Emballator UK has been awarded the British Safety Council International Safety Award for 2022, with distinction. This recognition has inspired the company to carry on with its continuous improvement programme.

In the past few years, Emballator UK has invested heavily in people, plant, and processes to improve health, safety and well-being of its employees across multiple operations. A strong focus has been placed on the health and safety training (internal and external) and upgrades of the work equipment to an advanced safety standard. As a result of this work, Emballator UK applied for the award.

“Last year when the competition was announced Philip Mann (now managing director) came up with the idea to apply for it and see what the result would be, as a lot of work had been done in the health and safety field. For me this is all about making a positive impact on safety, health, and well-being of our stakeholders through continuous improvements and this award, especially with a distinction, came like a nice surprise to us,” says Agnieszka Paczkowska, health, safety & quality manager at Emballator UK.

The International Safety Awards are open to organisations of all types, sizes, and sectors in the UK and internationally. Applicants must answer a series of online questions about their management of health and safety risks during the previous year which are assessed by a team of independent chartered health and safety professionals. Emballator UK scored 55 out of a possible 58 points.

“This award summarises our commitment to the protection of our most valuable assets – our workers. During the past few years, we have integrated health and safety into our business management systems rather than have it as a stand-alone function. Outstanding stakeholder participation, excellent engagement from the Health and Safety Committee members and very strong leadership from our senior management team make this happen”, Paczkowska says.

At Emballator, the health and safety improvement work on established management systems will continue, and this year the project is focused on behavioral safety.

For Philip Mann, managing director of Emballator UK, this award is an important recognition of the ongoing work.

“To have our efforts recognised and receive such a prestigious international award is a great privilege and testament to all the staff at Emballator, who have played a key role in making this happen. I feel like a proud parent receiving his children’s exam results. We have always operated a safe working environment, but with the growth and sophistication of our operations, and changing legislation we have taken a more dynamic approach to health and safety,” Mann says.