Four R’s to Rejuvenate Your Environmental Impact
Sustainability in the workplace has gone far beyond being a ‘trend’, or a way to differentiate your business and build your brand – it’s become the norm. As millennials are moving into executive positions, and generation begins to enter the workforce, more and more high-quality employees are looking to work with and build organizations which are aligned with their personal ideologies. And to say that environmentally consciousness is top of mind for the next generations, is an understatement.
As your business continues to grow, and you seek out architecture, design and furniture solutions that speak to the direction in which you are moving, consider these four R’s as excellent routes for giving your sustainability efforts a refresh.
Traditional Recycling: If you’re looking to completely remove pieces from your office in efforts of updating your office stylistically or ergonomically (or both for that matter), you can dismantle pieces into their constituent parts (such as plastic, wood, metal, etc) and recycle them appropriately.
Repair: Breathe new life into tired furniture and fittings with new fabrics, textiles and paint. What was once an outdated workplace furniture solution can quickly become a trendy, one-of-a-kind statement piece that shows employees, clients and/or customers you are up to speed with current design trends! Polishers up can executive furniture to return it to its original brilliance, reupholster pieces in new fabrics, and opt for carpet and/or leather cleaning to remove stubborn stains that may be dating (and devaluing) your brand.
Resale: Do some research into whether there is a market for your second-hand furniture. If so, arrange for its resale to help recoup some of the cost – funds which can be put back into updating your workplace with new furniture solutions that better reflect the direction your business is moving in.
Reuse: Consider matching your old office furniture with need among charities. Many not-for-profit agencies and organizations could benefit from receiving furniture solutions that aren’t at the top of their priority list in terms of investment. In helping to drive charitable work forward – you become an organization that helps communities thrive. This goes far beyond being a ‘feel good’ measure as it establishes your brand as being community driven and socially responsible.
Oh – and don’t forget about IT.
Recycling IT: If your devices and IT equipment that have come to the end of their business lifecycle, and you are in need of an upgrade in order to ensure your technological capabilities are ahead of the curve in your industry, they can often be recycled. If you wipe your data and hard drives in order to protect your confidentiality, products can often be donated to charitable organizations, who will in turn pass them on to grateful end users. If your IT products or devices.
