Climate change and environmental sustainability are not new concepts. But they are gaining more and more ground in public discussion, and more people are starting to think sustainably. And it isn’t just individuals anymore. As companies evolve and management changes, more and more companies, small and large, are putting a focus on finding ways to operate more sustainably.
Nationwide Climate Strikes Drive Action
The turn-out for climate strikes across Canada this year has been staggering. Combining the numbers from 8 events in larger cities across the country, Greenpeace Canada estimated they saw over 660,000 attendees. Toronto’s climate strike alone drew 15,000 people, filling Queen’s Park for the rally, and Toronto Police estimated that 20,000 participated in the march!
The climate strikes have started really positive conversations about sustainability with our clients. The day of Toronto’s climate strike one of our staff was in downtown Toronto to meet with a client. This client has started with sourcing sustainable office furniture for a small portion of their offices, but they’re hoping to drive the mission across their entire organization, for every office, city-wide.
It used to be that the main reason clients came to us was for the affordability factor, but we’re hearing more frequently that it’s the environmental factor too. The exciting thing about these changes is that people in positions of power in corporations are starting to show that they care about the world we all share. They’re making decisions that consider environmental impact and the bottom line.
We Are Committed to Sustainability
The core concept of our business, repairing and reusing products instead of throwing them away, is about sustainability and protecting our shared natural resources. But we believe it’s bigger than just that.
How Do We Stay Eco-Friendly?
Besides just recycling furniture, we do our best to ensure our remanufacturing and refurbishment processes are as eco-friendly as possible.
Conserve Natural Resources
Brand new production of office furniture requires plenty of raw materials. Repairing, remanufacturing, and refurbishing requires way less raw material. Where new production might use 5-9 pounds of material to create an object, we use only 1 pound to repair that object and extend its lifespan, reducing the demand for brand new production.
Conserve Energy
Brand new production requires a lot of energy consumption for processes. Remanufacturing or refurbishing takes only a fraction of the time and a fraction of the energy to make a product look and function as good as new again.
Reduce Solid Waste
Office furniture is often discarded because the fabric or colors are no longer in style, not because it’s worn out. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 3 million tonnes of office furniture is discarded every year. By simply updating these products with more modern fabrics and colors means a product with plenty of life left in it can return to market in style with the latest trends.
Our technicians are experienced, and our processes are designed efficiently to create as little waste as possible in the process of refurbishing or remanufacturing our products.
Reduce Air Pollution
We all want to breathe fresh clean air. Brand new furniture production produces large amounts of toxic chemicals like carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (Co2), sulfur oxides (S0x), nitrous oxide (NOx), and volatile organic compounds. Refurbishment and remanufacturing produce way less of these greenhouse gases.
LEED Certification
Investing in refurbished, remanufactured, or used furniture can drastically reduce your business’s carbon footprint. We can help businesses achieve LEED certification with our products.
Circular Economy
Keeping furniture items out of landfills, extending their lifespan, and recycling their components responsibly, are all important parts of a circular economy. A circular economy means you use, reuse, and recycle a product and its materials for as long as possible. If a piece of furniture really has reached the end of its usable life, we harvest and salvage reusable materials and parts wherever possible, and recycle the unusable components responsibly.
We Care About People, Too
Everything comes down to people. We want people to be able to live and breathe easier in a world that still has a wide variety of natural resources. But, we also want people to be healthy and happy so they can enjoy those natural resources.
We Promote Ergonomics and Wellness
Wherever possible, we help our clients design spaces that promote health and wellness. With positive design, ergonomic furniture, and beautiful style, we create spaces that are welcoming, inspiring, and that support healthy lifestyles.
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