Crown

CROWN WORLDWIDE: INTEGRATING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN BUSINESSFounded in 1965 by Jim Thompson, the Crown Worldwide group ("Crown") had evolved from a small moving company in Yokohama, Japan into the world's largest privately held relocation and logistics enterprise within 30 years. After shifting the company headquarters to Hong Kong in the mid-1970s, Thompson rapidly expanded the business across different regions around the world. By the late 2000s, Crown had over 250 offices operating in 55 countries and 5,000 employees helping the company earn annual revenue of US$640 million. Crown's success was attributed to the founder's persistent' in service quality assurance and continual improvement through innovative information technology. His passion for engaging in community development had also won him respect and support from the company's senior executives and employees. In 2008, Crown announced Jennifer Harvey, Thompson's daughter, as the company's first director of corporate social responsibility ("CSR"). With Harvey's extensive management and public relations experience at Crown's offices in different regions, she was assigned the main task of developing and implementing a standardised global CSR strategy that would extend and further integrate Crown's environmental and community development policies with its business operation. Because the extent of CSR awareness and commitment varied from region to region, imposing global CSR integration standards would help to reduce the GSR performance gap among its offices worldwide. To advance its overall CSR capacity. Crown voluntarily participated in the UN Global Compacta. leadership initiative that guided business participants to achieve sustainability and responsible business practices in the face of globalisation. CSR integration was, however, time-consuming and at times stressful when a wider group of stakeholders and more social and environmental issues were to be considered in the process. Indeed, CSR values had been part of Crown's culture for decades under the influence of the founder's personality and his leadership. What further action could the company take to elevate its CSR efforts? What would be the key drivers for successful CSR integration? Given the complexity of the process, which required several success factors to lead to its sustainability, the CSR integration efforts could be daunting without a roadmap or framework. What could be a good CSR framework for Crown to institutionalise CSR and assure its sustainability?

Dr Claudia Woo and Ricky Lai prepared this case under the supervision of Professor Ali Farhoomandfor class discussion. This case is not intended to show effective or ineffective handling of decision or business processes. 2010 by The Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong. No part of this publication mav be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (including the internet)without the permission of The University of Hong Kong. Ref I0/474C

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Company BackgroundThe history of Crown could be traced back to the 1960s, when Thompson, a young aeronautical engineering graduate, decided to leave his homeland and explore the When he first came to Asia at the age of 23, he was fascinated by the populous region. With! the help of his father, he worked for a small relocation company in Yokohama and accepted a low-paying, menial job. Thompson enjoyed his new life learning about Japan and blended well into the local community. After about 18 months, he was given the opportunity to take over the company. With only US$1,000 in his savings, Thompson took up the challenge and in in 1965 founded Transport Services Internaional (TSI), the company that would later become Crown.

The Early YearsThompson started running his own business by liaising with lif? jgreviously established contacts in Japan. At the time, most of his clients were famtll? f me|>US military officers ? who were stationed in Japan. Due to limited financial reHource? ttThompson required his clients to pay in advance before services were delivered.,'-Given ? his business mainly tnat targeted US military officers and other foreigners, the company ws spared competition with other local rivals in the Japanese market that Thompson had claimed to be nationalistic in nature at the time. The lean operation and low cost structure of TSI had also won him several business contracts, providing stable income forlhe company's ongoing development.

Moving to Hong Kong and Business DefectionAs the Cultural Revolution in China subsided starting m 1969, Thompson saw gradual economic recovery in China and Hong Kongi where there was an increasing demand for house-moving services for expatriates amid surging foreign investment in China and the then British colonial island. In 1970, he established TSI's second office in Hong Kong. The business quickly expanded into Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and other Asia-Pacific locations. To come up with a more easily recognisable name and logo for TSI, Thompson changed the company name to Crown Pacific in 1975. Three years later, he bought out his business partner for US$500,000, which was paid in cash over two years. Following the shift of the company's headquarters to Hong Kong from Japan, Thompson and his family also moved to the city in 1978. Because of the buyout payment, Crown Pacific risked serious cash flow problems in the early 1980s while Thompson was still expanding his business into America. The financial plague intensified with the betrayal of the company's former chief financial officer (and a Thompson family friend), who founded a rival company shortly after leaving Crown Pacific and took half of Thompson's Hong Kong workforce with Jiim.' The defection not only threatened the survival of the company during that time, but also left Thompson with a deep emotional gash.

