ESPORG receives the Truck Friendly Award 2026 for the European Wellbeing Initiative (EWellIn)
The European Secure Parking Organisation (ESPORG) has received the Truck Friendly Organisation Award at the 5th Truck Friendly Awards for the European Wellbeing Initiative (EWellIn), powered by ESPORG. The ceremony took place yesterday, 11 November 2026, at IFEMA Madrid, as part of the Logistics & Automation fair. The award was collected by Druselia Betea, Head of the European Wellbeing Initiative (EWellIn), powered by ESPORG.
At the heart of the logistics sector in Madrid
The award ceremony was part of Logistics & Automation Madrid, organised by Easyfairs at IFEMA Madrid, the city’s international trade fair centre and one of the main meeting places for the logistics and supply chain sector in Spain. On 11 November, the programme was dedicated to the Asociación de Cargadores de España (ACE), the Spanish Shippers’ Association, one of the founding organisations of the Truck Friendly Movement. The day opened with the ACE breakfast and general assembly, followed by talks on road, maritime and rail freight. EWellIn was warmly welcomed at the ACE stand, where conversations with shippers, hauliers and partners about drivers’ wellbeing carried on throughout the day.
The Truck Friendly Awards are organised by the Truck Friendly Movement. They recognise organisations whose good practices help improve the daily life, safety and wellbeing of professional truck drivers. In the Organisation category, candidates are proposed by the jury itself. The jury includes one representative each from ASTIC, ACE, CEL and ALIA, a journalist from the sector press, and last year’s winners.
“We are deeply grateful to the Truck Friendly Movement for this award. It touches our hearts, and it belongs to every EWellIn partner and to every driver who shared their story with us. Wellbeing is something we are building together, step by step, with the driver at the centre and the whole supply chain around the same table,” says Druselia Betea, Head of the European Wellbeing Initiative (EWellIn).
The European Wellbeing Initiative: the driver at the centre
ESPORG receives this award for the European Wellbeing Initiative (EWellIn), its social responsibility in practice. It is an ongoing journey, shared with partners, for the people who keep Europe moving, often far from home. EWellIn puts the professional driver at the centre and looks after the whole person, body and mind together. Through prevention and healthy habits, it helps drivers become more resilient, and it gently encourages the whole supply chain to create good conditions for them at the workplace and on the road.
Feeling safe is where wellbeing begins
Good solutions start with listening. In the ESPORG study “Insights on Truck Drivers’ Well-being” (2025), 966 drivers shared their experience. Almost eight in ten (78.56%) said they have faced safety issues, such as dangerous situations, while their vehicle was parked. More than half (54.92%) feel unsafe in parking areas in Europe, and 51.82% find parking area facilities unclean.
These numbers tell a story that goes beyond the truck and the cargo. A parking area is where a driver sleeps, eats, rests and calls home at the end of a long day. When that place does not feel safe, the body never fully switches off. Rest becomes lighter, worry stays close, and over time the tiredness and stress build up, affecting both physical and mental health. Feeling safe is a basic human need. It allows the mind to settle, sleep to restore and the driver to start the next day rested and clear-headed, which matters for their own wellbeing and for everyone on the road. This is why, for EWellIn, safe parking and wellbeing go hand in hand.
EWellIn is free, voluntary, open to all and built on collaboration and partnership. It works towards an ecosystem around the driver, where the whole supply chain comes together in care, from hauliers and shippers to parking operators, authorities and drivers’ families. Step by step, together they are growing a human-centred wellbeing culture for people and a wellbeing environment for places, through six pillars: research and studies, the Wellbeing Pledge, the Wellbeing Working Groups, the Wellbeing Campaign “Drive Safe, Park Safe, Work Safe, Live Well”, Wellbeing Trainings and Recognition.
