The process of refurbishing office furniture brings significant carbon benefits by extending the life of a business’ available assets. Every time a business wants to get rid of old or damaged furniture it is worth considering if the item can be refurbished or reused in some way to reduce the environmental impact of newly manufactured furniture as well as saving waste and money.
Integrating an ideology of reusing and recycling presents a more positive impression of your business to employees and customers. So when reviewing your workspace, if your furniture needs to be updated or altered for future use it is worth looking at refurbishment before considering new. Office furniture refurbishment has a number of steps and layers, so what is involved in the process and why should all businesses consider using it?
The first step in office furniture refurbishment is establishing the wear and tear of existing furniture and materials in the context of the future needs of the business. Understanding the necessary repairs required to fit the specific requirements of a business is important to reducing as much waste as possible. Some materials may be too damaged to be reused, so understanding what parts need to be replaced is also important.
After screening the furniture for integral and functional capabilities, the next step is assessing the specific needs and desires of the business.
Each and every business has a different office space and environment. Some businesses need larger tables and benches for meeting rooms, whilst others prefer small desk spaces with ergonomic chairs. It is down to the furniture to truly bring out the personality and feel of an office as well as meeting functional working requirements.
The main stage of refurbishment is the repairing and remanufacturing of the furniture to suit the specific requirements of the business. This can be separated into repairing, remodelling, respraying and reupholstery as these are the main aspects tied to the sustainable repurposing of furniture.
Depending on whether the furniture is wood, plastic or metal, the unit is stripped of fixtures and fittings as well as fabrics and materials that can be reused for the final product. The frame is inspected for damage and is repaired prior to being remodelled according to the needs of the business. The frame parts and joints are then aligned and assembled before replacing any necessary materials prior to reupholstery.
Varying methods are used for reupholstery depending on the shape, size and type of furniture. A wooden desk will require far less (if any at all) upholstery than a soft seating office chair. Existing fabrics and materials are used where possible using measured templates to reduce wastage. If parts such as a foam seat or back are too deteriorated then new high grade upholstery foam is used instead. The furniture is then reassembled with original manufacturer parts where possible and replacement parts when the existing ones cannot be used.
After the furniture has been refurbished and reassembled there are necessary quality checks to make sure everything is properly functional and up to a high standard.
The process of refurbishment provides a list of benefits to both the business, industry and environment. The cost of refurbishment is far less than the cost of purchasing newly manufactured furniture whilst also allowing for greater personalisation possibilities.
The sustainable benefits of refurbishing existing furniture are far and wide. Refurbished furniture offers significant carbon benefits for a business by reducing the amount of embodied carbon in an office by avoiding the manufacture of new furniture. Alongside reduced carbon and significant water savings, refurbishment also reduces waste by reducing the amount of furniture and materials that are thrown away.
Refurbishment of office furniture enables a level of personalisation.
At Office Resale, we have the UK’s leading commercial facility that is solely dedicated to remanufacturing and refurbishing office furniture. In 2021, 408 tonnes of furniture was diverted from landfill and we remanufactured or refurbished 19,530 items including desks, screens and chairs to help thousands of clients make financial and environmental savings.
Discover how Office Resale can deliver significant financial and environmental savings for your business by refurbishing your existing office furniture.
