Our philosophies of social, environmental and human responsibility take precedence in our current design and development of sustainable point of purchase. This effects everything from how our clients products get to the market, what materials are utilized and what happens to them after the promotion is over. The health & safety, the human condition, and ethical treatment of our factory workers is top priority. Crew is a leader/pioneer of sustainable innovation in the point of sale and marketing industries, and has dedicated continuous focus on our environment, customers, and community.
“ The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis, by using the same thinking that created the situation in the first place.” Albert Einstein
Environment:
All manufacturing of products, packaging, and displays use energy, create waste, and create carbon emissions. Therefore, prevention is at the top of our sustainability pyramid with the goal of designing more responsible products for our clients to minimize their negative effect and impact on the environment. Crew requires 3rd party certification criteria from all our manufacturing operations in China.We call this radical transparency. We see and document the entire process and test (physically/chemically) the material’s composition and recycled content all along the way to confirm that our claims of sustainability are 100% true and accurate. We hold ourselves accountable now as we look towards the future when these practices with be mandatory not voluntary. We feel good about what we are doing for the environment and know our enthusiasm is contagious.
Customers:
The new Paradigm of sustainability is that by embracing sustainable practices today, it actually saves our customers money. By creating smarter designs with less material & more recycled content (value engineering) and designing with a complete understanding of the delivery chain, we set a standard of new principles. These principles are guaranteed to save money on point of sale displays, reduce carbon emissions and thereby reduce our customers carbon footprint/scorecard. We continually advocate closed loop manufacturing methodologies that reduce our clients environmental footprint and dependency on petroleum while at the same time saving valuable resources.
Community:
Along with our concerns for the environment and our customers, Crew embraces its role as part of a larger social community. It is crucial to any sustainability & social commitment. Crew is MBE certified and active with the Connecticut Development Authority & Affirmative Action, having effectively created jobs and opportunities in our economic corridor. Crew is an advocate for sustainability at home and abroad, and we support both international business and local business through active participation in key organizations, ethical procurement, supply chain management, and social responsibility.
Company:
The future of any company is only as strong as the associates it employs. Crew is ensuring the sustainability of our company through our affiliation with the Connecticut Dept of Labor. In 2008, every employee at Crew was provided the opportunity to receive free advanced training on Solidworks, Photoshop, Illustrator, Microsoft Office and other job related software. The Connecticut Dept of Labor matched our investment with a significant grant making this advance training free for our employees. We encourage free thinking and brainstorming among all our employees for new sustainable innovations.
CREW Headquarters Facts:
• We utilized locally grown pine to renovate and reside our headquarters facility and to build all our office decks, shelving and conference tables
• Employed building design techniques like skylights to optimize natural lighting, saving up to 25% in energy costs
• We finished low cost composite sub flooring made from compressed scrap wood for our showroom flooring
• Aluminum can and plastic bottle recycling throughout the office, design and production areas
• Paper recycling throughout the office, design and production areas
• Upgraded lighting in office, design, showroom and productions areas, with energy saving of 30%
• 100% recycling of expired electronics and computer equipment
• 100% recycling of all used batteries
• 98% recycling of all cardboard and paper
• 100% recycling of all our steel
• 100% recycling of all our plastic
• Reduced gross scrap rate by 25%
• Compost of kitchen waste
• Installed a kitchen trash compactor
• One of our company cars runs on used vegetable oil with plans for others in the near future