What difference does it really make to keep office furniture out of landfills?

As it turns out—a lot more than we thought.

In our newest white paper, developed in partnership with Bard College’s MBA in Sustainability program and sustainability expert John Friedman, we examine how current reporting tools drastically underestimate the environmental impact of office furniture reuse.

The research focuses on the EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM), which is widely used to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions avoided through reuse, resale, repurpose, and recycling. But WARM wasn’t built with commercial furniture in mind—and the numbers show it.

In fact, the analysis found that reusing office chairs results in nine times more GHG emissions avoided than the WARM model calculates. That’s a major gap in our collective understanding of how meaningful furniture reuse can be for climate action.

But that’s just the environmental side of the story.

We also see the human impact every day—community groups outfitting their spaces with donated items, or employees able to purchase high-quality, gently used furniture at a fraction of the cost. These programs not only reduce waste, they increase access and extend the value of resources already in circulation.

This white paper is part of our Ecoserv Net Zero (ENZO) initiative, which focuses on practical, scalable solutions that drive sustainability forward—both environmentally and socially.

It’s time to move toward a more accurate and complete understanding of the real impact of take-back, donation, and resale programs.

We’re proud to help lead the way. Are you ready to join us in getting zero done? Reach out to learn more.