Office Furniture - Centre for Remanufacturing & Reuse

CENTRE FOR REMANUFACTURING & REUSE
Reuse and Remanufacture
of Office Furniture
Introduction
Most people in offices do not give much thought
to where the ubiquitous desk and chair came
from, and probably less to its final disposal.
The fact is that approximately 165,000 tonnes of
office furniture is thrown away yearly from British
businesses. Some of this will be the result of
wear and tear, but the majority is in perfect
working order and its disposal is largely due to
changes in fashion, variations in staff levels, or
whole office moves. We estimate that over 50%
of office furniture sent to landfill each year is
reuseable. Clearly this is a waste of both
resources and money. To reduce the impact of
waste office furniture, the Centre for
Remanufacturing and Reuse set up a year long
collaborative project to identify and address
some of the problems associated with reusing
office furniture. The strategy was to look at all
levels of the industry – engaging manufacturers,
third-party reusers, the charitable sector and
procurers. By addressing problems throughout
the industry, we hope to begin the move to a
more sustainable future. These pages give an
overview of the successes of the project over
the last twelve months.
Further details of the project can be found on our
website at www.remanufacturing.org.uk/furniture
www.remanufacturing.org.uk

Rental
Most office furniture is thrown away before it is broken or unusable.
There are various reasons for this including varying staffing levels, the use of
temporary staff for short term projects, changes in fashion or corporate style
and office moves. The rental of office furniture is one solution to the problem of
fluctuations in the amount of office furniture needed in a modern working
environment. By renting, the office user specifies the need for office furniture, but
does not specify how it is procured. The responsibility for the origin and disposal of
the furniture is now transferred from the user to a rental company, whose profits
are determined by maximising the use of these assets. For a rental company to
maximise profitability, the reuse of office furniture is a key goal. This is
achieved by a combination of straight reuse and remanufacture of old or
worn units.
We feel that rental is one way to minimise the waste of office
furniture, particularly associated with short term projects or where
ad-hoc teams need furniture for a brief period of time. This system
works well in the USA where rental is seen as a intergral part of
the overall furniture market. In the UK, however, the market is
much smaller and attitudes to renting are less well explored. Cort
Furniture Rental was commissioned to perform a market survey to
investigate the attitudes of office furniture procurers.
“The conclusion was a culture to buy rather than rent – customers
deemed renting as a secondary option rather than a main choice. Breaking
down this barrier is now the focus of our efforts.”
Tim Swaddle, Court Furniture Rental.
The Role of Charities
An important part of office furniture reuse has been the charitable sector. Over the
last two decades this sector has grown in size, reach and complexity; a small number
have focused exclusively on office furniture, although a great many sold office
furniture in an as-and-when fashion. We have tried to examine the size and shape of
this market to better understand how it can be further stimulated.
The current economic downturn has affected this sector less than the corresponding
commercial furniture market: the dependence on grants has shielded charities from
some of the market problems, but this is currently both a risk and a stimulus to
change. Some charities, social enterprises and indeed office furniture traders are
reporting booming business. A great many others are struggling. The already low
value of used furniture is further eroded by removal and storage costs.
Many third sector organisations have weak balance sheets and are susceptible to
market conditions. Couple this with business models dependent on grants and
corporate largesse, and many organisations
are scrambling to adapt.
“The secondary office furniture market is undergoing significant change
and none of the many diverse players will escape unchanged.”
Dr David Bloomfield, lead on the Third Sector project.
www.remanufacturing.org.uk/furniture Tel: 01296 337165

