Bupa Asia Pacific has launched its 2026 Healthy Cities challenge, a step-counting campaign that converts participant activity into funding for local tree-planting and green-space projects through partnerships with Landcare Australia in Australia and Trees that Count in New Zealand.
Last year's challenge attracted more than 16,000 participants across Asia Pacific, producing 4.4 billion steps and channelling the proceeds into community planting projects. This year Bupa is aiming to unlock more than $1 million in funding for local projects and has enlisted Australian marathon legend Robert de Castella AO, MBE as a supporter for the launch.
Bupa Asia Pacific chief executive Nick Stone said the programme combines two issues people care deeply about. "We're seeing more people recognise the connection between healthy people and healthy places. The Healthy Cities challenge gives everyone the opportunity to take simple actions that improve their own wellbeing while helping create greener, more liveable communities for future generations," he said.
The challenge runs across Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Participants track steps through wearables or manual entry via the Bupa Healthy Cities app, with activity converted into funding for green-space projects rather than individual rewards. The launch coincides with Bupa's sponsorship of Fed Square's RESET Festival in Melbourne.
The 2026 Healthy Cities challenge arrives at a difficult moment for New Zealand employer health benefits. Aon's 2026 Global Medical Trend Rates Report puts the country's employee medical plan cost increase at 18% for the year - more than one and a half times the Asia-Pacific average of 11.3% and well above the global figure of 9.8%.
That figure lands directly on brokers advising employer clients through the current renewal season, where the conversation is heavily focused on scheme design, cost-sharing arrangements and whether the overall benefits package justifies the premium increase.
A community wellness programme does not change that arithmetic. But for employer clients looking to demonstrate genuine investment in staff wellbeing alongside a difficult renewal conversation, a structured, branded activity challenge with environmental outcomes attached offers something a premium schedule alone cannot.
Stone connected the physical environment to health outcomes directly. "The environments we live in shape our health every day. Greener neighbourhoods can encourage physical activity, strengthen social connection, support biodiversity and help communities become more resilient to a changing climate," he said.
Research cited by Bupa from its 2026 Pulse Check survey found people who spend active time outdoors are 23% more likely to report good quality of life. Southern Cross's Feel Good Index, based on March 2026 research, found many New Zealanders report feeling positive about their current health while underestimating how many years they might later spend managing illness or impairment - a gap worth raising with clients whose benefits strategy focuses on immediate engagement rather than long-term health trajectory.
