Case Study: Shared Workspace Company Donates Furniture
Sharing at a New Level
Overview
A shared workspace company was decommissioning furniture in six of its Washington state locations. This project resulted in more than three thousand decommissioned furniture items with no future use to the company. Furniture Reuse Solutions, offered a sustainable and cost-effective reuse solution.
Opportunity/Challenges
The inventory was initially offered to liquidators, who acquired a relatively small number of items. For the remaining 3,173 items, the company wanted an environmentally friendly way of disposition that cost less than disposal or recycling. The best way to uphold the company’s corporate citizenship goals was to donate the furniture to charity.
There was a three week timeframe to move the furniture out of the six sites, consolidate them in the warehouse, and then load containers for outbound shipments.
Solution
Furniture Reuse Solutions and their mover partner offered the company an alternative to recycling/disposal with a reuse solution. The mover inventoried the items as they arrived. FRS matched the inventory with four of its domestic and international charitable partners.
Ten shipping containers/trailers were loaded throughout the project. Each was efficiently packed with the inventory designated by FRS. Eight 40’ containers were sent to Africa and Asia. Two trailers were delivered to non-profits in Oregon and Washington state.
Results
3,173 Furniture Items Repurposed
Six offices generated 3,173 surplus items, which filled eight ocean containers and two 53’ tractor trailers.
78 Tons Diverted from the Landfill
Each ton of surplus furniture diverted from the landfill results in a greenhouse gas offset of two to three metric tons of CO2 equivalent.
Cost Savings
Reuse is less expensive than disposal and even recycling. This inventory would
have required a minimum of forty 30-yard roll-off waste containers.
Social Responsibility
Quality of life will improve in multiple communities and hundreds of children will have improved learning experiences for years to come.
Inventory
Destinations
A total of ten shipments were sent to eight destinations: two domestic, five African countries, and one Asian country.
Two international charities deploy this furniture, primarily in schools, as part of these humanitarian relief efforts.
An FRS domestic partner, Habitat for Humanity of Mason County, sells the furniture in their stores to raise money for housing in their communities. Another partner, Teen Challenge in Portland, OR, operates stores to support their teen and adult addiction programs and recovery centers.
“Every time we receive a shipment from FRS, we see a boost in sales. We know FRS will deliver high quality product. The more we sell, the better we fulfill our mission of providing affordable housing to those in need. ”
Marty Crow, Executive Director/COO,
Habitat for Humanity Mason County WA