INDUSTRY
Aviation, Transportation
COMPANY SIZE
75,000
HEADQUARTERS
Chicago, Illinois
When United Airlines moved the Houston Corporate Support Center to its new location, the company partnered with Green Standards to divert their surplus office furniture and equipment from landfills and instead donate them to local non-profits in Greater Houston.
LANDFILL DIVERSION RATE (728.3 TONS)
0%
IN-KIND DONATIONS
$0+
NON-PROFIT BENEFICIARIES
0
EMPLOYEES WORTH OF FURNITURE
0+
SQUARE FEET OF OFFICES
0+
METRIC TONS OF CO2e EMISSIONS AVOIDED
0
Challenge
United was consolidating two offices and moving their 1,400 Houston employees to one newly constructed tower and partnered with Green Standards to look at innovative ways that they could give back to the community and also be environmentally conscious with the 360,000 square feet of offices they were leaving behind.
United’s core business is moving people safely from one location to another. With over 1,400 employees being relocated and 14 floors of surplus office furnishings, it created the need for a more complex, multi-channeled disposition strategy to handle and mitigate what they would not be bringing with them.
“United Airlines really wants to lead by example and maximize our potential and sustainable efforts. We really wanted the expertise and to leverage someone who’s an industry expert and Green Standards gave us that opportunity.”
Roxana Mora
Senior Project Manager, Corporate Real Estate
United Airlines
Solution
Green Standards took responsibility for the entire process, including the dismantling, removal and relocation of each item, and coordinating between the movers, buyers, local non-profits and specialized recyclers. It also provided documentation and in-depth environmental and social impact reporting to help United Airlines capture and review the outcome of the project.
By combining donation, resale, and recycling strategies with turnkey project management, Green Standards maximized asset recovery, streamlined community donation, and virtually eliminated waste.
Result
Through Green Standards platform, United was able to repurpose valuable products with a 100% landfill diversion rate on 500+ tons of surplus assets. The majority of items – including tables, desks, chairs, shelves, and drawers – were either resold, recycled or donated, reducing costs, while benefiting the environment and local community groups.
Project Recap & Achievements
- United Airlines Donate Surplus Furniture in Houston
- 360,000 Square Feet of Corporate Real-Estate
- 2 Buildings across 14 Floors
- 1,400+ Employees on the move
- Cost-competitive to conventional solutions
- 100% (728 tons) Landfill Diversion
- 2,196 Metric Tons of CO2e emissions avoided
- $278,779 of In-Kind Donation to Non-Profits
- 18 Houston unique Non-Profits received donations
- Beneficiaries reported more functional, and safe working environments
Asset Distribution
Resale
Donation
Recycling
Relocation
Landfill
Beneficiary Spotlight
American Red Cross
“Because of this partnership with Green Standards and United Airlines, we’re able to save the money we would have to spend on office equipment and we can put that right back into the mission delivery. ”
Henry Van de Putte, Regional CEO
American Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast Region
