Tony Falkenstein: change for the better

When Tony Falkenstein’s friend Sir Eion Edgar told him about the possibility of a new report being commissioned into the cost of type 2 diabetes, Tony knew he wanted to contribute.

“My wife, Heather, and I take on projects whereby we think we can make change for the better.” When it comes to type 2, “I see so much money being wasted at the bottom of the cliff, when we could save that money by bringing in measures to reduce sugar and fast food consumption, and save people going through this horrible disease.”

As the chief executive of Just Life Group – with its flagship enterprise Just Water – Tony has been committed to driving and supporting initiatives that promote healthy living for decades. He says, “Prior to setting up my own business, I’d worked in other companies that had no soul. To me, the values underpin the spirit of a business.”

He says, “As a company, we know water is a better solution than sugar-saturated drinks. In 2016, we trialled free water coolers in 5000 homes, and the results were amazing in terms of reducing soft drink consumption. Sugar is similar to smoking – it’s very difficult to give up unless highly incentivised.” He adds, “Like the wearing of seat belts, the government does have to intervene to protect its citizens.”

Tony thinks a lot about ways to do this: “What we need to do is incentivise manufacturers to reduce the sugar content in their products. For example, in the UK, the government announced a levy two years before the imposition. This gave manufacturers time to reduce their sugar content to below the 8% threshold, and most of them did this. I believe the threshold could then be reduced to 4% over four years, as manufacturers change recipes and consumers adjust to less sugar. It’s not the whole answer, but it would have a dramatic effect in reducing type 2.”

Tony recognises that change can take a long time – sometimes too long. Contributing to The Economic and Social Cost Of Type 2 Diabetes report was a way to take action now.

He is transparent about bringing an entrepreneur’s perspective to the table. “If you want to change something, you need input from various points of view – an academic does not think like an entrepreneur, and vice versa. I really endorse the work done by Jim Mann and his team, and it needs other types of thinking as well to achieve the result that everyone desires.”