Crown Featured in SanLeandroNext.com’s Green Business Profile
Green Business Profile: Crown Worldwide Moving & Storage
In 2020, the San Leandro Sustainability Office is highlighting different green businesses around San Leandro. Businesses can become certified green businesses through the Alameda County Green Business Program after completing a certain set of criteria. Among those is Crown Worldwide Moving and Storage LLC in San Leandro.
Crown is a world-class full-service global provider of transportation and relocation services (International transport, Commercial relocations, Domestic household good transportation, Storage and Asset management and Automobile transport).
Pinpointing San Leandro as both a hub of the Bay Area and close to the Port of Oakland, Crown moved its headquarters here from San Francisco in 1976. Not only did this move reduce overhead in the form of less expensive office and warehouse space, but Crown was able to decrease drive-time for local moves thus reducing vehicle emissions, fuel cost and labor cost.
Over the years, to protect the environment and its community, Crown has made numerous changes in order to become more sustainable. This meant helping avoid the depletion of natural resources and purchasing products to minimize environmental impact, toxins, pollution and hazards to workers and safety to the community. This in turn helps maintain and protect an ecological balance for society at large.
Some of the changes had the added benefit of overhead cost reduction. Crown’s installation of LED lighting and T-5 fixtures was the greatest success from a cost standpoint. As Crown’s Chairman Robert Bowen notes, “There was a considerable reduction in Crown’s electric bill afterwards and it was supplemented by a rebate from PG&E. Furthermore, the purchase of electric forklifts reduced the cost of propane and eliminated the need to store hazardous products. Getting acceptance from some employees was challenging since they were used to having products of convenience no matter their impact on the environment. However, through consistent messaging from management, they began to see the value of these improvements.”
Crown has managed to achieve a number of sustainability best practices, including:
- Replacing the light fixtures in warehouses with T-5 and LED
- Installing motion light fixtures in warehouses
- Eliminating plastic bottles from vending machines
- Replacing paper, plastic and polystyrene products in lunch rooms with glassware and silverware
- Placing containers at every work-station, rest room and lunch room to collect and dispose of products for recycling
- Placing containers in every lunch room for food waste
- Covering the office windows with reflective film to reduce heat infiltration
- Installing interior motion detector light switches in offices
- Installing exterior day-light sensors on flood lights
- Purchasing electric forklifts for warehouses
- Recycling all corrugated medium products
- Recycling metal and e-waste
- Conducting work sessions to educate employees how to conserve energy and eliminate the use of household products harmful to the environment
- Setting default settings for printers to be double-sided
- Focusing management software and processes on the elimination of paper documents and digitization of documentation
Chairman Bowen urges business owners and managers, “Make the protection of our environment a top priority. Promote and educate your workforce to do the same, not just at work, but at home. Create a team to drive your program each and every day, otherwise, your efforts will be ineffective and not taken seriously. Finally, voice your opinion on environmental issues with your local, state and federal elected officials, your friends, your co-workers and your family.”
