DS Smith, Blunham, puts health at the heart of the company

The Blunham 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 supply cycle specialist provides employees 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 receiving its Bronze award in July 2015, the Blunham site has gone one step further by introducing a food labelling system in the new employee restaurant. The system highlights how much salt, fat and sugar is in each product using a series of hearts labelled on the front of the packaging. If a product has three hearts it means it’s significantly low in in all three areas and if it has one heart it is a more indulgent option. This new system encourages employees to be more aware of what they are eating and make healthier choices.

Neil Osborne, Operations Director at DS Smith’s Blunham site said: “The opening of our new restaurant was a brilliant occasion and the new labelling system has been welcomed by all. It’s been great seeing employees encourage one another to lead healthier lives. The healthy heart program has kick-started a company-wide culture change, inspiring everyone to stop and think about their health.”

 

Brian Wark, HR Director at DS Smith’s UK Packaging Division 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.”

DS Smith puts health at the heart of the company

DS Smith puts health at the heart of the company

The business is supporting healthy lifestyle habits, offering healthy heart checks at UK packaging sites

Find out more about Healthy Hearts

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 Heart Mark (HHM) employer award later this year.

Barbara Dinsdale, Lifestyle Manager for Heart Research UK, said: “DS Smith, Blunham has taken employee health to a new level having undergone a complete rethink of their staff restaurant and introducing healthier options throughout the day. 

“They’ve really put a lot of thought and effort into all their activities to encourage and embed healthier lifestyles in the workplace and achieving their Healthy Heart Mark silver award is well deserved.”

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

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