Issue 1 2009 > A Clear Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility
A Clear Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility
Sally Thompson (wife of Chairman, Jim Thompson) accepting a certificate
from former United States President Bill Clinton, on behalf of Crown’s Core Values to Action.
Commitments to Action, are new, specific, measurable initiatives undertaken by members of the Clinton Global Initiative. Jim and Sally have made a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to build a second school, to further the educational opportunities for underprivileged, orphaned and HIV-positive children in Cambodia, and enable them to receive a formal, structured education.
Crown recognizes its responsibility to conduct its business in a way that helps the environment and the communities it serves. Through a dedicated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) effort, the company is committed to continuously improving its performance in both of these areas.
It’s an exciting time for Crown and its employees. For the first time the enthusiasm for the environment and community outreach is being brought together under a more unified vision, common processes and global targets.
A passionate champion of the environment in London can now join forces with a like-minded colleague in Hong Kong. A hard-working supporter of education for underprivileged children in Cambodia can see that a counterpart in Chicago is working hard to help undernourished youngsters in Latin America. All employees will soon be able to educate themselves about how they can help the environment and community through company-sponsored online courses. With regional businesses working together Crown can now maximize the positive effect it has on the markets it serves.
Because Crown is in the business of transportation, it has a real impact on the environment through fuel consumption and carbon emissions by vehicles and the use of packaging materials.
Crown has established policies to secure the ISO 14001 or comparable environmental accreditations in three of its biggest markets–Hong Kong, Australia and the UK, with other worldwide locations now following suit. The company’s target is for 100% of country operations to achieve accreditation, within the next two to five years, based on consistent company-wide policies. Within that time frame, the company aims to achieve carbon neutral services in a way that is both operationally and cost-effective.
In the meantime, Crown is developing global standards to ensure that all worldwide operations are working in unison to minimize impact. Critical to this effort has been Crown’s steps to measure its consumption of natural resources. By doing this globally Crown can set targets and work to continuously improve.
To engage all staff in environmental actions, Crown has established Green Liaisons in every country. These employees are champions who educate and facilitate improved green practices at each location. The liaisons also share best practices and have helped identify creative solutions and excellent models for worldwide operations.
Because Crown is in the business of transporting between communities of varied socio-economic standing, it believes it must contribute to local communities in need.
In fact, helping local communities in need has been part of Crown’s culture for decades. This is driven by the inherently global and human nature of Crown’s relocation business and by the personal passion of its Chairman, Jim Thompson. The company has provided services, funds and volunteers to a broad range of causes around the globe. Today, taking action to help local communities is one of the company’s five fundamental core values.
In 2007, Crown businesses collaborated to build a primary school in Proa Chum, Cambodia, giving over 1,000 children their first opportunity to receive a formal education. In 2009, the company helped to build and open another school, which will integrate HIV-positive orphans. This project is one example of Crown’s focus on children’s education and health initiatives.
This is also seen through Crown’s ongoing provision of transportation to Vitamin Angels, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing vitamin supplements and anti-parasitic medication to the world’s most vulnerable and malnourished children.
Crown often partners with client corporations and local organizations in their efforts. For example, Crown partners with Standard Chartered Bank in its Living with HIV initiative, through which Crown attends and hosts seminars to educate employees and other stakeholders about HIV and AIDS to help prevent its spread.
For more information about these and other CSR activities in, please visit crownworldwide.com/community.