CENTRE FOR REMANUFACTURING & REUSE
The Environmental Benefits
We all ‘feel’ that reusing office furniture is the right thing to do. Reusing seems better
than throwing away and buying new. From the perspective of waste reduction it
clearly is. However, there are concerns that the energy to needed transport the
reused furniture around the country and remanufacture/refurbish it may be higher
than for buying new and therefore outweigh any benefit of reuse. To address this
concern, we have calculated the carbon footprint for the production of a desk, seat
and pedestal and the corresponding footprint required to remanufacture these three
common office items.
Our analysis looked at the energy required to source the wood, steel, plastic and
other materials for production of the furniture and the energy required to ship and
assemble the furniture for use. This was compared with the energy to collect,
repair / remanufacture and deliver the furniture to a new site for use.
“Although reuse seems better than throw-away, this work is important to
ensure that we have this right.”
Dr Adrian Chapman, Technical Consultant, Carbon Footprinting.
Government Procurement
Identifying and educating procurers in the benefits of reused office furniture is
challenging, but could possibly lead to a significant increase in the level of reuse.
Central government procures approximately 20% of the UK’s office furniture.
Clearly this is a big target, and government has pledged to lead the way on
sustainable procurement. Fortunately, Defra have recently updated the sustainable
procurement specifications for office furniture. We have worked closely with Defra
during this process and managed to secure a specification that requires all central
government to procure 5% reused office furniture from April 2011.
“The next stage in this process is to develop a set of training material that will
help government procurers. This will continue beyond the project completion
date but should deliver real change to the purchasing habits of Whitehall.”
Dr Ben Walsh, project lead on sustainable procurement.
Design for Remanufacture
A range of designers, manufacturers and remanufacturers have worked together as a
consortium in recognition of the important role that initial product design has upon the
potential for cost effective remanufacture.
Furniture has traditionally been designed for assembly. In order to secure cost
effective remanufacturing, it is also necessary to take disassembly into account
during the initial design – i.e. how can the components of interest be ‘harvested’ in
the most cost effective manner at the end of each useful life. There is a wide range of
issues to consider such as material selection, material weights and thicknesses,
jointing techniques, component rationalisation and product / component longevity.
The whole process can be greatly influenced by product services systems – i.e. the
method of doing business.
“We have helped address this ‘design for remanufacture’ by the development
of a document that helps furniture designers appreciate how their actions can
influence the end-of-life opportunities.”
Dr Alistair Bromhead, British Furniture Manufacturer.
info@remanufacturing.org.uk

CENTRE FOR REMANUFACTURING & REUSE
Case Studies
Although the market for remanufactured office furniture in the UK is small, there are organisations attempting to change this
situation. Remanufacturing has flourished overseas leading to success in establishing long-term service and infrastructures.
Three companies operating in the UK and overseas, which have a proven record in this area, were selected as examples of
good practice. The examples show that to offer remanufactured product a different set of business principles need to be developed.
The companies (based in Germany, USA and UK) offer a mixture of services and products, as well as a choice of both new and
remanufactured furniture.
Herman Miller (UK) and Wilkhahn (Germany) are recognised internationally as successful manufacturers of high quality office furniture
who also offer take-back schemes and in-house reworking of their products. Both these organisations have achieved their success by
combining classic design with design for end-of-life into their products. American company Kentwood Office Furniture differs slightly,
as it supplies office furniture and do not manufacture directly. However, Kentwood gives customers the choice of new, reused and
remanufactured furniture, and works to clients’ specific needs to create environments that combine the three.
“These examples show that reuse and remanufacture are possible and that sustainably sourcing
your office furniture does not mean that you have to compromise on quality.”
Caroline Bartlett, lead on case study development.
About the Centre for Remanufacturing and Reuse
The CRR has been formed to promote, where appropriate, the activities of remanufacturing and reuse. Our work is
largely funded by Defra but we work with a range of regional agencies to reach our targets. We believe that
remanufacturing and reuse are underused means of conserving resources; significant extra savings in materials and
energy use are possible whilst boosting skills, employment and economic activity. Core to our purpose is the
implementation of actions that will boost - in particular - remanufacturing. These policies and strategies are designed
to help businesses (both consumers of remanufactured goods and remanufacturers), governmental policy makers,
OEMs and trade bodies to deliver more remanufactured goods and thus reduce our impact on the environment, and
at a profit. We generate the supporting information that the remanufacturing industry needs to make its case and
raise its profile.
www.remanufacturing.org.uk