Bupa and YuLife get 41,000 UK employees moving more, planting nearly 37,000 trees along the way

Through a partnership with YuLife, Bupa has extended the reach of its Healthy Cities programme to more than 1,200 workplaces across the UK, inspiring 41,000 employees to take action for their health and the environment

LONDON, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bupa's annual Healthy Cities challenge turns healthy habits into environmental action. Participants are encouraged to walk, run, cycle and stay active, with their collective efforts unlocking funding for urban regeneration projects. In 2025, the programme reached more than one million people across 50+ cities and invested £3m in helping create greener and healthier communities. Partnering with YuLife enabled Bupa to bring the 2026 challenge to thousands more people across UK workplaces this summer.

The power of partnership

Through partnering with YuLife, Bupa expanded its Healthy Cities programme to more than 1,200 workplaces across the UK, connecting employee wellbeing with environmental action at scale. By combining YuLife's in-app incentives and YuLeague competition with Healthy Cities' people-and-planet mission, the activation engaged 41,000 employees.

During the 30-day challenge this June, YuLife members walked 9.2 billion steps and spent 11.2 million minutes meditating, unlocking funding to plant 36,972 trees through Earthly and supporting the removal of close to two tonnes of ocean plastic through Big Blue Ocean Cleanup.

The biggest gains came from those who were least active to begin with, demonstrating the programme's ability to inspire meaningful behaviour change among those who stand to benefit most.

The health impact

On the days YuLife participants took part in campaign events, members aged 40 to 49 took an extra 1,566 steps, and those aged 50+ took an extra 1,036 steps. Older members are usually the hardest group to engage with a digital wellbeing programme, which makes that response stand out.

The least active members improved most of all. Those who typically averaged under 2,500 steps a day increased their movement by 48%. Across the wider group, nearly 12,000 members were walking more in June than in May, taking 1,408 extra steps on a typical day, a 17% lift on their own usual pace.

Across five health categories measured on the Dynamic Health Questionnaire, with roughly 20,000 to 25,000 paired members per category, participants improved markedly against their own pre-campaign answers.

Members aged 40+ saw the biggest gains in two areas: how their physical health affects attendance, and how stress and mental wellbeing affect absence. These are the areas most closely tied to time off work and claims risk, and they improved most in the age group where that risk runs highest. Younger members, aged 18 to 29, improved most in behavioural health and tobacco use, the preventative end of the spectrum where good habits set in early.

The feedback backs this up. 59% said the Healthy Cities challenge motivated them to keep moving more regularly, and 53% said it gave their mental wellbeing a boost. Alongside that, 70% said they would take part again, 48% said they feel healthier since taking part, and 44% said it made them feel more connected to their colleagues. (Based on 1,174 survey respondents.)

"I was recovering from hospital admission so it gave me a target to get back to my normal steps." YuLife member

Sustained daily movement at this level is one of the strongest signals of better long-term health, and the gains matter most if members keep them up. Two signs make that likely: the biggest increases came from those who were least active to start with, while everyone else is holding their activity high.

Lauren Berkemeyer, Chief Marketing Officer, YuLife, said, "Expanding Bupa's Healthy Cities challenge to the YuLife platform has been one of the highlights of our year.. Together we got 41,000 people moving, planted nearly 37,000 trees and removed nearly two tonnes of plastic from the ocean. This is what happens when two organisations that care as much about people as they do the planet decide to build something together."

Anna Russell, ESG & Employee Experience Director, Bupa, said: "At Bupa, we believe that healthier people and a healthier planet go hand in hand. Through our partnership with YuLife, we've been able to bring Healthy Cities to thousands more people across the UK, helping them build healthier habits while supporting environmental action. The strong engagement we've seen - particularly from those who were least active to begin with - demonstrates the power of giving people a shared purpose and a meaningful reason to move more."

Notes to editors

Figures are drawn from the June 2026 Bupa Healthy Cities campaign delivered across the YuLife member base. Over the month, members walked 9.2 billion steps, spent 11.2 million minutes meditating, funded 36,972 trees with Earthly and removed 1,998 kg of plastic from the ocean with Big Blue Ocean Cleanup. Survey results are based on 1,174 respondents. Wellbeing change is measured on raw Dynamic Health Questionnaire responses, comparing each participant's answers during and after the campaign with their own pre-campaign answers. 

Bupa's Healthy Cities programme launched in Spain in 2015 and is now a global initiative. It reached more than one million people across 50-plus cities in 24 countries in 2025 and unlocked over £3 million for urban nature regeneration. The 2026 programme is set to have an even bigger impact on people and planet health.

About YuLife

YuLife is an AI-forward insurtech redefining employee benefits for the way people live and work today. YuLife brings health and insurance together in a single experience that inspires people to live healthier lives. By turning small daily actions into lasting habits, rewarding progress, and offering personalised support when it matters most, YuLife helps people understand and use their benefits as part of everyday life, not just when they need to make a claim. That ongoing engagement generates insight at scale. For employers, it supports healthier, more resilient workforces and helps maximise the value of benefits spend. For insurers, it provides a clearer view of population health, enables earlier and more predictable intervention, and supports more sustainable risk management. For advisers, it helps turn insight into clearer advice, aligning employers and insurers around better risk outcomes. Partnering with leading insurers, including Bupa, MetLife and Old Mutual, YuLife operates globally and supports millions of people worldwide. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, YuLife is backed by investors including Creandum, LocalGlobe and Dai-ichi Holdings. For more information, visit www.yulife.com.

About Bupa

Established in 1947, Bupa's purpose is helping people live longer, healthier, happier lives and making a better world. We are an international healthcare company serving 68 million customers worldwide. With no shareholders, we reinvest profits into providing more and better healthcare for the benefit of current and future customers. Bupa has businesses around the world, principally in Australia, the UK, Spain, Poland, Chile, Hong Kong SAR, India, Türkiye, Brazil, Mexico and New Zealand. We also have associate businesses in Saudi Arabia. 

Media contact

Lauren Berkemeyer, Chief Marketing Officer, YuLife lauren@yulife.com