How can businesses make a meaningful impact on carbon emissions and boost the ‘Social’ aspect of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)?
Businesses benefit from the community in which they’re based. It often provides them with employees, customers and small businesses which help them operate successfully. Improving the community and helping it to thrive are key to addressing inequality in society and it benefits the business too.
Relocating and Redesigning Workspace
Relocation or redesign of an existing office space happens for many reasons. Sometimes the business outgrows the space as they take on more staff. In other cases, they may wish to move to a location that suits their needs better.
Some businesses downsize as they change to hybrid working with less time spent in the office. A change in landlord or the end of a lease agreement may also prompt a move.
After a period of use, they generally redesign to maintain a high standard of appearance
and functionality. It may also be required to align interiors with a re-branding exercise. Or sometimes to enable a business to change to a different style of working e.g., flexible/agile working.
Depending on the situation the business may have an excess of furniture as a result.
It may be in poor condition or no longer suit the look and feel required.
The negative consequences for the environment are not acceptable and many businesses are looking for climate positive alternatives. Donating to charities is a great way to boost ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) scores.
Supporting charities and the community has a positive impact on a company brand. It can also help improve employee engagement as employees feel that supporting positive company values is important.
Sustainable Office Furniture Clearance
Supporting clients with sustainable office clearances, allows us to offer solutions that align with social governance goals too.
Through the work we’ve done we have seen the positive impact of reducing furniture waste. Our service provides organisations and charities with donations of furniture, IT solutions and other office equipment.
Here are some recent success stories where businesses have used our service to benefit the local community.
A Charity Story - Youth Space
Youth Space is a London-based digital charity providing training and digital skills to disadvantaged, young people. Their goal is to help young people acquire skills ‘to become global digital citizens and work from anywhere.’
Providing a welcoming, contemporary workspace for their students was essential, but their budget was limited. Fortunately, we were undertaking a sustainable office clearance for a large financial company. The client was making changes to their estate to accommodate more flexible and hybrid working patterns. Furniture in excellent condition no longer matched their corporate branding and they were looking for an ethical clearance solution.
With two hundred pieces of furniture donated to Youth Space, the charity made a huge saving. The client successfully avoided carbon emissions whilst also supporting a worthy cause.
A Business Story - Insurance Company
Ensuring a sustainable outcome for a London office clearance, we were tasked with donating furniture and other products to suitable charities. Minimising impact on the environment, retaining goods in the circular economy and benefitting charities, were our key performance metrics.
Almost 500 items of furniture were retained in the circular economy for refurbishment and resale. On behalf of our socially responsible client, we delivered electrical and white goods to a local hospice. Barnardo's and The British Heart Foundation charities were recipients of over a thousand items of crockery. Local schools received additional tables and dry wipe boards.
A Business Story - Energy Company
Donating office furniture to charity was important to this business as part of their environmental, social, governance strategy.To accommodate the client's schedule, we needed a quick turnaround time. With a high rise building in a central London location, access was limited.
To avoid damaging the furniture that was to be used again, we were not able to fully stock delivery trucks. None the less the clearance was completed in two successive days. YMCA in Hatfield was the recipient of the majority of donated furniture. They also received TVs, coffee machines and monitor arms from the clearance.
An added benefit is that we supply a full carbon report to show the carbon emissions saving of using our service. Meaningful and accurate data is necessary for reporting on Scope 3 emissions from the supply chain.
If you’re planning an office move or office clearance, speak to our team about how you can reduce your environmental footprint whilst also improving the community around you.
If you’d like more information on office moves and clearances contact us hellomove@bureaumove.com