DS Smith puts health at the heart of the company
DS Smith has been awarded a Healthy Heart Mark Bronze by national charity Heart Research UK for supporting healthy lifestyle habits among its employees.
Working with national charity Heart Research UK, the packaging and supply cycle specialist started by offering healthy heart checks at its 31 sites – from Livingston to Launceston - providing workers with the opportunity to have their blood pressure, cholesterol levels, BMI and waist measurements checked and ask questions about their lifestyle habits.
The Louth site has been recognised for going one step further and delivering heart healthy initiatives including offering advice on quitting smoking, encouraging people to take exercise, and creating bike clubs for staff to join.
Members of staff from the site have also volunteered to become Healthy Heart Champions to help drive support and encourage colleagues into making healthier lifestyle changes.
Regional HR Manager, Bob Carr said: “Our employees have embraced the new Healthy Heart initiatives, which have brought about a companywide culture change where people are thinking more about their health, talking about it and acting upon it. Our teams are constantly looking for innovative activities to keep their hearts healthy.”
“We’re looking forward to finding new and innovative ways to encourage staff to make positive lifestyle changes.”
The initiative 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 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.
Barbara Dinsdale, Lifestyle Manager at Heart Research UK, said: “It’s great to see companies like DS Smith embracing the healthy heart message and getting their staff to buy into healthier lifestyles that will help reduce their risk of heart disease.
“Employees are now requesting healthier options from the staff restaurant which the caterers are always happy to accommodate and are now making healthy options available such as porridge and fruit yoghurt as well as grilling bacon and oven baking sausages and hash browns.”
To find out more about Heart Research UK and healthy heart initiatives in the workplace visit: http://heartresearch.org.uk/