

Another Eco-Disruptive finalist project is ‘NovNat’, from the UK, a technology capable of producing water from the air to help reduce global water shortages. Finally, the ‘UniSCool’ project in Spain develops innovative cooling solutions that reduce emissions and energy consumption and extend the life of electronic devices for sustainable and efficient thermal management.