DS Smith puts health at the heart of the company

The Belper site of DS Smith has been awarded a Silver Healthy Heart Mark by national charity Heart Research UK for encouraging healthy lifestyle habits among its employees.

By choosing to take on the Healthy Heart Checks that Heart Research UK provides, the packaging and supply cycle specialist provided workers with the opportunity to have their blood pressure, cholesterol levels, BMI and waist measurements checked and ask questions about their lifestyle habits.

The Healthy Heart Mark award is an accreditation that shows how an organisation values its workforce by making positive contributions towards employee health and wellbeing.

Since achieving its Bronze award in March this year, the Belper site has continued to make changes to the work environment to help employees lead healthier lifestyles which has now been recognised by the Silver award.

Heart healthy initiatives at the site include hydration awareness and free fruit three times a week for all staff. Charts have also been installed identifying the sugar content in drinks making employees more aware of ‘hidden’ sugars. DS Smith will also be participating in a charity football tournament in Wellingborough on behalf of Heart Research UK on 8 August, with 19 other DS Smith sites competing in the tournament.

David Richardson, Managing Director at the DS Smith Belper site, said: “New additions such as providing free fruit and water bottles to all staff have been welcomed and have encouraged a company-wide culture change, encouraging individuals to stop and think about their health.

“We’re excited to continually find new and innovative ways to encourage staff to make positive lifestyle changes.”

DS Smith offers the Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Checks at its 31 sites – from Livingston to Launceston - with many receiving Bronze and Silver Healthy Heart Marks over the year. This latest award will support DS Smith’s aim to achieve a Healthy Hearts Mark (HHM) employer award next year.

Brian Wark, HR Director, UK Packaging at DS Smith, said: “Health and safety is extremely important in the packaging and manufacturing industries, but often most of the focus is on safety and not on health.

“We have a duty of care to our employees and we are committed to supporting initiatives that lead to a healthy and happy workforce. In fact, this campaign originated from one of our sites and when it proved to be very popular we secured support from the senior team to roll out the programme at all of our locations.”

Heart Research UK funds pioneering medical research into the prevention, treatment and cure of heart disease.

The charity’s Lifestyle Manager, Barbara Dinsdale, said the award recognised the efforts that companies are putting in to provide heart-healthy initiatives at work.  “It’s encouraging to see that DS Smith are continuing to build on their previous activities in helping to keep employees healthy at work.” 

The Healthy Heart Mark employer award is an accreditation that shows how an organisation values its workforce and makes positive contributions towards employee health and wellbeing.

To find out more about Heart Research UK and healthy heart initiatives in the workplace visit: http://heartresearch.org.uk/