Implementing a planetary health systems approach at the local level

Abstract The recognition of the importance of the places we live in and a feeling of agency over our health and wellbeing has led to the development of the Place Standard tool (PST). The PST was developed through a collaboration between the Scottish Government, NHS Health Scotland, Glasgow City Council and Architecture & Design Scotland and launched in December 2015. It supports collaborative working between communities, public, politicians, private and third sectors to assess and improve local places by providing a structured conversation about place. It makes the complex interactions of social, physical, and economic aspects easier to understand and think about. Knowledge is generated across 14 core themes and helps create places that support health and wellbeing, and a good quality of life. Since it was developed, it has seen a range of iterations, including the PST Climate Lens. The Climate lens helps to consider the effect of climate change and decarbonisation on a place now and in the future. The proposal to develop a Planetary Health PST builds on the Climate lens and aims to support communities, organisations, the commercial sector and elected members jointly take forward a place-based planetary health approach. To address the interconnected challenges of the triple planetary crisis and the societal crisis, transformative systems thinking approaches are required. The PST is a tried and tested tool for moving away from siloed thinking about components to understanding the interconnectedness of systems that make up places. The proposal to develop a Planetary Health PST offers a structured framework to foster collaboration and cross-sectoral action in addressing the interconnected challenges that impact population health and wellbeing. It enables public health institutes and practitioners to identify the data and evidence needed to drive meaningful, transformative change within complex systems, advancing progress toward a sustainable and just future for all.