Blue Zones ® Projects help communities gain national recognition as great places to live, work, receive education, and play!
A Blue Zones ® Certified Community helps attract students with healthier food and lifestyle choices. #PlantSlant is a Blue Zones ® concept (12% of millennial’s identify as vegetarian, plant-based or vegan, and 79 percent of Generation Z want to go meatless or vegan at least once or twice a week, according to new research by gen-z student food supplier Aramark).
In addition to attracting students, a Blue Zones® Certified Community attracts quality faculty and educators! A community commitment to citizen health and longevity is an attractive selling point to those considering a move to Washtenaw County.
Find out more about Blue Zones Projects HERE.
Improved Employee Wellness
Through community transformation programs, universities can lower healthcare costs, lower their workers’ compensation claims, improve productivity, improve employee absenteeism, and have less attrition due to happier healthier employees.
University Sustainability Goals
Blue Zones projects also help universities reach their sustainability goals.
~Increasing consumption of plant foods means lowering consumption of animal foods. Meat consumption uses 10X more water and has harmful impacts on the environment and our water ways.
~Encouraging employees and students to do more walking and biking decreases CO2 emissions from automotive usage.
Major Health Initiative
Washtenaw Optimal Wellness (WOW) is a major public health initiative that a University could observe and study.
Other Blue Zone Project communities have seen measurable impact on the health and wellness of it’s citizens.
STUDENTS: Are you studying for your degree in public health or epidemiology? Get involved with WOW. We would love to have you as part of our processes. You will learn a lot and can be part of a lasting impact on the local community!
Other Blue Zones Project Communities Impact:
Double digit drops in obesity, smoking, and BMI (body mass index).
Millions of dollars of savings in healthcare costs. In Albert Lea, MN. – Healthcare claims dropped by a whopping 49%!
Measurable drops in employee absenteeism.
Increased longevity of citizens by years.
Dramatic decrease in workers’ compensation claims.
Developed more walkable and bikeable communities.
Greater community involvement and volunteer efforts.
One BZ Project saw a 17% decrease in smoking and 9% increase in exercise.
More Results
See more Blue Zones® Project results here: https://www.bluezones.com/blue-zones-project-results/
