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Sustainable desks: should you buy refurbished or new?

7th June 2022Blog PostSustainability

With businesses increasingly minded to reduce their impact on the environment, more are taking extra care when it comes to choosing office furniture. Choosing desking is a key component of this – as desks in particular need to be able to stand the test of time – and finding sustainable desks can be a specific challenge.

When it comes to choosing a sustainable desk, there are two broad options; newly manufactured or refurbished. But what are the factors businesses must consider before deciding on the most sustainable choice for them?

How sustainable are newly manufactured desks?

The sustainability of a newly manufactured desk is almost entirely dependent on its production. The materials and manufacturing techniques, as well as the distance the various materials used have travelled can make a huge difference to the carbon footprint of a desk as well as its useful lifespan.

For a desk to be sustainable, its materials need to have a low amount of embodied carbon – that’s the amount of carbon used in their extraction and production. Sustainable desk manufacturers will prioritise using materials that have been sustainably sourced such from responsible supply chains accredited by bodies like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and they will try to incorporate materials that have a high recycled content.

Secondly, sustainable desks should be designed for circularity and longevity. These desks use high quality materials that are implemented in designs that accommodate replaceable and recyclable parts that can later be repurposed or recycled to limit their impact on the environment. Businesses benefit from desks that are designed to last for many years, negating the need to replace existing furniture.

How sustainable are remanufactured desks?

Buying a refurbished or remanufactured desk eliminates the need for the manufacturing of new assets and the associated environmental impacts that this entails. Businesses that buy refurbished help prolong the lifespan of existing furniture and become a part of the circular economy.

Remanufactured desks typically have the existing desktop cut or reshaped to meet a new requirement or have a “new” top placed on the existing framework, which may have been reconfigured or resized and could have had a change of colour or finish.

A remanufactured desk can be the most sustainable option for businesses. Instead of desks ending up in landfill at the end of their life in one office, they can be repurposed and remanufactured to suit the needs of the business that already owns them or other businesses. The new materials introduced into the process can also be responsibly sourced or new and innovative materials can be introduced to help drive the circular economy.

Buying through established, approved retailers like Office Resale guarantees refurbished office desks in close-to-new condition that will serve your business well for years to come and can be further refurbished when your use for them expires and will also give you peace of mind through a warranty.

Sustainable desks with Office Resale

Office Resale is one of the UK’s top retailers of refurbished office furniture. We refurbish thousands of furniture assets to the highest standards every year in our award-winning Renew Centre. We stock a full range of quality used desks from the top designer brands.

Shop our range of refurbished office desks from the best brands, or contact us to discuss how we can refurbish your office’s existing assets to any requirement.

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