Remarkable Self-Funded Global Expansion and Business DiversificationInstead of quitting the business, Thompson bounced back by recruiting new staff and heavily reinvesting profits back into the company. By the mid-1980s, his business had got back on track and became the leading mover in Asia. More offices were established across North America, Australia and Europe throughout the 1990s. To reflect its global span, Crown Pacific was renamed Crown Worldwide Holdings in 1995. Under the quick business

Mak, V. (2007) "Crown Worldwide Holdings Ltd: Passing the Torch in a Family Business", Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.


expansion strategy, Crown had grown at a pace of about three to four new offices yearl between 1980 and 2000, and five to six new offices fi"om 2000 onwards.? ? Over the years, Thompson had diversified the relocation business to serve different mai? r needs, and branded each of its specific business services under a different name. B? 2iC>4. company consisted of five major divisions: Crown Relocations, Crown Records Matiagenwt, Crown Logistics, Crown Fine Art and Crown Wine Cellars [see ExhibitMi. J? origi? e l relocation business was rebranded as Crown Relocations. Apart fromyoc? n&teehmd gg items from one place to the other, Crown's mobility consultants.? fboth? home and pe destination coimtries also worked together to provide transferees and tMfeJamilies assistance in settling into their new environs. Meanwhile, the Crown Records M? ement division ? specialised in handling clients' business records, including managi? delivenilg storing and , disposing of business documents in both hard copy and elect: onicWrmats. For corporate and manufacturer clients who wanted to transfer goods such as d? fctd gases, furniture, and equipments to other business locations. Crown Logistics would.pr? the service. Crown de Fine Arts was specially established to relocate fine arts? S? provide exhibition co ? ? ordination services, while Crown Wine Cellars oversaw the w? cellar facilities and e exclusive members' clubhouses developed by Crown for afiTOent lovers. Following the Closer Economic Partnership Arraigement ("CEPA") trade liberalisation policy established jointly by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments. Crown's business in mainland China was enhanced starting the sumniet ofj2005. With the CEPA license. Crown could provide its services directly through its iqwn wholly owned subsidiaries in China. In other words, the company could make?business decisions on its own without being constrained by local partners who did not .share its corporate agenda. It could also choose local partners according to its own requirements and establish direct contractual relations with customers. The trade policy provid?Crown? easierkccess to the fertile China market.

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Family Members in tlie Self-Funding BusinessThroughout Crown's global expansion, Thompson had been adopting a unique financial approach to funding his business. He borrowed only to settle down-payments for Crown's new premises and rejected additional long-term debts for other purposes. In order to retain full control over the company? was also hesitant to take the company public or accept he offers from outside investors. Two of Thompson's childrenJennifer Harvey and Jimmy Thompson'had held various regional managenient positions at Crown. Harvey, who spoke Japanese, had shown her management talents since she joined the company in 1993 as corporate service manager in Tokyo. She had since been reassigned to New York and Singapore to take up managerial roles in sales, marketing and services. During the early 2000s, she was the group marketing mariager, overseeing the group's market research, corporate identity development and public relations, in addition to managing both extemal and intemal marketing communications. She was appointed the company's first director of CSR in 2008. Jimmy Thompson, who was fluent in Mandarin, joined the regional office in China in 1999 and then worked in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Mongolia. Since 2001, he had assumed the post of regional manager for the northern China and Mongolia regions. He was also the logistics manager for?Fralanluono, M. (2007) "The Crown Worldwide Group: Relocating in China under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement", Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong. ?Jennifer Harvey and Jimmy Thompson were both bom in Japan. Harvey had moved to Hong Kong with her family at the age of iO, when her brother was four. They both attended international schools in Hong Kong for their primary and secondary education. After completing high school, Harvey went to Columbia University in the US and earned her bachelor's degree in East Asian Studies and Economics in 1990 and married in 1996. Jimmy Thompson had received his bachelor's degree with a double major in Asian studies and Chinese history from University of California, Santa Barbara in 1997.

