Reducing Corporate Carbon Footprint Through Pre-Owned Office Furniture

Sustainability is only becoming more relevant in today’s corporate environment. With changing perspectives worldwide on waste management, companies that want to head off trouble are embracing sustainable business solutions. 

However, many businesses lack a sustainability plan, creating unnecessary waste from places they never even considered. Even though 90% of executives think sustainability is important, only 60% of companies have any sustainability strategy.

One way that businesses can reduce their waste is by buying pre-owned office furniture. In this blog, learn how your business can reduce its carbon footprint while still creating an attractive and productive work environment. 

What Happens to Pre-Owned Office Furniture?

When a business disposes of office furniture, it often gives little to no thought about what happens after it leaves its doors. Once the furniture is out of sight, it is out of mind. 

However, the same cannot be said for the environment. When businesses get rid of office furniture, it often ends up in landfills. Most companies simply throw out their old furniture, so over 9,000,000 tons of office equipment end up in United States landfills every year. 

The problem with such waste is that the furniture now rotting in a landfill was still fully functional. If a desk cracks or an office chair collapses, throwing them away is entirely understandable. However, many businesses simply reconfigure or redesign their workspace, getting rid of expensive, like-new furniture. 

When businesses throw fully functional furniture in the garbage, they create unnecessary waste, especially when such furniture is perfect for other companies. 

Wasteful Trends in Furniture Design

Like the fast fashion industry, furniture design and manufacturing increasingly caters to people who want to buy cheap furniture that they can replace in a few years. However, buying two or three sets of cheap furniture that, in total, only lasts as long as one well-made piece produces three times the waste. 

Even though that particle wood desk made with non-recyclable plastics is super cheap, it will not last as long as its solid wood alternative. Similar to how the fast fashion industry is under fire, with brands like Shein and H&M facing massive consumer backlash, industries like fast furniture are next. 

An Alternative to Fast Furniture

On the other side of the office furniture spectrum, premium office furniture is made with quality materials designed to stand the test of time. However, premium office furniture poses a different set of problems. 

For many businesses, shelling out thousands upon thousands of dollars on a workstation for every employee is simply not possible. While they do not have the budget for premium furniture brands like Herman Miller, they still want sustainability and quality.

For those businesses that want to balance sustainable quality furniture with affordable prices, we recommend that you consider the pre-owned office furniture market. With the right liquidator, your business can outfit its workspace with premium, like-new furniture for a fraction of its retail. 

In addition to providing your business with like-new office furniture for the best prices, we also offer free CAD layout services. Design your workspace ahead of time to ensure that you choose the furniture and layout that is best for your employees. 

Click here to take advantage of our free CAD layout design services and start rejuvenating your office in the most sustainable way possible.