Helsinki, Finland (Sept 29th, 2020) Organisations and businesses need inspiration to take part in the circular transition. In the lead up to the WCEFonline, Sitra set out to discover some of the most inspiring circular economy ideas around the globe. The result is an extensive list containing 39 inspiring circular economy solutions.
Introducing 39 Circular Economy Solutions to Inspire The World
With examples from six continents, the solutions in the link above range from circular fashion to magnetic ink and from up-cycling solar panel waste to podcasts and games demonstrating a circular economy in practice.
Managing office furniture donation, resale and recycling while achieving a 98% landfill diversion rate.
Green Standards Solution Card:
The decommissioning of office furniture prematurely ends the lifecycle of valuable resources. Green Standards prevents unnecessary waste by redistributing surplus furniture to nonprofits in need.
Green Standards helps corporations resell, recycle or donate their furniture to local organisations in need, creating a positive environmental and social impact. In the process, Green Standards demonstrates to its partners the value that the circular economy can unlock.
Green Standards began as a service coordinated between nonprofits and corporations with surplus office furniture. The company quickly learned that to scale, they needed to expand beyond charities into the recycling and resale channels. Green Standards has evolved into a solution that includes corporate project management, multi-channel asset redistribution, non-profit engagement and story-telling, and industry-leading environmental reporting.
Problem
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 8.5 million tonnes of furniture and equipment are sent to landfills each year in the US alone. Corporations are paying up to 634 million euros annually in landfill tipping fees for office decommissions, while many nonprofit organisations across North America lack access to quality office furniture and equipment.
Solution
Green Standards manages the office furniture removal and redistribution process for companies with the goal of reselling, donating or recycling the assets so that they are saved from landfills. To ensure clients have the most redistribution options and cost-efficiencies possible, Green Standards has built a preferred network of resellers, strategic recyclers and over 17,000 nonprofit partners across North America. A fully transparent social and environmental impact report is provided to customers at the end of the process.
Green Standards is building a web of participating organisations that might not otherwise contribute to or benefit from the circular economy. Green Standards aims to change corporations’ mindsets to prioritise a circular impact from their office decommission projects rather than paying a fee to send the furniture to landfills. Partnerships through the furniture and waste recovery value chains are a critical part of this process, including with recycling facilities, hundreds of charities and furniture manufacturers who are under pressure to demonstrate the end-of-life impacts of their products.
Environmental impact
Green Standards has diverted over 70,000 tonnes of workplace furniture and equipment from landfills at a 98.6 per cent diversion rate, offsetting over 171,033 tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions. Green Standards coordinates with charities, recyclers and furniture resellers to ensure that almost all of a company’s used office furniture finds a second life.
Social impact
The essence of Green Standards’ model is to extend the life of furniture by finding it a second home with social service organisations who would have otherwise invested programming dollars to purchase new furniture. By granting these 5,000 organisations the freedom to reallocate funding toward fair employment wages or serving community needs, Green Standards is contributing to building resilient communities.
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About Sitra
Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, is an independent public foundation which operates directly under the supervision of the Finnish Parliament. A future organization that works to promote Finland’s competitiveness and the well being of Finns.
Sitra collaborates with partners from different sectors to research trial and implement bold new ideas that shape the future.
About Green Standards
Capturing Value In Workplace Change
Green Standards has spent the last decade developing rigorous practices and global networks that deliver optimal value from workplace decommissioning. Our enterprise program measures and maximizes ESG performance while virtually eliminating landfill waste. A partner to the world’s largest organizations, Green Standards enables the efficient and ethical redistribution of furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E) during times of workplace change.
Media Contact: Marc Borins, 1-855-632-8036