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greater China (the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan) and general manager of the Beijin sales office.

Organisational Structure and IVIanagement IVIodelBy the end of 2009, Crown had a global network of over 250 offices in ? purttries, hirffl ? over 5,000 employees worldwide. It generated annual consolidated million and owned warehouse space in excess of 3 million square fe? fche gup reitlamed the world's largest privately held company providing relocation, r? Stds ? piagement and logistic services. In addition to Hong Kong, it operated two regional hea? teers for America ? and for Europe, the Middle East and Africa ("EMEA") in Los Angai? Prague, |nd respectively [see Exhibit 2]. Over the years, the group gamg? several aistinguished d business awards in Hong Kong as well as International Organisation of Standardisation ("ISO") designations, proclaiming the company's service e? felgnce and outstanding operational performance. Despite its growing network, Crown maintained a relatively flat Organisational structure, under which front-line employees were separated from members of the board by only two to three tiers of management.'' As a privately held? company, Crown's board of directors consisted of three key executive members, with Thompson being the chairman, and Ken Madrid and David Muir being the executive di? tors?see Exhibit 3]. Madrid was also the chief executive of the Asia-Pacific region ||id? group chief financial officer of Crown, e" while Muir was the chief executive of the EMEA? iivision. For the business in America, Brian Valentine held the position of regional chief executive. These three reported to Thompson. Other key managers assumed variptis combiii? geographic, functional and operational jl. responsibilities. For example, the? anaging dir? of greater China, Billy Wong, who fer reported to Madrid, also ran the companyls largest office and warehouse facility in Hong Kong. A general manager of a warehouse facility in a particular geographical area could also be the manager for one or more of the business lines handled by that office. For instance, Jimmy Thompson was not only the general manager of the Beijing sales office, but also the logistics manager for greater China.' In managing the huge global company, Thompson had set a unified corporate vision and strategic direction for all its offices worldwide, but adopted a decentralised approach that delegated most operational functions to the regional and branch offices. The Hong Kong headquarters was the centre for corporate strategy, corporate finance and the information technology network. It was also responsible for setting universal quality standards and growth targets for all locations worldwide. Executives in charge of marketing and training were based in regional offices located in other cities of the world. Managers of individual branches were given autonomy , to make operational decisions independently and expand business, and were required to ensure high quality among employees in meeting clients' expectations. Each branch office received group support in key functional areas such as employee training, marketing, information technology and finance.

Crown's Corporate Core ValuesAs with most companies, business growth and profit were imperative core values for Crown that enabled the company to reinvest its assets in order to sustain its business economically.

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Fratantuono, M. (2007) "The Crown Worldwide Group: Relocating in China under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement", Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong.

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However, unlike founders of many profit-oriented companies, Thompson saw the true need t balance commercial activities with compassionate and responsible actions. It was impoi for his company to do well by doing good, not only through achieving service excellencmn( high employee morale, but also by engaging in socially and environmentally benen? activities. To Thompson, philanthropy was far from being just a one-dimensional? iyirti awav pf resources. While he believed that commercial activities needed philanthropic actions, he also saw the need for philanthropic initiativ? co? Ro Pinto balance with corporate interests. For example, he felt that a r)harmaceutic? %&m? should not v squander its research and development of new drugs by simply passing th? tothe needy for ? free. In the long run, such an approach would only hurt the indus? researai? 's centives to the ultimate detriment of the needy. Instead, he foimd it more topropriate for donors and sponsors to step in and purchase the new drugs to be given aw? o as to strike a balance ? between need and corporate interests.'

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Since the early establishment of Crown, Thompson had recognised Sat his CSR vision had to be instituted top-down to achieve maximum effectivenes.s'S? Eaic? 4 for Thompson's e ibit message on CSR].* His concern for the community ? reflecteaih one of the following five as corporate core values of Crown:' ? Our People are Our Greatest Assets * Our Strength is Our Network .0? % ? We Positively Impact Our Communidgl % "

Delighting the Customer is Our MissioS||? - Growth and Profit are Imperatives'. ?'

