BETTER BUSINESS BETTER WORLD

investment in solar PV has already reached between US$100 billion and US$150
billion over the past five years. 66
• Circular models – appliances and machinery (US$305-525 billion). Many
domestic appliances and much industrial machinery are well-suited to circular
models but they are collected and reused much less than cars. A washing
machine, for example, typically contains 30-40 kg of steel, so a refurbished
machine could reduce material input costs by 60 percent. 67 Businesses could shift
from selling to leasing appliances or making performance-based arrangements
with consumers, to make sure collection and refurbishment captures as much
value as possible. This shift would also encourage manufacturers to design
products with lower risks of obsolescence.
Health and well-being. Despite growth in demand as more people live longer, this
economic system faces critical challenges in coming years: the declining power of
drugs to treat major communicable diseases – antibiotics are a particular worry, with
only 40 contenders to replace them in the pipeline; demographic shifts that change
the nature of demand placed on health systems – an “elderly bulge” in developed
countries and a “youth bulge” in developing ones; as well as a geographic shift in
disease patterns – about two-thirds of child mortality and deaths related to AIDS and
TB now occur in middle-income rather than low-income countries. 68 And the burden
of non-communicable diseases continues to increase – for example, the prevalence of
obesity has doubled since 1980 increasing the burden of diabetes and heart disease
everywhere. 69 Basic medical services and supplies are still missing in developing
countries and there are looming skill gaps in the medical profession, particularly in
aged care.
The 13 largest opportunities for businesses addressing these challenges have a
potential value in 2030 of US$1.8 trillion in current prices. They include:
• Risk pooling (US$350-500 billion). Out-of-pocket healthcare payments push
around five percent of households in low-income countries below the poverty
line each year. 70 Since the poor pay a disproportionate share of their income in
unavoidable health costs, lack of affordable health insurance is also inequitable.
Increasing penetration of private, public-private and community insurance
schemes can address this problem. As well as spreading health risks across
communities, risk pooling often includes organised “contracting” functions
that purchase health care on behalf of the individuals covered, which in turn
encourages the development of higher-quality private sector providers.
• Remote patient monitoring (US$300-440 billion). Using sensors that read the
vital signs of patients at home can alert nurses and doctors cost effectively to
problems before they worsen. Emerging technologies include wearable patches
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