Every so often you will come across an article that feels like you’ve written it yourself! It uses the words, phrasing and idioms you yourself use in your everyday life and this is a summary of one such article.
“When it comes to office fit-outs, the circular economy is a no-brainer”, was featured on UK Architect’s Journal website, says everything we would about the use of circular economy goods in office fitouts. Given office de-fits are rumoured to contribute significantly to landfill around the world, an uptake in reuse of office furniture products will not only reduce the carbon use associated with the new fit, it reduces the burden on landfill sites around the country too.
Some of the key takeaways for us are listed below
- Construction (also) uses a huge amount of embodied energy.
- Fit-outs are responsible for about a third of emissions over the life of a building
- Through a circular approach, we provided fully fitted Category B space, including furniture, for the same cost as stripped-back Category A.
- There’s value for customers because they save on fit-out costs, which are usually around one to two years’ rent.
- We also cut embodied carbon by 80kg per m². This is equivalent to 2.5 years of the energy used running the building.
- This project shows there’s market demand for the circular economy model. It just requires a change of mindset and a little more design time.
- In a post-Covid world where flexibility of space and high-quality partnerships with landlords are important, the circular economy model makes sound sense.
Needless to say, if you have the time to dig deeper, you should and can read the entire article here.
At WBGS we are already activating the circular economy and tapping into the office fit-out and re-fit market to provide value through sustainably sourced and upcycled materials while keeping valuable materials and goods out of landfill.
If you have the chance to use quality secondhand, repurposed or remanufactured products in your next project, DO IT! You can find high-quality office furniture and materials on our website here and you can order custom, handmade upcycled furniture here. If you would like to explore a sustainable office fit-out, please complete the details below – we’d love to help you!
