Other examples of our social Commitment

For the fifth year in succession DPD is supporting Germany’s "Junior Sportspersons of the Year" with financial grants to help them in their sporting and educational future. This year’s award winners have been honoured on November 3rd by the Deutsche Sporthilfe (DSH) sporting charity at its "Fest der Begegnung" award ceremony in Düsseldorf.

At the presentation Arnold Schroven, Chief Executive Officer of DPD, stated: "In promoting up-and-coming sporting talent we are fulfilling our social responsibilities as a company. The talented junior sportsmen and women who have been honoured today represent timeless values such as will power, untiring effort and team spirit. They need support to help them set an example with these values in our society, and DPD is happy to provide this support."

The winners were chosen by a jury under the chairmanship of Dr. Thomas Bach, President of the German Olympic Federation. In the nominations a decisive role was played by medals won in junior world and European championships as well as outstanding success in the Olympic Games or international championships.

With these latest grants DPD has, since 2004, supported 124 sportsmen and women with educational grants.

In 2008, Exapaq is renewing its partnership with the French Red Cross for the 5th consecutive year.
This year, the company will deliver the French Red Cross catalogue and greetings cards for the “Donnez un sens à vos voeux!” (Give meaning to your wishes) campaign free-of-charge to over 240 000 companies and also 1 000 supermarkets and superstores who will then sell them to the general public.

The appeal will be held from November 2008 to February 2009. Last year the French Red Cross collected 207 000 euros in donations, and a total of over 640 000€ has been collected over these past four years.

The “Give Meaning to your Greetings!” appeal is used to collect funds for the various French Red Cross delegations. The latter are facing increasing numbers of people in need and are bringing solutions everyday to help the most underprivileged in our society. By buying Red Cross greetings cards and soft toys you help to finance the charity’s activities.

Exapaq is “the” transport partner of the French Red Cross for this operation. The 2009 catalogue can be downloaded from the French Red Cross website and from the “Give Meaning to your Greetings!” site on www.donnezunsensavosvoeux.com Delighted to be able to support the French Red Cross, Exapaq is keen to see proximity and solidarity action develop further.




 

Big-hearted DPD and Interlink Express drivers in the UK are raising money for the UK’s best known annual TV charity fundraiser, the BBC Children in Need Appeal – fronted by a much-loved mascot ‘Pudsey’ teddy bear. The parcel carrier is supporting a campaign to raise money by making it easy for people to recycle their old mobile phones, PDAs, mp3s and iPods.

Each time drivers make a delivery to a home address, they will give customers a Freepost envelope that they can use to send their old item for recycling. For every device sent in, up to £80 (98€) will be donated to the charity, whose aim it to help make a positive difference to disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.
CEO Dwain McDonald said: “We’re proud of our green credentials, so we were delighted to support this appeal. Our drivers are going to the address anyway, so it means 1 million envelopes can be delivered without creating any additional carbon emissions or extra miles.”

DPD in the UK has introduced a new home-working option specifically designed to suit today’s busy lifestyles. This adds to the range of employee-friendly working practices it has to ensure DPD continues to attract the best talent including those who wish to only work part-time and who can’t or don’t want to travel to work.

It’s likely to attract a wide-range of people including those who may have another part-time job, or can fit part-time working around studying for college or university qualifications and people who may have mobility problems. Importantly for DPD this non-commuting option has green benefits and adds to the range of environmentally-friendly practices the company undertakes.

Tracy Raftery, 44, has already taken up this option. Tracy knew of the  company from her partner Tim who is a key member of DPD’s sales team.
Tracy says “When you are a couple both working full-time it’s difficult to fit in all the jobs that need to be done during the week. So, I decided to work part-time but wanted something really fulfilling. I already work a couple of days a week for my City Council and was looking for another part-time role which leaves me with some available time during the day. This is the ideal solution."

This new home-working option is for DPD’s Customer Services function dealing with customer calls. Following successful interview applicants receive a home assessment to ensure there is a dedicated room from which the telephone-based working can take place. DPD provides a desk, chair, computer and dedicated broadband line. Home-workers benefit from regular courses at the company’s Training Academy in the Midlands and will also receive ongoing support from DPD’s dedicated Home-working Customer Experience Manager.
Chief Executive Dwain McDonald says “The success of this company is dependent on employing the best people and we want to spread the net as wide as possible. The new home-working option in our customer service function helps us to do that. Also, we’ve had great full-time employees who now wish to work part-time – such as ladies returning from maternity leave - and this allows us to keep those talented and experienced individuals."

“We’re looking for people to work at the peak times for our Customer Services function, eg from 8am – 11.30am and from 3.30pm – 6.30pm. It’s a ‘win-win’ situation – the home-workers have a busy and fulfilling role, they support our full-time customer service agents and it helps us ensure we’re always giving our customers the best possible service including at the busiest times.”