A four-year Wellbeing Campaign
At the heart of EWellIn is the Wellbeing Campaign “Drive Safe, Park Safe, Work Safe, Live Well”. Launched in March 2025, it is a four-year campaign running until March 2029. Each year it turns the spotlight on a different part of the supply chain, inviting everyone who shapes a driver’s day to play their part. Year 2 is dedicated to parking, because a safe place to stop is where rest, health and peace of mind begin.
Across Europe, the campaign brings Wellbeing Days to the places where drivers stop and rest. They include free Wellbeing Check-Ups, moments of rest and connection, and the whole supply chain gathered around the same table. Organisations that host a Wellbeing Day become Wellbeing Ambassadors for the whole campaign.
A growing community: Pledge signatories and Working Groups
Every journey with EWellIn begins with the Wellbeing Pledge. By signing it, an organisation commits to drivers’ wellbeing and joins the European Wellbeing Initiative (EWellIn), powered by ESPORG. A growing community of Pledge signatories, from hauliers and shippers to parking operators and associations, now stands together for drivers’ wellbeing.
Organisations that want to take part more actively can join the Wellbeing Working Groups. There, members share good practices, develop ideas and work together towards EWellIn’s objectives. The Pledge is the first step, and taking part in the Working Groups is free and voluntary too.
“Together, we can make the driving profession more inclusive, accessible and attractive for every generation and every gender. Every new partner helps us take this journey one step further,” says Druselia Betea.
A shared commitment
Just before the ceremony, the forum “Descansar seguro, trabajar mejor: cuidar a quien mueve la mercancÃa” (Rest safely, work better: caring for those who move the goods) explored how safe rest stops shape drivers’ wellbeing, safety and quality of work. It was moderated by Alejandro Herráez, Technical Director of ALIA, with Sonia Brañas, professional driver and driver trainer, Pere Padrosa, President of Transportes Padrosa, and Rafael Jurado, Logistics Manager South and Canary Islands at Votorantim Cimentos.
EWellIn warmly congratulates the other winners of this year’s awards: Carreras Grupo LogÃstico in the transport company category, and Skretting España in the shipper category for its KM Friend initiative at its plant in Burgos. The award also has a special meaning for EWellIn, as last year’s Organisation Award went to Andamur, which hosted EWellIn Wellbeing Days at Andamur La Junquera in October 2026.
ESPORG warmly invites the members of the Truck Friendly Movement to sign the Wellbeing Pledge. Signing is free and simple: organisations just visit wellbeingpledge.eu and upload their logo. Those who would like to take part more actively can register for the Wellbeing Working Groups at ewellin.eu/working-groups.
EWellIn warmly thanks ACE for its hospitality at its stand, and the Truck Friendly Movement, its founding organisations ASTIC, ACE, CEL and ALIA, and the jury for this recognition. It encourages us to keep caring for drivers’ wellbeing on every road in Europe.
Notes to editors
About ESPORG. Since 2010, ESPORG, the European Secure Parking Organisation, has worked from Brussels for safe places where professional drivers can stop and rest. Today it is present in 22 European Member States, representing 120 members and overseeing 220 secure parking facilities. Its mission is to raise the standards of safety and security for drivers and cargo, through a network of safe truck parks that serve as service hubs for the supply chain.
About EWellIn. The European Wellbeing Initiative (EWellIn), powered by ESPORG, brings together organisations across the supply chain to care for the wellbeing of professional drivers. Taking part is always free and voluntary. More at ewellin.eu.
About the Truck Friendly Movement. The Truck Friendly Movement is an initiative of ASTIC, the Spanish Shippers’ Association (ACE), the Spanish Logistics Centre (CEL) and the Aragon Logistics Cluster (ALIA). It works to improve how society sees road freight transport, to value the professional driver, and to improve drivers’ daily life at loading and unloading areas and rest areas.
Sources. ESPORG, Insights on Truck Drivers’ Well-being, 2025 (n=966); ESPORG mission: https://esporg.eu/about/; Truck Friendly Movement: https://truckfriendlymovement.com
Media contact: Druselia Betea, d.betea@esporg.eu, +32 493 47 54 75