Quality Assurance through Use of lecHnology and System StandardisationTo enhance the co-ordination and communication capabilities that connected its worldwide offices, Thompson reinvested most of the corporate profits in advanced information technology to build the company's own in-house software department. Under its information technology initiatives, Crown had developed its own management and tracking system ("MATS") to ensure effective handling of the movement of goods and relocation of individuals or families, from initial inquiry to the final billing stage. For each stage, employees needed to record information about the action taken, the person responsible for the action, the data that needed to be recorded, and the outcome according to key performance indicators ("KPIs") .or the client's established expectations for the job. The information documented for each client could be accessed in real time by headquarters and employees in any of the cornpany's branch offices throughout the world via Crovwi's global web tracking system. To iassure best practices in each of the five business divisions. Crown was committed to the development of its own quality management programme, QUEST [see Exhibit 5]. The programme involved a continual quality assurance process that consisted of four stages; global standards setting, implementation, client satisfaction evaluation and analysis of customer feedback. By tracking KPIs through automated technology systems. Crown's Group Quality Office was able to analyse the data to calculate a Total QUEST Quality Score for

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' Company interview on 15 June 2009. ' Ibid. ?Crown (2010) "Crown's Core Values", hltp:/Avww.crownworldwide.com/'cww/core.values.html (accessed 20 March 2010). ?The MATS system included a formatted file for every client in the company's database. Each file consisted of a matrix of 11 columns and eight rows. The 11 columns represented the sequential steps involved in relocating a family, from initial inquiry to final billing. See: Fratantuono, M, (2007) "The Crown Worldwide Group: Relocating in China under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement", Asia Case Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong,

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each branch, based upon which QUEST Awards were presented to the top performing brand and the most improved branch in each of the major geographic regions every quarter.'

Employee RecognitionThe QUEST Employee Pin Awards were awarded to employees who had a prove exceeding the expectations of the customer, which was another of the core valuAadvoc? by the founder. In addition, annual awards were given, including the Ch? ? smwardjMe ?? Customer Service Award, Outstanding Achievement and the Eco Ma? eme AwarlOThe ? Crown Worldwide Group had also established the QUEST Hall of l? ? recognised je, ich exceptional Crown employees who had provided outstanding support their clients or had demonstrated longstanding dedication. Although the founder did not offer company shares to his maffgers to avoid ownership dilution, he offered excellent remuneration packages and addit? J. incentives in terms of ? profit sharing and merit-based bonuses. Indeed, Thompson'? ? h charisma had won |(?? o*? affection from his employees, many of whom addressed hi?on a? st-name basis. To ensure the company remained a preferred employer, Thomps?was? edicated to creating a professionally attractive culture and work environment that fetcred satisfied and productive staff and actively supported employee development. All staff of Crown received training hosted under the umbrella of Crown University and were trained on the same systems and standards to ensure that all the employees understooH/their roles and possessed the skills, tools and knowledge that was essential for their,roles within the organisation. '

