15 March 2001 – The Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, delivered the London Lecture of The Prince of Wales’s Business & Sustainability Programme on 15 March, 2001. The lecture, on the topic of Healthy People, Healthy Planet, affirmed the powerful relationships between health, environment, economics and society.
"Global warming, air and water pollution, biological and chemical pollutants in the food chain: all have an impact on health. Environment and health are both inextricably linked to development."
Following her speech, Commissioner Margot Wallstrom commended Gro Harlem Brundtland’s landmark report of 1987 on sustainable development, and concluded by calling for the creation of a clear vision for change: "I am convinced that vision and cleverness are fundamental ingredients of a successful strategy for sustainable development."