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EcoVadis Gold for Crown in New Zealand
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UK & Ireland retains place on the Carbon Disclosure Project’s B-list, as UK branch of Workspace wins Green Apple gold
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Crown commits to set decarbonization targets across global operations, after mapping carbon footprint for 2022 and 2023
Crown Worldwide Group’s operations in New Zealand and the UK and Ireland have received significant recognition for environment, social and governance efforts – as the company’s evolution of its sustainability legacy continues.
The team in New Zealand has achieved an EcoVadis ‘Gold’ rating, placing it in the top five per cent of responding organizations globally. Meanwhile, the UK and Ireland team has retained its place on the Carbon Disclosure Project B-list.
Crown New Zealand
A year of progress in New Zealand, with razor-sharp focus on all areas of environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement – and significant improvement in all areas, saw the team improve its EcoVadis score by 11 points, earning it the coveted Gold award.
EcoVadis is the world’s most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings, intelligence and collaborative performance improvement tools for global supply chains.
Stronger commitments to emissions tracking and waste reduction initiatives, enhanced policies and metrics around labor and human rights, tangible progress in governance and transparency as well as a shift towards more responsible sourcing processes all contributed to a steep increase in the score.
Leon Hulme, Managing Director in New Zealand, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’re doing in this area. It’s a collective, collaborative effort – as anyone on a sustainability journey knows – requiring a clear focus on making real, impactful change.
“We’ve worked hard to improve key policies, strengthen our measures, and embed sustainable practices deeper into our daily operations. This EcoVadis milestone – a clear target for us in 2024 – is the direct result of our team’s dedication, hard work, and belief in building a business that prioritizes people, ethics, and the planet.
“I’m grateful to the excellent team we have in New Zealand for their commitment and focus to continually drive improvement in these ESG areas.”
Crown UK and Ireland
In the UK, the team – which obtained a Gold EcoVadis rating in 2024 – found out this month that it had achieved a B score with the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for the 2024 Disclosure. This is the highest score available for SME disclosers this year.
CDP is a not-for-profit charity operating a disclosure system for companies, cities, investors states and regions to report on their environmental and social impacts and actions to minimise these. Their Climate Change Survey uses eleven categories to assess the respondent on themes like disclosure, value chain engagement, emission reduction initiatives and targets, and management of environmental risks.
This year’s CDP questionnaire featured significant updates, emphasising business strategy, financial planning, and environmental policies.
In 2024, Crown in the UK made substantial progress in reducing emissions through energy efficiency projects, fleet electrification, and transitioning to renewable electricity. Over 95 per cent of the region’s total electricity consumption in the reporting year came from renewable sources. It has focused heavily on reducing actual consumption, achieving a 38 per cent reduction in kWh usage compared to a 2019 baseline. In addition, the UKI fleet now comprises 10 electric vehicles in conjunction with a comprehensive fleet strategy.
The CDP scoring follows the UK branch of Crown’s Workspace division winning the prestigious Green Apple International Gold Award for Sustainable Development at the end of 2024. The award, presented at Kensington Palace, recognized the Circulate program which aims to transform how organizations embed sustainability in the workplace, through a holistic circular economy approach.
“I’m delighted to see further recognition for the work we’re doing and initiatives we’re implementing both to reduce our own carbon footprint, and enabling and empowering our clients to achieve their own carbon reduction targets,” said Steve Hardie, Crown’s Managing Director for UK & Ireland.
“Our local strategy is beginning to mature, and as we tick off these great milestones, we know that the next challenge becomes just that little bit trickier to achieve. But the dedicated team here is rising to the task, as we continue in our mission of being a more responsible business.”
Global progress
Meanwhile, Crown made great strides in a developing a global sustainability strategy in 2024, successfully mapping the group’s carbon footprint for the first time. The 2022 and 2023 data will provide a baseline for future carbon reduction targets.
Having completed that, the Group is committed to setting decarbonization targets covering its global operations in 2025.
This all builds on a 60-year legacy of corporate social responsibility, underpinned by a philosophy of giving back.
Joy Lam, Group ESG Director, said: “Last year was a great one as we accelerated progress in our drive to become a more sustainable organisation. In addition to this fantastic recognition in several of our key locations, we saw increased investment in renewable energy and low-emission vehicles along with work on policy reviews, including the development of a global sustainability procurement policy.
“Defining a carbon footprint baseline was essential, and in our first full year of partnering with Normative, we have successfully mapped two years-worth of data which enables us to take the significant next steps in our strategy of setting data-led carbon reduction targets.”