Social Community Activities: "Charjty in Motion"? *Thompson was awarded the Gold Bauhinia St? by the Hong Kong government in 2003 in ' acknowledgment of his distinguished service to the commimity for more dian four decades. Much of Crown's social efforts had contributed to the developing nations where its business operated. The foimder did riot hesitate to involve his close family members in his company's CSR initiatives. In 2007, when Crown established an office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Thompson and his wife, Sally, toured the countryside and saw the desperate need for proper education among the local village children in Proa Chum. In collaboration with the Cambodian government, more than 1,000 children received a new school, named after Thompson's mother Sadie, in less than half a year. At the opening ceremony, which was also attended by Thompson's sister, Thompson gave a key message to the children that the only way to escape poverty was through education. He spoke about his parents' humble beginnings, when his father had to give up education at a young age to support his family. His father had urged him and his sister to get an education so that they would have greater opportunities in life.',' Furthermore, Thompson stressed the importance for girls to stay in school and away from forced prostitution, which was a common practice in Cambodia that contributed to the AIDS epidemic.'?Thompson also shared his memory about his mother, whose earnestness in helping the less privileged had greatly influenced his upbringing. Under the leadership of Thompson, Crown was active in improving the quality of life for less fortunate children through education and health promotion. Employees were encouraged to volunteer in social causes and actively participate in charitable events, while the company was willing to match employees' donations for major disasters and provided the company's?Crown (2010) "The Crown DifferenceA Customer-Focused Approach", httpi//\vww.crownworldwide.com/cww/cupod.approach.html (accessed 30 March 2010). For further details, see Hong Kong Government (2009) "Types of Honours and Awards and Precedence Order", http://www.protocol.gov.hk/eng/honours/hon_general.html (accessed 1 April 2009). '' Crown (2010) "A Second School Supports HIV Positive Children in Cambodia", http://vvww.crownworldwide.com/cww/charity.cambodia.school.html (accessed 1 April 2010). Crown (2010) "Educating the Children of Cambodia: Jim Thompson's Tribute to His Mother", hltp;//www.crownworldwide.com/cww/charity.cambodia.tribute.html (accessed 1 April 2010).

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facilities and fleet for storage and transportation for charity purposes. As part of Crown'? CSR efforts, Charity in Motion was formed to encapsulate the community outrg programmes initiated by Crown.

Environmental Impact: "Destination Green"Crown was also aware of its environmental responsibility as a transportation bgsiness therefore initiated the Destination Green movement to rein in the compahy's'environmenml impact in the following areas:" 1. Fuel consumption of Crown's vehicles V' 2. Electricity use of Crown's offices and warehouse facilities 3. Paper and timber-product use and disposal related to packing iMterials. For example, Crown's team in the UK had continually tested thS|?of electric or batteryoperated vehicles for replacement of conventional vehicles tQifidiice Uten to the environment. Electric vehicles produced zero carbon emissions, noise or? exhausH)ollution. Moreover, all the vehicle components were recyclable and the batteryioperate? ehicles were easier to ? maintain and ideally suited for local deliveries. The Crown Records? Management team in the UK chose to use motorcycles instead of traditional vans to deliver documents in order to reduce carbon emissions and decrease fuel consurnption. This transportation mode also helped to make deliveries faster during times of traffic congestion. With Crown's dedication to assuring a ? sustainable environment through energy cutting activities and cultivating an environmentally consdous workforce, the company was granted ISO 14001 or comparable environmental accreditations in three of its biggest markets: Hong Kong, Australia and the UK. ? ? 1 -*? Although the company recognised the cost-saving advantages of controlled usage of the company's resources, the executive board believed achieving long-term benefits to both Crown and society at large was more meaningful, even though these benefits might be difficult to quantify. Following the turn of the millennium, more customers worldwide and governments especially in Europe were giving more concern to the community and environmental initiatives of business enterprises. Crown's executive board thus decided to appoint a full-time resource to pull the efforts of its global branches together and focus on some specific areas that Crown had direct control over in terms of its environmental and social performance in'order to make a real difference to the world.

Crown's First CSR DirectorIn 2008, Crown announced Harvey as its first director of CSR, whose primary role was to work with the regional heads to create an innovative and globally standardised approach to further strengthen Crown's efforts in environmental conservation and community impact initiatives.

'' Company interview on 22 May 2010.

