Food for Thought: Striking the Right Chord in the Circular Furniture Economy

This month’s Food for Thought is about the importance of finding the right office asset decommissioning and liquidation partner to help you achieve sustainable goals in the Circular Economy. 

It is like assembling an orchestra in a way - Each musician has to be an expert with a certain instrument, but they also need a special skill to make them just right for any piece of music!

This might seem like a mixed metaphor when we talk about office furniture management in the “circular economy” but hear us out.

Each of the specialists you need for the coordinated execution of any decommissioning and liquidation project needs to have reliable functional expertise, like the string section, the horns, or the percussionists. But to get the job done, they also need to understand the idiosyncrasies of jazz or the big band sound, or even the complexities of a symphony. They need to play together, complementing each other’s virtuosity in order to win the audience’s applause. 

You have the same intricate coordination in the equally complex management of a decommissioning project. Your specialist must possess the pragmatic skills to perform their function in the overall project on time and on budget, but they also need the added lens of the “circular economy” to achieve the end goal of reuse and avoidance of waste.

With that in mind how would you audition your specialists in office furniture management?

Project Planner: 

• Decommissioning projects have a sneaky way of being time constrained. Orchestrating how the job can get done with all the logistical limitations, including schedule, is complicated.  But the sustainable Project Planner has the additional end goal that all items decommissioned are either reallocated or disposed of in a sustainably responsible manner.  This requires a circular mindset from the first walk through, to assess the logistical challenges, to the report card at the end of the project to evaluate how well you did against sustainability KPIs.

  • Look for specialists who can see to the end of the project and work backwards from the goal of on time, on budget but also with an eye to reuse, reallocation and landfill avoidance.

 Inventory Managers:

• The Circular Mindset suggests facilities managers should adopt a mantra of “let’s reuse what we’ve got.” Managing furniture inventory across multiple properties requires sophisticated tools beyond spreadsheets and a mindset of practicality when dealing with your organization's asset inventory.

  • Look for partners with user friendly tools, but also a realistic sense of how you can enable reuse of your assets cost effectively.  It may help to know you have three Aeron Chairs in Cleveland; but if your need is to build out a new office for 10 employees in Atlanta, moving them might not be the sustainable solution. 

Remanufacturer who Refurbishes for Reuse or Resale:

• What about that office in Atlanta?  You need 10 Aeron Chairs, but is there a “circular alternative” to buying new? Extending the life of salvaged furniture through remanufacturing and resale aligns perfectly with the principles of the circular economy.

  • Look no further than TFX, the leading provider of office furniture remanufacturing in the US. We contribute to sustainability goals of our clients who see the economic and “circular” benefits of buying high-end furniture items remanufactured to as new conditions.

Liquidation, Recycling, and Avoiding the Landfill:

• Transparency and accountability are paramount in this part of the process, ensuring that items are either donated to charities or recycled responsibly to divert the highest percentage possible from landfills of what cannot be reused.

  • End-to-end chain of custody and bullet proof certification of jobs completed sustainably is essential in the final steps of a project involving recycling.  To the extent that your decommissioning partner oversees the entire process to the last mile you increase the likelihood of a truly sustainable outcome.

Overall Management:

• Let’s go back to the metaphor of the orchestra.  You might have strong musicians in the “pit”, but the key performer is the conductor.  They keep the orchestra playing in tune and delight audiences with the power of the music they are performing. Their equivalent in any office decommissioning and liquidation project is the dedicated full-service specialist overseeing all aspects of your job. They ensure accountability, adherence to timelines, budgets, and sustainability metrics.

  • Look to establishing enduring partnerships with such specialists, to streamline future projects and guarantee positive outcomes because they know your unique challenges better than anyone.

We are proud to have been performing in harmony with some terrific clients for over 25 years.  We haven’t hit many sour notes, and we know the score in office furniture management. If this strikes the right chord, we would love to discuss your next project.  Reach out to inquiry@tfxfurniture.com