13,000 items of furniture reused in first twelve months

Premier Sustain published its first year’s sustainability figures this month. The company announced that, on behalf of its clients, it has remodelled 800 desks, resold over 11,000 items of furniture and donated over 1,900 items to local charities, social enterprises and schools in its first twelve months of operation.

A division of the Premier Moves Group, Premier Sustain launched last year with a new service that uses the principles of the waste hierarchy to direct and manage resources sustainably. The service delivers social and environmental benefits as well as cost savings to its wide client base that ranges from local authorities to international financial institutions.

According to the Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) 2011 report, approximately 1.2 million office desks and 1.8 million office chairs end up in landfill each year; in total over 50,000 tonnes. Premier Sustain’s announcement demonstrates the increasing interest amongst businesses and public sector organisations to change these practices and take a more sustainable approach to furniture management.

Phil Oram, Operations Director, Premier Sustain said: “We are proud of what we have achieved for our clients in this first year which has resulted in a saving of over 2,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from furniture reuse and landfill diversion. It seemed fitting to make the announcement at the Sustainable Purchasing and Supply Summit where we demonstrated the benefits of sustainable furniture management to procurement professionals.”