Repurposing Furniture: Environmental and Economic Benefits

Robin Weckesser, Jennifer Denny, and Darryl Denny discover the environmental  and financial advantages of utilizing repurposed furnishings within the office.

Because the office of the longer term continues to evolve in at the moment’s hybrid world, organizations face fixed dangers and uncertainties. However one office answer—repurposing furnishings—is as grounded as the ever present workplace cubicle. The repurposing plan consists of restoring sustainability, recouping pointless losses, and rediscovering the attract of classic design.

Whereas it could appear handy for companies to purchase new furnishings, it’s additionally very pricey—to the surroundings and your backside line. The very fact is, annually, Individuals throw out 12 million tons of furnishings, and a significant wrongdoer is the enterprise sector. In accordance with the Environmental Safety Affiliation (EPA), 80% of this “waste” results in more and more scarce landfill house, resulting in much more critical sources of air pollution.

Why has repurposing (upcycling) turn into an particularly vital difficulty at the moment? Within the wake of the pandemic, greater than one-quarter of U.S. workers proceed to work remotely, leading to diminished workplace footprints and a glut of furnishings and furnishings. At the same time as employers try to lure staff again to the workplace, the work-at-home development is definitely anticipated to develop in coming years.

A associated development is that extra firms are downsizing, liquidating, relocating, and shutting. A casualty of this course of is the big quantity of workplace materials that’s coming into the strong waste stream. It’s additionally value noting that almost all of this materials isn’t biodegradable.

Environmental Impression

• As famous above, many landfills are at a saturation level, whereas open dumps and incinerators nonetheless emit CO2 and noxious methane fuel into the ambiance at a frightful price.
• Shopping for new objects produced from wooden means slicing down bushes and accelerating deforestation, which contributes 15% to world greenhouse fuel emissions.
• You’ll be able to scale back the quantity of VOCs (Risky Natural Compounds) that vaporize within the air. These dangerous chemical substances are related to many well being issues and are confirmed carcinogens. The longer you retain furnishings, the much less dangerous the impact of VOCs.
• You’ll be able to turn into a extra sustainable firm with extra LEED factors. By repurposing furnishings, you possibly can earn Management in Power and Surroundings Design factors in 15 totally different areas.
• General, the longer we maintain onto helpful furnishings, the extra power and assets we preserve, and the extra we keep away from producing new (and pointless) items.

Financial Advantages

• An enormous a part of the decommissioning course of (see under) is the sale of workplace furnishings to distributors and end-users. It’s ironic that so many firms dismiss this route, which generally entails restricted effort and may yield substantial returns.
• In accordance with the EPA, American firms spend as much as $100 million in furnishings disposal prices per yr.
• Basic furnishings sometimes sells for a minimum of half the value of newly manufactured items—and it actually has superior craftsmanship and character in comparison with “quick furnishings.”

Neighborhood Advantages

• One other a part of the decommissioning course of is making donations to worthy charities that don’t have the assets or the finances to afford to purchase furnishings.
• On the identical time, organizations that make such donations are eligible for tax deductions. So it’s win-win.

High quality and Aesthetics

The very fact is that high quality furnishings is constructed to final, even with heavy use. The typical life span of workplace furnishings is a minimum of 10-20 years. And in case you spend correctly in timeless designs, traditional items, together with these from the 20^th century, have a sure cache—and generally an endearing patina.

Sure, wear-and tear is anticipated, however contemplate the price of restoration as an alternative of investing hundreds of {dollars}.

Whether or not you’re an old-school Child Boomer or Technology Z, there’s a rising appreciation within the worth of going classic versus going to the manufacturing unit.

Decommissioning: Tips on how to Make it Work for You

The repurposing of furnishings comes alive by means of a course of referred to as decommissioning. Since each group is totally different, and one measurement doesn’t match all, this course of is customizable, but it surely entails the next steps:

• Decide the disposition of your furnishings and furnishings with an accent on what’s salvageable.
• The price to undergo the method.
• This entails promoting by means of a reseller whereby you obtain the proceeds.
• Items to eligible nonprofits.
• This entails supplies that can not be donated (could contain some restore and substitute).
• Non-recyclable objects despatched to landfill.
• Abstract paperwork to clients.

Usually, even with the very best due diligence, it’s nonetheless essential to ship some objects to the landfill. However while you evaluation all accessible choices, the landfill journeys are minimized whereas revenue, sustainability, and group outreach are maximized.

Success Tales

Happily, hundreds of organizations have realized win-win options by repurposing their furnishings and leveraging the method described above. These organizations took varied routes within the decommissioning course of, leading to vital financial savings, constructive environmental influence, and design satisfaction.

Final yr, we helped MongoDB discover efficient options in its San Francisco and Palo Alto areas. In San Francisco, Mongo signed a short-term lease to occupy 10,000 sq. toes in a multi-tenant constructing. The house had current workstations, chairs, and pedestals, and Mongo determined to not make development alterations nor make an enormous funding in furnishings. Reasonably, it was vital that Mongo transfer in as quick as potential and no exceed finances projections.

To fulfill these expectations, we recommended that Mongo complement the prevailing furnishings with repurposed furnishings. Mongo, consulting with a3, Greener Supply, and the architect, surveyed and chosen ancillary workplace furnishings, together with tables and chairs for convention and breakrooms, the foyer, and three soft-seating areas.

Inside 48 hours, the furnishings was delivered, and the shopper was joyful…not solely with the quick turnaround but in addition the saving of roughly 65% by means of the acquisition of re-used furnishings—which the workers thought was new—versus precise new furnishings. One other vital profit was that the repurposed furnishings blended so effectively with the remaining furnishings.

In brief, Mongo’s expertise was primarily seamless. Nonetheless, if repurposing furnishings makes a lot sense, why haven’t much more firms responded? Some could also be short-sighted and impatient; others really feel they don’t have the experience to do it on their very own. Most frequently, firms merely lack the information of how nice the stakes are—and the way nice the rewards might be while you take a strategic strategy and associate with skilled venture administration specialists.

Subsequent Steps

Able to see how this may be just right for you? It begins with a dialogue about renewability and social accountability. It entails a centered technique and roll-out. And naturally, this consists of issues for fiscal viability.

Finally, the office is concerning the individuals behind the workstations. Whether or not we’re speaking about full-time, on-site workers—or these distant staff who, by the way, have to return to their company base in some unspecified time in the future—we must always acknowledge that every one workers wish to work for a corporation they respect. Greater than ever, they wish to be a part of a progressive company tradition that’s in step with their values and can be defending the planet!

In at the moment’s new regular, being an excellent company citizen means doing the fitting factor. And generally, what’s proper for the surroundings can be aesthetically pleasing and proper for the underside line.