Returning to the evening of the Health & Safety Excellence Awards 2026, held on 30th April at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry, Danone Nutricia Wexford's win of the Safety Culture Transformation Award in the Large category was one of the most substantive demonstrations of what genuine safety culture change looks like when it is driven from within rather than imposed from above.

The transformation at Danone Nutricia Wexford began with a clear ambition: to move from a reactive safety approach to one that is proactive, prevention-focused, and genuinely people-centred. That shift is easier to describe than to deliver across a large manufacturing operation where established habits create natural resistance to change. The programme succeeded because it addressed that resistance directly, through behavioural leadership, data-led decision-making, and the daily engagement that makes workplace safety a lived experience rather than a managed one.

Central to the programme is WISE², a framework that has anchored the cultural transformation by giving both leaders and frontline colleagues a shared language and structure for safety behaviour. Digital tools have supported the data dimension of the programme, enabling more precise tracking of near misses, first aids, and leading indicators that allow the team to act on emerging risk before it becomes harmful. The practical addition of innovations like the "no-fly zone" has added the kind of clear, tangible focus that workers can immediately understand and apply in their daily environment.

The judging panel highlighted the quality of engagement achieved at every level of the organisation as the defining characteristic of the submission. Senior leaders are visibly present in the safety culture, and that visibility has been matched by genuine ownership at the factory floor level, creating the learning environment the judges described as safety lived on the ground, not managed from a distance. The results reflect that engagement: increased safety reporting, reduced first aid incidents, and a prevention-first culture built on accountability and continuous improvement.

The Health & Safety Excellence Awards 2026 recognised in Danone Nutricia Wexford a site that has made the most important transition in occupational health and safety: from compliance to culture, guided throughout by a simple and powerful conviction, Safety First, Nobody Gets Hurt.

Stay tuned for the Health & Safety Excellence Awards 2027 cycle, where organisations from across Ireland will once again have the opportunity to showcase their commitment to workplace health and safety excellence.

View the full list of winners at www.hsawards.ie/shortlist, and subscribe to the newsletter to stay informed on future award cycles and industry news.