U-Box® Load Share is the Best in Biz Awards gold winner for the Most Environmentally Friendly Service of the Year.
The green U-Haul® program also won two silver awards for Most Innovative Service of the Year and Consumer Service of the Year. The three designations for U-Box Load Share earned U-Haul placement on the Most Awarded Companies list for 2023.
Best in Biz is the only independent business awards program judged by prominent editors and reporters from top-tier publications in North America.
“We are thrilled to be recognized for U-Box Load Share,” stated Sam Shoen, U-Box Program Director. “For more than 78 years, U-Haul has been the customer’s top choice for moving solutions. Now we have a safe, collaborative way to eliminate many of the stressors associated with moving long-distance. U-Box Load Share provides clear benefits for the environment and consumer while offering a sensible solution in today’s gig economy.”
How Does Load Share Work?
The unique thing about U-Box Load Share is that it is not intended nor designed to make U-Haul a profit. It was created to facilitate people helping people.
When a Load Share is performed, families moving their belongings in a U-Haul truck agree to tow a trailer loaded with another family’s U-Box moving container to the same destination city. Each transaction is monitored and managed by centralized U-Haul personnel. A vetting process is used to pre-select potential candidates with priority on those customers with previous rental truck and towing experience. The program allows for a discount to rental truck customers whose only option is a do-it-yourself move while offering cost savings on shipping for U-Box customers.
“U-Haul is a shared-use business,” said Allan Yang, U-Haul Chief Sustainability Officer and Scientist. “Our shared-use products and services not only address the challenges of resource efficiency, but also cultivate a sense of community among our sustainability stakeholders.
“By pooling resources and optimizing the towing capacity of trucks, U-Box Load Share brings forth a paradigm shift towards sustainable and shared mobility. Our truck-share model exemplifies the power of collaboration, mitigating the environmental footprint associated with individual ownership and contributing to a greener future. This award underscores the U-Haul commitment to sustainability, decarbonization and innovation that redefines our industry.”
Pro-Environmental Culture at U-Haul
U-Box Load Share is the latest in a long line of environmentally friendly initiatives at U-Haul. These sustainability practices include the Company’s core model of having communities share a moving truck or trailer rather than individuals needing to own trucks and large-capacity vehicles to transport their belongings; U-Haul Adaptive Reuse, a program for preserving and repurposing existing buildings for new stores rather than engaging in teardowns and ground-up projects with each acquisition, thus reducing carbon emissions and the need for new-building materials (about 70% of U-Haul-owned facilities are the result of Adaptive Reuse); U-Haul truck modifications to incorporate a low profile, rounded corners and advanced chassis skirts to reduce wind drag and improve fuel economy up to 20% (in addition to fuel economy gauges in every new-production U-Haul truck); and green products like plastic U-Haul Ready-To-Go Boxes® that get shared hundreds of times before being recycled.
The 13th annual Best in Biz Awards included more than 600 entries from public and private companies, representing all industries and regions across the U.S. and Canada. The judges highlighted the winning companies’ breadth and depth of innovation, their novel approaches to employing new technologies, impressive workplace benefits and employee diversity and inclusion programs, as well as continued community involvement and critical investments in environment and corporate social responsibility programs.
Referencing U-Box Load Share’s three awards, the judging panel wrote: “The moving industry has traditionally been a huge waste generator and U-Haul proves it can become more sustainable and greener. The judges were impressed with U-Haul Company’s new service’s focus on sustainability and reducing fuel use, vehicle miles traveled and emissions. The cost savings for customers – but particularly, the emissions saved for the planet – have been truly impressive.”
U-Box Load Share was awarded the 2022 Sustainability Service of the Year by The Business Intelligence Group while also being honored as a PR News 2022 Social Impact Awards finalist.
Find all 2023 Best in Biz Awards categories and winners at bestinbizawards.com/2023-winners.
