Geopost’s Delivery Excellence Challenge: Championing Driver Expertise in Sustainability and Safety
Sustainability 19 June 2025
At Geopost, delivery excellence means more than just timely parcels—it’s about safety, customer experience, and a commitment to environmental sustainability. The Delivery Excellence Challenge brings this vision to life by recognising top driver skills across the network in a fun, competitive format.
Nikita Udhwani , Head of Partner Social Sustainability at Geopost , and Justin Pegg, COO at DPD UK , recently met up to discuss how the event is helping redefine success on the road .
The Delivery Excellence Challenge is a unique recognition initiative that really demonstrates how expertise in sustainability and safety is an essential pillar of timely delivery. How exactly did this initiative come to life?
Nikita Udhwani: It started in 2022 when we were building the Geopost Partner of Choice programme. Dominique Mamcarz, Sustainability Director here at Geopost told us about a competitive driver recognition event happening in Central Europe. That inspired us to create something Geopost-wide—something fun, competitive, and meaningful that reflects what we truly value in our drivers. With each event we have noticed that delivery excellence is really about finding the right balance. The winning driver often tends to be the one who finds a good balance between safe driving, energy consumption, efficiency, and customer experience.
Justin Pegg: Yes, and it’s been a great vehicle (excuse the pun) to engage with an important part of our workforce: the drivers. They have hundreds of interactions with our customers each day and are the face of DPD. To be able to reward and engage with our drivers has been tremendous and the challenge has given us a fun way to recognise them.
Safety is key. We have 70,000 collection and delivery drivers on the road every day, and 10,000 linehaul drivers on the road every night. Therefore, any discussion, any training, any debriefing, any briefing, we always start and always end with safety. That’s the way to do it. Repetition is the message. Safety, safety, safety. - Bas Janssen, Director of Operations Europe at Geopost
You both mentioned placing a spotlight on environmental sustainability and expertise in this field—can you expand?
Nikita Udhwani: Environmental sustainability is a big part of the Delivery Excellence Challenge. It’s our chance to show not only the entire Geopost network but also our customers where we’re headed as a company—toward electrification and more sustainable practices. We want drivers to see sustainability as more than just electric vans—it's also about the small things: tyre pressure checks, proper vehicle inspections, and route optimisation. After all, the cleanest kilometres are the ones you don’t drive.
Justin Pegg: As an electric vehicle ambassador, it’s amazing to see how drivers from each country drive electric. The subtle differences in the way they drive the vehicle and boost performance is fantastic to witness. The drive is no longer about how quickly you can get to the next stop. Now, as well as safety, and service with a smile, it’s about monitoring energy usage, and it’s about driving more sustainably.
Taking part in the challenge made me realise just how crucial sustainability is to our business…balancing productivity with efficiency is key.- Axel Gueret, Driver at DPD France
How does the Delivery Excellence Challenge support driver inclusion and recognition?
Nikita Udhwani: At Geopost, we run two key programmes focused on our people—Employer of Choice and Partner of Choice. The Delivery Excellence Challenge bridges both, recognising all drivers equally. Our drivers carry our values and strategy every day. At its core, the Delivery Excellence Challenge is our way of saying: we see you, we appreciate you.
Justin Pegg: And on top of that, it has been inspiring to see the friendships that form between all the drivers from every country. This competition truly brings everyone from every culture together.
How is the event evolving?
Nikita Udhwani: Each year, we add new themes that reflect how the role of a driver is evolving. Recently, we’ve strengthened the focus on Out-of-Home delivery, as it becomes an increasingly more important part of our strategy. This year, we’re also excited to welcome some of our Linehaul Partners to the final for the first time. Linehaul is a vital part of our operation, and their participation reflects the key role they play in our network. Without giving too much away, we’re also looking at how to bring broader health, safety, and well-being themes into future editions. It’s all about keeping it relevant and impactful.
Justin Pegg: Hot off the press! We’re thrilled to announce that the 2025 competition will take place in the UK in early October. Preparations are underway for the local finals, typically held at the end of July, and excitement is already building among our drivers.
Do you have a call to action that you’d like to share?
Nikita Udhwani: From a customer perspective, the product might get the spotlight, but the delivery experience is just as important. We’d love to see customers and partners join us in recognising the vital role drivers play in that journey.
Justin Pegg: This event is a yearly highlight for our drivers, many of whom are proud to represent their country. As the host nation, we're committed to making this a truly special occasion—a magical experience for everyone, especially those visiting the UK for the first time.