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Although CSR efforts have been an integral part of Crown's culture for decades, it is ofincreasing importance to customers who today recognize that consuming global transportation services impacts both the environment and the worldwide communities in need. With its large global network. Crown is in a unique position to make a difference by optimizing its own operatio? f, and leading charitable efforts, thereby educating and inspiring custor? rs and staffaround the world. I am thrilled to help Crown maximize ihWMmsmm effect it has on the countries it serves."- Jennifer Harvey, director? ltoSR atjCrown

Global Surveys and Appointment of Green LiaisonThe first thing that Harvey did as soon as she assumed the positiip of CSR direc'? was to or conduct surveys across all Crown's branches worldwide in ord? collect information not o only about customers' CSR expectations towards Crown in each COTffltey but also the level of CSR commitment of the local offices. Because Crown's d&li'ations had a direct impact on the environment, Harvey requested that each coi? raari|ger appoint an employee try as a "green liaison", a co-ordinator whose responsibility W? ? ? ilect local environmental information and report back to the head office. The green liai? was also responsible for il communicating with local offices about the headquarters' green ambitions and movements, and helped identify creative solutions and successful models for adaptation to worldwide operations. Ultimately, it was the company's goal to engage the entire staff in environmental actions. ' I- Although CSR expectations and conunitinent varied from region to region due to different cultural and political contexts (for example, in general, Europeans were relatively more environmentally conscious than those in the Middle East, and the British govermnent in particular was more aggressive about carbon emission reduction), Harvey envisioned all Crown branches achieving'-higher and globally consistent CSR standards. However, local offices were also empovrered to decide and innovate ways to enhance their CSR performance according to the local need and conditionsan attempt to spur CSR activities at the grassroots level./-

Minimising the Environmental Footprint across the Supply ChainThe company targeted expansion of its ISO 14001 environmental accreditation to all its locations worldwide by 2014. While extending company policies related to controlled consumption of ftiel and electricity, Harvey and other top executives at Crown also sought to work with responsible service partners by developing an accountable supplier management system. The system would help in identifying lower-carbon-emissions freight alternatives for transport activities that were subcontracted, including air, sea, rail and long-distance road transport. The company also worked to irmovate new types of packing materials to reduce its reliance on non-biodegradable material. Some of the actions taken to advance environmental responsibility included conducting regular evaluation of the environmental performance of all Crown's branches, purchasing eco-friendly hybrid and electric vehicles, switching to packing materials made from at least 80% recycled ingredients, and working with suppliers to improve their envirorunental performance. Harvey pointed out that not all potential suppliers or service partners could see the long-term and real advantages of being socially and environmentally responsible, especially when short-

Crown (2010) "Crown Announces Director of Corporate Social Responsibility", http://www.crownworldwide.com/cww/news.csr.html (accessed 24 March 20 iO). Company interview on 22 May 2010.


term economic returns were given priority. She also admitted that it was sometimes hard control the conduct of business partners and acknowledged that, in countries with fragile I frameworks and low CSR awareness, some local partners would go behind the backs o? pei foreign partners or obtain personal gain through imethical, if not illegal, methods. There foreign companies that were known to turn a blind eye to local partners' miscondi? to avoid trouble. However, even though it might be impossible to ensure gooi among business partners at all times, Harvey stressed that at the verywoi ensure that it was not directly involved and would not knowingly allo? al$a? ? g ?? suppliers and partners.

Extending Community Development Efforts and Engaging in Piffiif rshipIn regards to the expansion of its Charity in Motion programme, Ae comp? %uilt another ? school in Cambodia that served HIV-positive orphans to address? o causes simultaneously: ? children's education and health initiatives. Thompson named the? :>school after his wife in ? recognition of her efforts in Crown's CSR activities whichjjSS? P? appreciation of the? ght the local government. Partnership with indigenous healthcare providers, minismlsatf' health and other non governmental organisations was also a way for Cro|m to reach children through schools and facilities in developing countries in the Asia-Pacife,. region, South and South-East Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and Central and South/Ainef? For instance, in partnership with ? Vitamin Angels, a non-profit organisation devoted to "? eradication of childhood blindness the and malnutrition due to vitamin A deficiency," Crown Relocations helped to transfer vitamin supplements and anti-parasitic medicatioifjo vulriCTable and malnourished children around the world. Crown also increased its involvemenj iii'the Clinton AIDS initiative, a non-profit organisation established by former ? fesidentJClinton that addressed the limited access to S? HIV/AEDS treatment confronted bj? developing nations.''

