ESG Framework - Social

What ESG Means to Us

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria are a helpful way to categorise work done by companies to act sustainably. At Woodland Group, ESG principles guide our commitment to sustainable and ethical practices across all aspects of our business.

Social: This covers how we manage relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where we operate. It includes our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as our efforts to ensure safe and healthy working conditions.

By integrating ESG principles into our business strategy, we aim to create long-term value for our stakeholders while contributing positively to society and the environment. Let’s take a look into the social areas in some more detail:

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Woodland Group recognises the importance of embracing a diverse and inclusive workplace, cultivating an environment where individuals from all backgrounds feel welcomed, respected and empowered to reach their full potential. We showcase our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through initiatives such as our company-wide diversity awareness training and in-person management training. We also proudly promote opportunities for women in the logistics industry through our alignment with ‘Women in Logistics’. At Woodland, we embed diversity and inclusion throughout the business at its core by developing new policies as we see fit. Some of these include our Gender Reassignment and Menopause policies and updates to our Maternity Leave policy.

Health and Safety

At Woodland Group, we are committed to exceeding regulatory compliance when it comes to health and safety. That is why we conduct monthly inspections of our sites using a standardised health and safety checklist. We report on health and safety incidents to identify progress and areas for improvement, and since 2022 have seen our near-miss reporting way exceed the target of a 60% increase by 2030. Our Health and Safety Officer conducts annual audits to assess the effectiveness of the policies and procedures that we have in place. This means that we can pinpoint areas to focus on to continuously improve our practices. Woodland strongly believes in workplaces that prioritise employee safety and well-being.

Staff Training

Woodland Group recognises that employees are the cornerstone of our success. It is for this reason that we invest in our people, providing opportunities for continuous learning and development to allow them to gain knowledge within their fields. We have a thorough onboarding experience and have training sessions specific to leadership development. We also have an extensive eLearning library with many different learning modules, specific to each area of the business and each individual’s needs. This includes a series of eLearning designed to teach employees throughout the business about sustainability-related issues. These cover many different topics and aim to empower our teams with a solid understanding of sustainability.

Ethical Business Practices

Woodland Group is committed to combating slavery and human trafficking as well as the prevention of any other potential human rights abuses within our operations. This is why we have policies covering whistleblowing, dignity at work, equal opportunities, social dialogue and modern slavery and human trafficking. We also have robust human rights due diligence processes in place to align with our support for the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Charity and Community Partnerships

Woodland Group has a commitment to ongoing charity work and continuation of our community partnerships with organisations such as the Panathlon Foundation, the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust, Samaritans, and Neapolitan Lighthouse, Chicago. We also offer financial holiday support to several charities in the UK and the US. Some of these charities include Children with Cancer, MacMillan Cancer Support, Alzheimer's Society, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Feeding America, and the Make a Wish Foundation. Charitable giving aligns with our core values of compassion and community - it is how Woodland Group aims to continuously encourage social responsibility.