This presentation will focus on the commercial determinants of planetary health equity. Defined as the systems, practices and pathways through which commercial actors drive human and planetary health, the talk will discuss the many ways in which commercial determinants operate to entrench a fetishism of market-forces, financialization, self-regulation, and individualism. The talk will conclude with a discussion of ways to recalibrate power inequities such that planetary health equity goals rather than profit and growth dominate political, policy and societal action.

About the speaker

Sharon Friel is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow and Professor of Health Equity in the School of Regulation and Global Governance. She is Director of the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse and Australian Research Centre for Health Equity (ARCHE) at the Australian National University. Starting in 2026 she is co-director of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Shaping Markets for Health Equity. Between 2005 and 2008 she was the Head of the Scientific Secretariat (University College London) for the World Health Organisation’s landmark global Commission on Social Determinants of Health. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences Australia, and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. Her work focuses on governance and the planetary, social and commercial determinants of health inequities.

This seminar presentation is a dual-delivery event. If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan please email regnet.communications@anu.edu.au.

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