Issue 3 2008 > An Energetic Team Cuts Carbon Emissions
Destination Green
An Energetic Team Cuts Carbon Emissions
Today, the world is eagerly responding to a global call for conservation and the staff members at Crown are no exception. Crown has earned the ISO 14000 environmental management standards certification in its larger regions. The certification exists to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment, cause adverse changes to air, water or land and also to comply with local laws and regulations. Additional Crown offices are in the process of earning this certification.
These are just some of several environmental measures introduced by Crown in the past few years. Others include segregating and recycling waste wherever possible, switching to packing materials made from at least 80% recycled material and working with suppliers to improve their environmental performance.
The Crown Records Management team in the United Kingdom have certainly been proving their commitment to reducing carbon emissions. From battery operated vehicles to motorcycles and even working in the dark, their energy and enthusiasm is clear.
Plug and Play
Crown United Kingdom has taken delivery of its first ever electric vehicle. The design has been adapted mechanically to run using battery power only, lending itself to zero carbon emissions, noise and exhaust pollution, and all its components can be recycled.
The team started investigating the use of electric vehicles a few years ago and has since tested various models. There were issues over range and reliability previously but this new design’s range is 80-100 miles between charges. The vehicles only have four moving parts making them easier to maintain and highly reliable, which makes them ideally suited for local deliveries.
Andy Middleton, director of infrastructure UK & Ireland noted, “we are delighted to be able to introduce an electric vehicle to our fleet. Its contribution toward a cleaner, greener environment will be immediate. We will expand the use of this type of vehicles as their reliability, emissions and overall running costs continue to prove favorable.”
Using Motorcycles to Cut Carbon Emissions
The Crown team in the United Kingdom has started using motorcycles to retrieve and deliver business records to their clients in London. Using motorcycles instead of vans reduces carbon emissions and saves on fuel consumption. It also helps the team to make deliveries faster. The heavy traffic, and the congestion charges that were implemented to help alleviate traffic in London, means that when clients placed orders late in the day, Crown’s traditional use of vans made it difficult to deliver them promptly.
John Holt, business manager for the Records Management teams in London is thrilled with the efficiency, “since we took delivery of these motorcycles, our turnaround into the city has improved dramatically. We are able to deliver into the city of London in 15 minutes. Previously the same journey could have taken up to an hour because of the traffic. We are proud to be able to demonstrate this efficiency to our clients, not to mention to help make an impact on reducing carbon emissions.”
Crown also plans to increase its “scan on demand” capabilities which provide an alternative to physical hard copy document deliveries.
It’s Lights Out in London
On June 5, 2008, in recognition of World Environment Day, Crown facilities across the United Kingdom joined an effort to save a kilo of CO2 in just one hour. It's estimated that if every individual in the UK saved one kilo of CO2 on World Environment Day, approximately 44,000 tons would be saved overall. If everyone did this for a year, the UK’s CO2 emissions would be reduced by a staggering 16 million tons, which represents 17% of the country’s overall reduction target.
The CarbonNeutral Company’s "Cut out a Kilo" campaign encourages businesses to take action in reducing their carbon emissions. The Crown team members participated by turning off all the office lights for at least an hour and providing information to staff members on the types of simple action they can implement at home and in the workplace.