CEO Today Global Awards 2024 - 12 - - UNITED KINGDOM - immersive programme to validate their solutions, accessing DPD’s resources, expertise, and mentoring. The technologies being trialled range from faster EV charging to deploying robots in our warehouses. This initiative led to us recently winning the ‘Supply Chain Innovation’ award at the recent Retail Technology Innovation Hub (RTIH) awards. Sustainability is clearly integral to DPD’s ethos. How have you fostered a company culture that embraces progressive initiatives and supports this vision so that it is a success? We are passionate about making DPD a happy, inclusive high-performance environment where our people can flourish. Central to DPD’s social policy is its commitment to be a workplace where everyone feels safe, equal, included, and accepted. Employers who respect the unique needs and potential of their teams outpace their competitors, earning deeper trust and more commitment from their people. There are several ways that we promote these principles, such as our highly-visual ‘This is Us’ book, about to enter its fifth edition, which details our values. We share this with all of our people. We also appointed volunteer Energy Champions at all sites to promote sustainability awareness and to identify CO2 savings opportunities, from switching off lights to turning the heating down a degree. Beyond your green vision and as a leader, how are you fostering an open, honest, and inclusive company culture at DPD UK? Why do you believe this is essential for the company’s success? Inclusivity is really important to us, and those aren’t just words. We want to have the best people possible at DPD, and a diverse workforce is crucial to that. One initiative we’re all really proud of is our ‘Inspire’ programme. This is where we’ve invested over £320,000 in hiring young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). When these incredible young people turn 25, government funding simply stops outright, making it hard for them to support themselves. Because of this less than 5% of people with learning disabilities find themselves in full-time employment. These are bright, enthusiastic people who just want to get on with their lives without barriers being put in their way, and so we were keen to welcome them to the DPD family. Mental health has entered the public consciousness over the last few years, and DPD offers support to your employees through the Mental Health Hub. How does this contribute to creating a supportive work environment, and what feedback have you received from employees about this initiative? In 2021 we launched our ‘Healthy Minds’ campaign, investing £30,000 to train volunteers to become Mental Health First Aiders, focused on supporting frontline employees, such as drivers and warehouse operatives. We also delivered mandatory Mental Health Awareness training to our top 1,500 managers and produce weekly bulletins for all our people on topics such as overcoming loneliness, menopause awareness, and coping with bereavement. “We are passionate about making DPD a happy, inclusive high-performance environment where our people can flourish.”
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