Food for Thought: Embracing the Circular Economy in Office Furniture Management
Have you ever noticed that once you hear a term for the first time, it suddenly seems to be everywhere and even become a trend? In our business, that term is 'circular economy.'
Just to set the foundation here for those still unfamiliar, the “circular economy” is described (in the case by the European Parliament) as “a model of production and consumption which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible, as a way of extending the lifecycle of products as long as possible and avoiding waste.”
Is this concept trending? We believe so. One of the key indicators we observed came from our recent participation at the IFMA World Workplace Conference earlier this October.
Previous IFMA events featured few, if any, sessions focused on sustainability or the circular economy. However, at this year's event, there were as many as 17 sessions dedicated to applying sustainability to facilities management. Nearly every session we attended either addressed the topic directly or prompted questions from the audience about it. Sustainability—and specifically the circular economy and how to achieve it—was clearly top of mind for many attendees.
In the world of office furniture, circular solutions are often reduced to simply being labeled as 'used,' which overlooks the benefits of true circularity when done right. At TFX we would advocate for the term “reused” and more specifically “remanufactured and reallocated” as the circular approach to extending furniture’s useful life in corporate settings. And frankly that is how we practice circularity ourselves.
Three Circular Economy Drivers you Should Consider, and Implement
We considered what might be driving this shift in the commercial real estate world. In this post, we explore three key factors contributing to why corporate office tenants are actively seeking ways to incorporate circular principles into their office management solutions.
Alignment with Overall Corporate Goals, and Reporting. In the Deloitte 2024 Sustainability report, 51% of survey respondents stated they believe ESG reporting leads to improved operational efficiencies, risk reduction, and strengthened stakeholder trust. The report also highlighted the growth of cross-functional working groups that provide operational data to demonstrate progress toward ESG goals.
Real estate and facilities managers may have limited options for achieving dramatic decarbonization in office buildouts, but there are incremental business practices they can implement to put circularity into practice.
For example, when collaborating with internal and external architects and designers to uphold corporate design standards, there are straightforward ways to incorporate circularity into RFPs for furniture purchases. Even when specifying manufacturers like Steelcase or Herman Miller, working with architects to require a minimum percentage of remanufactured items establishes a concrete metric. This metric can then be reported to the C-suite as evidence of sustainable practices supporting ESG goals.
While most furniture dealers who represent manufacturers of new furniture don’t have solutions for fulfilling the requests for circular solutions, TFX can in some cases fulfill the entire RFP with remanufactured and reallocated items that satisfy corporate design standards at the same time supporting sustainability goals.
Tighter Budgets, Overall - Specifically for Build outs. Budgets are tight across the board, prompting landlords to adopt novel cost containment practices. One approach is reducing the tenant improvement allowance in favor of extending free rent periods during lease negotiations. As a result, tenants with limited build out funds are looking for every possible way to reduce costs while still creating welcoming, often premium environments with abundant amenities to entice employees back to the office multiple days a week.
Compounding the challenge, several factors have simultaneously driven build out costs up, including labor shortages, rising labor costs, and skyrocketing material prices due to ongoing supply chain issues.
In a recent Propmodo article on the factors reshaping the workplace of the future, JLL’s Global Technology Survey revealed that, in addition to striving to meet sustainability goals through investments in energy-saving tech, “86 percent of corporate real estate leaders are focused on reducing costs”. Survey respondents also highlighted a focus on “flexible layouts and furniture solutions designed around human experience,” particularly as companies work to balance individual and group work needs in the transition back to the office.
“Modular furniture, partitions, and booths allow companies to reconfigure spaces daily—or even from morning to afternoon—maximizing efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Upcycled and repurposed furniture is also gaining popularity as a sustainable, budget-friendly option.”
The win-win benefit of using upcycled or remanufactured furniture for what is needed in newly leased or reconfigured spaces is that these refurbished items are available for pennies on the dollar, versus going direct to the manufacturer for a new purchase.
And that is literally half of TFX’s business, complementing our services in sustainable and reliable decommissioning and liquidation. We extend the useful life of items from high end furniture brands through remanufacture, using our in-house experts. This enables us to provide flexible, sustainable and highly cost-effective circular solutions for our budget conscious clients no matter their build out challenges.
New Spaces Require Customized Solutions, Delivered Faster. Circularity requires rethinking what’s possible—and even preferable—as we transition to new spaces. As consumers, we all have experience with 'used' items, whether high-end (such as antiques, auction sites, or vintage automobiles like those at Sotheby’s) or lower end (like thrift stores or resellers on platforms like eBay). These experiences often lead us to view our purchases as strictly 'as-is.'
As “return to work” initiatives have resulted in tenants moving to open plan and hoteling solutions in new leases, often in smaller footprints, customization is required whether it involves inventory the tenant already owns or needs to acquire. One typical assumption is that the only solution for furniture that offers customization is buying “new”.
Not true! While those of us in the remanufactured furniture business may understand this intuitively, it might not be apparent that the vast inventory we maintain is really the raw material for configurations that are almost always customized! We don’t remanufacture generically! We remanufacture to spec for exactly what you need, for where it is intended to go.
Whether it involves sizing cubicles, refurbishing surfaces to match a specific aesthetic, or accommodating space planning that requires reconfiguration, it may seem counterintuitive, but remanufacturing often provides superior customization opportunities compared to buying new.
And the hidden benefit is often time to delivery. Consider the lead times for 'standard' basic orders compared to those for more unique options that must be ordered directly from a manufacturer. Sometimes we even surprise ourselves at how much faster our own TFX customized remanufactured “circular solutions” for office furniture beat “customized for new purchases.”
This is all a part of the growing interest in circular solutions available today. If you want to go beyond merely 'trending' and apply practices that deliver real impact and value to your office furniture management, contact us today at inquiry@tfxfurniture.com to discuss how we can help.