For Health & Safety Specialist Dan Oxton and the team at Kicking Horse Coffee, 2023 was a year of accolades and recognition for their safety culture.

In June, Kicking Horse Coffee won the Joint Health and Safety Committee Excellence Award at the Safety Pinnacle Awards Gala. In October, they received the 2023 BC Food and Beverage Outstanding Workplace Award and Kicking Horse was recognized as one of the top 10 Greatest Places to Work in Canada™.

At Kicking Horse Coffee, physical and mental wellbeing are of equal importance. Through a Joint Health and Safety Committee co-chaired by a People and Culture team representative, the company addresses everything from mental health to heat in the facility during hot summer days to everyday safe work practices.

“We’re lucky enough to have a dedicated Joint Occupational Health and Safety team and individuals focused on safety. Where everybody comes to work every day and wants to do what’s right and give their input on how to do things better and improve on what we’re doing,” said Dan during the 2023 Pinnacle Awards Gala.

Kicking Horse Coffee encourages everyone to participate in safety, and their leaders and team members have made safety a priority for all. Workers at Kicking Horse Coffee feel safe to bring up concerns and know that those concerns will be addressed immediately. There is an expectation of “you see it, you own it,” and the company considers near misses to be golden opportunities for learning: a way to understand what they can do better and to ensure that they are always finding ways to make their workplace safer.

In the recent Great Places to Work Survey, 96 percent of employees said that Kicking Horse Coffee is a great place to work, and their CEO shared the insight that when people thrive, culture and community thrives—and in turn, your business.