An Amazon site has been awarded the prestigious five-star safety accreditation from the British Safety Council, which is the highest outcome the organisation can award.
The comprehensive audit of Amazon’s Sutton Coldfield fulfilment centre highlighted “exemplary best practice” and concluded that the health, safety, and wellbeing activities at the robotics building site “sets the industry benchmark for safety excellence, not only among Amazon facilities but across the entire warehouse and logistics sector.”
The team achieved an exceptional score (over 95%) after auditors checked against a series of factors including associate safety and wellbeing, regulatory compliance, and proactive risk management. The report author also stated that health, safety, and wellbeing “are not just compliance-driven priorities but core to [Amazon’s] organisational identity and long-term success – truly a pioneer”.
Amazon’s £550 million, state-of-the-art Sutton Coldfield fulfilment centre launched less than two years ago and employs approximately 2,500 people in roles ranging from engineers, robotics specialists, HR, IT, Finance, and Health and Safety professionals to Operations managers and teams who pick, pack, and ship customer orders.
Amazon UK Country Manager John Boumphrey said: “We’re delighted to receive this accolade from one of the world’s leading health and safety organisations which both endorses and celebrates the great work of our Sutton Coldfield and UK teams.”
“Our 75,000 UK employees carry out hundreds of different roles at sites and offices, large and small, across the country — and nothing is more important than their safety in the workplace. This commitment is part of our vision to be Earth's Best Employer. It’s woven into everything we do, and it will continue to drive us to seek further improvements.”
The British Safety Council audit concluded that the Sutton Coldfield fulfilment centre:
- Sets “a new benchmark for excellence within Amazon’s fulfilment network and the wider warehouse and logistics industry.”
- Has a “commitment to continuous improvement, innovation, and inclusivity that positions [Sutton Coldfield] as a true pioneer in its field and a standout example of what operational excellence looks like in practice.”
- “What sets [Sutton Coldfield] apart is its holistic, data-driven, and people-centric model where safety and wellbeing are not merely compliance requirements, but core strategic enablers.”
In the UK, Amazon had a RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases, and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations) rating over 75% lower than UK warehousing businesses in 2023/24.
Amazon’s progress in creating a safer workplace is the result of investments of more than $1 billion globally in safety initiatives, technologies, and programmes since 2019. We obsess over every aspect of our working environment and continuously look for ways to make changes to improve safety and reduce accidents.
Mike Robinson, CEO at the British Safety Council, said: “The award of a five-star grading following our occupational best practice Health and Safety Audit is an outstanding achievement and is reflective of a proactive organisation which is committed to continual improvement in its health and safety arrangements and managing risks to workers’ health, safety and wellbeing.”
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