If work-from-home is your new normal, it’s time to downsize your corporate HQ.
In downsizing, you’ll have plenty of used office furniture on your hands. Traditional liquidation methods dictate most of these items are destined for the landfill. This conventional solution adds to an out-dated linear economy. But there are better ways to handle your valuable inventory.
A sustainable decommission firm delivers an alternative to wasteful liquidation methods. These firms break down your office furniture removal into three major steps informed by the circular economy, a system that aims to eliminate costly waste in your business model.
1) Sales
Like traditional liquidation methods, a sustainable decommission strategy has an eye on your bottom line. It involves reselling your highest-value items to companies that buy used office furniture. The point here is to generate as much cash to offset your teardown, removal, and relocation.
But this is where these two methods split ways. Whereas liquidation will send unsalable items (roughly 80% of your inventory) to the landfill, sustainable decommission firms see value in your remaining assets.
2) In-Kind Donations
On your own, figuring out where to donate office furniture is a challenging project when you’re already busy with your move.
A quick search for where you can donate office furniture usually brings up irrelevant results. You’ll find links to charities that coordinate small-scale pick-ups of household items, or you’ll see non-profits that aren’t anywhere near your HQ.
It won’t do much good to partner with a charity stationed in California if you operate out of NYC. You may not get any further, even if you specify your search with the following query: donate office furniture NYC.
An established decommission firm makes donating office furniture in NYC or any other major metro area simple. They have a vast network of charities and non-profits all over North America, and they can arrange both office furniture removal and delivery.
3) Strategic Recycling
Damaged items that have no second life in them still don’t belong in the landfill. Made up of valuable resources like ferrous metal and wood, recycled office furniture reintroduces finite resources into the manufacturing process to reduce the demand for timber, metals, and plastics.
Businesses Leading by Example
With sustainability a growing focus of corporate America, many large companies have already partnered with sustainable decommission services to reduce their relocation’s environmental impact, boost their revenue, and do some good.
- Adobe: In an ongoing North America-wide project, Adobe pivots its office furniture removal into in-kind donations. To date, it has donated $700,000 worth of assets and diverted 97% of its equipment from landfill.
- Expedia Group: The online travel company’s move to Seattle successfully decommissioned 600,000 square feet of offices, donating used office furniture to 85 non-profits and diverting 100% of its f-waste from landfill.
- PNC Bank: Through sustainable decommission methods, PNC Bank outfitted 75 schools and non-profits with used office furniture requisitioned from over 30 projects.
Bottom Line
Now a year into the pandemic, it’s safe to assume your not-so-new work-from-home policy is here to stay. Some of the biggest corporate minds agree, with 80% of CEOs reporting they plan to make WFH options permanent in the future.
All the signs suggest it’s time to shed square footage for something more appropriate — whether you get rid of your office entirely or right-size your space to accommodate a safe return when the time comes.
When you do, make sure you do it sustainably. Consider how you handle office furniture removal carefully, and tap into the circular economy to reduce your waste with a sustainable decommission firm.