Involving Customers in CSR ActivitiesAccording to Harvey, most of the individuals whom Crown relocated were moving for their jobs and therefore had a higher st? dard of living than the average local citizens in their destination cities. It was Crown's aim to educate and encourage this transferee population to participate in local charitable activities.'' Crown also partnered \yith its client corporations in its CSR initiatives. For example. Crown volunteered to be, one of Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong)'s partners in the Living with HIV initiative, which aimed to educate 1 million people about HIV/AIDS by 2010. Crown attended and hosted seminars to educate not only its employees but also external stakeholders about HtV and AIDS prevention.

increasing Employee VolunteeringGiven Crown's global presence in over 55 countries and multicultural workforce, of whom 10% lived outside their home country at any given time, Harvey saw Crown itself as a member of the global community that had a part in helping underserved communities. Thus, mcreasing employee volunteering was another objective of the CSR director, who believed the employees could be encouraged and given the opportunity to engage with their local community and other underserved communities by voluntarily donating services and aid in kind. Additionally, through employee participation in environmental causes. Crown was able

For more details, see Clinton Foundation's website: the http://www.clintonfoundation.org/what-we-do/clinton-health-accessinitlative. " Company interview on 22 May 2010.

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to educate employees about sustainable environmental practices and fiirther influence th attitudes and behaviours of their families, neighbours and friends. Aiming to cultivate environmental accountability from the grassroots level, local offices free to participate in environmental causes they felt were meaningful. For exatSKle, im recognition of World Environment Day, Crown facilities across the UK joined th? a? ut 5o reduction solutions. Crown UK employees participated by switching qtEKll i? feMffits lofl? for at least an hour, and information was provided to staff members ot? mple .wlvs to reduce carbon emission in the home and at the workplace."

Setting Guiding Principles and Global Environmental StandardsTo ensure that its entire business and staff were unified on the Cgjfront, Crown had in place two sets of guiding principles related to social and environmental development [see Exhibit 6 and 7], The company was also developing global environinenfal stand? to ensure that all ds operations worldwide would work together to minimise'their environmental impact [see Exhibit 8]. ? ,

CSR EvaluationWith the determination to continually improve its CSR performance, Crown conducted selfassessment of its commitment to the environment and 'coi? unity at both the organisational and individual level. j"' J:" P*| ?

Corporate and Branch Level . - s,Regarding environmental impact, r carbon emissioiis factors were the central concem of Crown's CSR assessment. The company required all its locations to measure their fuel and electricity consumption to estimate greenhouse gas emissions. This data was recorded monthly in the company's Natural Resource Consumption database, which was specially created for the purpose' of this measiirement. Based on the data recorded, all offices would knov/ the extent of carbon emissions resulting from their operations and work to reduce them. On the community side. Crown measured all charitable activities, including cash, services, and in-kind donations and employee volunteering. All offices were required to estimate the value of each activity, for instance in terms of the cost of each employee's time. The data were stored in the'CSR Activity database, allowing each branch to measure the value of its activities from period to period.

Individual Employee LevelAs mentioned earlier, one of Crown's core values was related to CSR, and therefore all Crown employees were expected to have their own CSR goals? however big or smallthat were m alignment with the company's overall CSR strategy." Employee participation in communitv causes was a CSR metric based on which part of employee performance was measured. In late 2009, the company conducted an internal survey of all its employees regarding employee volunteering, including their interests and preferences. A follow-up siuvey would be conducted to see if their interests had been served and how well they thought employee volunteering was being carried out. The survey was conducted by the human resource unit with prior input on questions from the CSR director. To ensure that theCrown (2010) "It's Light out in London", http://\vww.crownworldwide.com/cww/destinai!on.lights.out.html (accessed 1 April 2010).

1 Company interview on 22 May 2010. 9

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appropriate actions or changes were made to help maximise employee morale and improvi CSR performance, the results would be communicated repeatedly at every manage) meeting. Crown had also developed TARGET, an employee performance manag? en system intended to align every employee's goals with the company's five core values

Independent C02 campaign advocated by the CarbonNeutral Company, a wo?ytede&in carten of Environment AuditCrown's Shanghai branch had participated in the Eco-OfFice Evaluation.

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Crown