Standard Reporting Underestimates the Value of Office Furniture Reuse

Installnet, Bard College MBA program analysis finds avoided greenhouse gas emissions are nine times more than estimates

• Diverting office furniture from landfills delivers strong environmental and community benefits
• Call for industry to adopt Life Cycle Assessments

New research released today finds that diverting three of the most reused office items from landfill – task, desk and stack chairs – avoids far more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than methodologies currently used by the industry. The research, by furniture solutions company Installnet and Bard College’s MBA program, “Standard Reporting Omits Most Benefits of Reusing Office Furniture – This Must Change,” was developed as part of a new collective’s effort to develop and implement real world solutions to reduce waste.

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Installnet & Bard College released new research today finding that diverting three of the most reused office items from landfill – task, desk and stack chairs – avoids far more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than methodologies currently used by the industry.

To determine how accurate existing tools are at estimating the environmental impact of furniture diversion from landfill, researchers compared them with actual measures developed through Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). The research finds that the current industry standard for measuring the impact of these efforts relies on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM), which significantly underestimates the greenhouse gas emissions avoided through reuse, resale, repurpose, and recycling.

“We have seen firsthand the value of these efforts on the environment and the community, but this analysis reveals, for the first time, that we’re actually avoiding nine times more GHG emissions than the WARM estimates show,” said Installnet CEO Dale Ewing. “This is huge. It’s time for the industry to embrace sustainable decommissioning and move toward a more accurate understanding of the actual impact that things like take-back, donation and resale programs.”

The Installnet Ecoserv program has diverted more than 55 million pounds of waste from landfill since 2012 through reuse, resale, relocation and recycling, including donations to groups in more than 3,200 communities across North America. The donations help local nonprofits, schools, first responders and other organizations devote more resources to their missions and reduce the GHG emissions that worsen climate change. Each year, more than 146 million tons of solid waste goes to landfills in the U.S., generating dangerous methane gas emissions that worsen climate change. An estimated 12 million tons of that waste is furniture.

The research was done by Deanna Diaz, a recent graduate of the Bard College MBA program in sustainability, and John Friedman, a leader in corporate sustainability initiatives.

“Only a few manufacturers share cradle-to grave LCAs and only for a select group of newer products,” Diaz said. “And the information is very difficult to find. Transparency of a product’s environmental impact remains an exception rather than the norm.”

Developing LCAs is time consuming and costly for manufacturers, Friedman explained.

“Starting with the items most likely to be reused will help the industry demonstrate the actual impact of sustainable decommissions,” Friedman said. “And because LCAs are independently verified, this will help meet new reporting standards and requirements.”

The research is part of a collective founded by Installnet, called Ecoserv Net Zero (ENZO). The collective is sharing lessons learned and best practices in sustainable decommissions to create industry standards. It is also documenting processes, procedures and practices to become assurance ready and meet new reporting requirements.

Installnet is a recognized leader in sustainability. Its rapidly growing Ecoserv program keeps unused furniture and other assets in circulation, instead of sending them to landfill.

If you are interested in participating in the effort and getting zero done, please contact Lila Grant at enzo@installnet.com.

About Installnet

Installnet provides professional project management services in the United States and Canada. Our network of over 350 highly qualified independent furniture installation companies provide exceptional service in more than 100 major markets. Our custom solutions range from Ecoserv, an award-winning sustainable decommission program to Installhub, a self-serve platform of installation companies.

About The Bard MBA in Sustainability. Bard College's graduate business degree fully integrates a focus on mission-driven business. Ranked the #1 Green MBA three years running and the #2 MBA for Non-Profit Management by the Princeton Review, the program was also recognized as the #4 Worldwide in the "Better World MBA" ranking by Corporate Knights. Based in New York City, the program features one-weekend per month in-person instruction plus on-line structure to support working adult students from across the US.

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Installnet, Bard College MBA program analysis finds avoided greenhouse gas emissions are nine times more than estimates