Sustainability

Our Approach

Illustration of a blue globe wrapped in leaves and a circular arrow

Every day, dental and aesthetic professionals across Europe rely on us to keep their practices running.

Behind every delivery is a patient in a chair and a professional who needs the right thing at the right time. That is what we are here for.

But our responsibility does not stop at the practice door. How we move goods, how we treat our people, how we support our communities and how we conduct ourselves as a business all matter. We want the growth we create to have a positive impact beyond ourselves: for our customers, our people, our communities and the world around us.

Our Planet

As a distributor, our environmental impact is closely connected to how we source, store and move products every day. We have been independently measuring and reducing our carbon footprint in the UK for five consecutive years through our Planet Mark Business Certification. Recertification is not automatic. It requires us to measure again each year and to show a reduction. We are now working to extend that baseline across our European businesses.

Logistics

Our UK distribution model combines central warehouse operations with established logistics partners, including specialist temperature-controlled transport where required. Our UK carbon measurement already includes fleet and business travel across our field teams, giving us a growing understanding of the impact of colleagues working on the road. As we extend our baseline across the group, we are improving the information we hold on fleet mileage, transport and delivery activity so we can identify further opportunities to reduce emissions.
Packaging

We use a range of packaging solutions designed to protect products while reducing unnecessary waste, and we work with Valpak to manage our UK packaging compliance obligations. Improving packaging data and identifying further opportunities to reduce materials and increase reuse and recyclability form part of our wider environmental programme.
Waste

Our businesses manage a range of waste streams, with segregation, recycling and specialist disposal arrangements in place where required. Regulated waste, including WEEE and pharmaceutical products, is managed through appropriate recycling and disposal routes. Our engineering and repair operations also reduce waste directly.
Energy

We are actively working to reduce the energy used across our sites. In the UK this includes investment in energy-efficient lighting and a programme of further improvements at our main Witham site, including voltage optimisation and a proposed solar installation. We monitor energy consumption as part of our carbon reporting so we can identify where further reductions can be made. As our group baseline develops, we will extend this approach across our European businesses and identify the sites where energy efficiency measures can have the greatest impact.

Our People

1000+ people work across our businesses, from warehouse teams and drivers to engineers, customer service and specialist advisers.

Safety

Protecting our colleagues is a core part of how we operate. In the UK our approach includes regular workplace safety inspections, formal accident and near-miss reporting, risk assessment and role-specific training. Our field engineers work to established controls covering safe isolation, manual handling, driving, asbestos awareness and dynamic risk assessment before work begins. Our UK operations have maintained Alcumus SafeContractor accreditation for eight years, providing independent assessment of our health and safety management arrangements.

Development

We provide role-specific training to help colleagues work safely, effectively and in line with the regulatory requirements of our industry. In the UK this includes structured compliance and regulatory training through our online learning platform, alongside practical technical and safety development for our engineering teams through our Training Academy. As our group programme develops, we are looking at how we measure learning, development and progression more consistently across our businesses.

Diversity

We provide role-specific training to help colleagues work safely, effectively and in line with the regulatory requirements of our industry. In the UK this includes structured compliance and regulatory training through our online learning platform, alongside practical technical and safety development for our engineering teams through our Training Academy. As our group programme develops, we are looking at how we measure learning, development and progression more consistently across our businesses.

Our Communities

Our role in healthcare gives us a responsibility that extends beyond the customers we serve. The products and expertise we provide ultimately support dental and aesthetic professionals and, through them, the patients and communities they care for.

We want to use our people, expertise and resources to make a positive contribution to the communities around us.

This includes supporting charitable causes, encouraging our people to give back, building meaningful community partnerships and contributing to the wider dental and healthcare community.

We have donated products to Bridge2Aid, Dentaid and the Health Point Foundation, supporting mobile dental clinics reaching deprived rural areas overseas.

James Salter, Group Chief Growth Officer, DD Group

Our Business

Doing business responsibly is fundamental to how we operate. Growth matters, but how we achieve that growth matters just as much.

An ESG steering group leads this work across DD Group. Formed in 2026, it brings together leaders from across our businesses and functions and owns the agenda: setting priorities, overseeing our carbon measurement, and directing the full review of our environmental baseline now underway.

Responsible business is also built into how we operate day to day. Our policies cover ethical conduct, anti-bribery and corruption, modern slavery, whistleblowing and the standards we expect of our suppliers.

Certifications and Standards

Planet Mark Business Certification, Year 5.

Independently certified carbon measurement and reduction, five consecutive years.
ISO 13485, DD Products and Services Ltd.

Quality management system certification supporting our medical device activities.
ISO 14001, DMI.

Environmental management system certification within our Irish business.
Alcumus SafeContractor.

Independent assessment of our health and safety arrangements, maintained by our UK operations for eight years.