Northparkes’ Heart at Work program has won the Health Excellence Award at the 2016 NSW Minerals Council Health, Safety, Environment and Community Conference at the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley on August 29.

And the accolades didn’t stop there with Northparkes also being named a finalist in the Environmental Excellence award category at the conference for its innovative crop trials on the mines’ tailings storage facilities.

The Heart at Work program was launched in 2015 after the company recognised so many people, including employees and community members, were at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, which kills thousands of Australians per year.

“I am thrilled our commitment to health and well being at Northparkes has been recognised with this award,” Northparkes managing director Stefanie Loader said.

“In the mining industry, our health reflects that of the general health of the population.”

The program focused on the modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as poor diet and increased cholesterol levels, reduced physical activity, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and increased stress.

Northparkes people, safety and environment manager Angus Wyllie said the Heart at Work program would not have been successful without the enthusiastic participation of their employees.

“They embraced every challenge, from cooking up a storm in crib rooms to committing to improve their personal health and fitness,” he said.

The 12 month program saw some amazing individual and team results.

One employee, Dan Rawsthorne, lost an amazing 17.7kg in the weight loss challenge.

Dan started by changing a few small things in his life.

He exercised more and watched how much and what he ate each day.

“I was sick of not facing up to my health,” he said.

“My biggest challenge was breaking old habits; I found I was able to sustain the new habits I picked up because of the support provided by the program.”

Mr Wyllie said the Heart at Work program is part of their Zero Harm approach to all of their operations.

“We care for our people, our environment and the community in which we live and work,” he said.