The Collaborative for Health and Environment (CHE) is an international partnership, founded in 2002 at Commonweal, committed to strengthening the scientific and public dialogue on environmental factors linked to chronic disease and disability. CHE acts as a catalyst for civil discourse and collaborative initiatives among researchers, health professionals, health-affected groups and others concerned with social and environmental impacts on human health. Through these relationships, CHE fosters systemic, multi-factorial, prevention-oriented actions in order to improve human health across the lifespan. CHE’s partners include almost 5,000 individuals and organizations in 79 countries and all 50 states.
CHE’s primary activities include:
- Sharing emerging scientific research on environmental determinants of health.
- Fostering interdisciplinary and inclusive collaboration among diverse constituencies to translate the best available environmental health science into stronger public health policy.
- Facilitating efforts to reduce disease and disability and improve health across the lifespan.
CHE currently has 18 working groups and initiatives including: asthma, autism, breast cancer, children’s environmental health, climate change, cumulative impacts, database improvements, diabetes/obesity, electromagnetic fields, fertility/reproductive health, healthy aging, integrative health, learning and developmental disabilities, mental health, neurodegenerative diseases, pets, and science—and three state-based initiatives in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. We also organize and host regular national/international conference calls on a range of relevant “hot” topics with highly respected researchers to highlight the emerging environmental health science. In addition, we maintain a website with databases, white papers, fact sheets, and hundreds of other resources for researchers, health professionals, and laypeople.
CHE is non-partisan and does not endorse specific policies. Anyone sharing CHE’s mission and supporting its Consensus Statement is invited to become a CHE partner.
