KI´s Sustainability Day 2026: The importance of food for health and the environment

This year’s Sustainability Day was opened by Shervin Shahnavaz, Vice Chair of the Council for Environment and Sustainable Development, who welcomed participants to an inspiring and engaging morning. In line with the theme, refreshments and meals were served according to the One Planet Plate, a meal-planning tool developed by WWF that illustrates how meals can be designed to reduce climate impact and contribute to increased biodiversity.

The morning continued with a presentation by Line Gordon from the Stockholm Resilience Centre, who introduced the work of the EAT–Lancet Commission on how global food systems affect both human health and the environment. She described the so-called planetary health diet, a plate model for healthy and sustainable eating habits that emphasises dietary diversity and a higher proportion of plant-based foods. Gordon presented the Commission’s calculations showing that a global dietary transition could result in significant benefits for human health, the climate, and biodiversity. At the same time, she highlighted the equity perspective and emphasised that almost three billion people today lack the opportunity to eat a healthy diet.

This was followed by a lecture by David Stenholtz, founder of Doctors for the Future and author of the book The power of food. He described how diet can be used as a tool within healthcare, both in preventive work and as part of treatment for certain medical conditions. Drawing on research and clinical experience, he explained how a plant-based diet can be significant in conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Stenholtz emphasised that the focus should be on what we eat rather than how little, and also highlighted the healthcare sector’s responsibility to inform patients about evidence-based dietary treatments.