Sustainable Furniture Services

Problem Addressed
ܰԾٳܰDZsignificant amountof embodied carbon,ԻٲǻܳپDzcontributes to the depletion ofnatural resources. Millions of items are sent for recycling each year when, instead, their use dzܱextended,reducing their overall carbon intensity throughextended life貹.Further, many items are not able to be fully recycled and so there are elements of furniture that will end up in landfill causing additional environmental damage.
There is also considerable social and economic value lost when furniture is recycledrather than reused.For example, furniturepovertyis an issueacross the UK, butdomestic applications can be found for many workplace items, as well as forcharities, schools and social enterpriseswith limitedspending budgets.In addition,thenumber of ‘green jobs’ that can be generated from increasedsegregation, furniture auditing, refurbishment and remanufacturing isconsiderable,d these jobs can be highly skilled and rewardingfor those that do them,as well as contributing to our national economy.
Case Study
– sustainable clearance services managed the reuse of over 90% of the redundant assets, despite being during the Covid19 pandemic. This partnered approach delivered considerable savings all round.
– the Renew Centre, combined with the Giving Back Project helped furnish this charity hostel for young homeless saving them thousands of pounds and delivering carbon savings.
– Crown Workspace has been providing refurbished office furniture for over five years to Canvas, a company managing, renovating and furnishing office spaces in desirable areas of London. In 2020, Crown Workspace sold Canvas 93 items of furniture, diverting 3.09 tonnes from landfill and creating a carbon saving of 5.27 tonnes of CO2(e).
– On a monthly basis Crown Workspace refurbish furniture identified as waste from across the UKs largest NHS Trust and refurbish this back into reuse savings hundreds of thousands of pounds and considerable carbon savings.
Crown Workspace provided a full sustainable clearance of the client’s property collecting just under 2,000 items of seating, including 1,700 office chairs and various sofas and stools, which were refurbished and resold on behalf of Investec. This reused furniture represents a carbon saving of 134 tonnes.
This page presents data, evidence, and solutions that are provided by our partners and members and should therefore not be attributed to UKGBC. While we showcase these solutions for inspiration, to build consensus, and create momentum for climate action, UKGBC does not offer commercial endorsement of individual solutions. If you would like to quote something from this page, or more information, please contact our Communications team at media@ukgbc.org.
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