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Achieving a Sustainable Office: 3 Easy Steps to Reduce Your Office’s Carbon Footprint

Ida Gorecka • February 13, 2025

Did you know buildings, including offices, are responsible for nearly 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions? Many businesses don’t realise that office furniture is a big part of that problem. 


Consumers are noticing too: 85% prefer eco-conscious brands, and 34% are willing to pay more for sustainable products (source). If you’re not thinking about sustainability, you are falling behind.


But contrary to what most businesses assume, creating a sustainable office doesn’t mean a huge overhaul or extra costs. In fact, it can save you lots of money. At Coggin SOS, we’ve helped hundreds of businesses go green and we can help you too. Here are three easy steps to help you save both money and carbon emissions on your next office furniture project.

The Shocking Carbon Cost of New Office Furniture: What You Need to Know

Look around your office for a moment. Every desk, chair, and cabinet you see has a carbon footprint bigger than you realise. While most businesses focus on energy bills and paper waste when thinking about their environmental impact, office furniture often gets overlooked. 


Let's break it down:


Manufacturing

A single new office chair creates around 82kg of carbon - that's like driving 200 miles. But it doesn't stop there. The raw materials for that chair travel between multiple factories, each step adding more emissions. Steel gets shipped from one country, plastic from another, fabric from a third. 


Shipping

Most office furniture has to travel a long way before it reaches your office. Just getting a desk chair to you can create a lot of carbon emissions. Between container ships, freight, and multiple stops along the way, the carbon footprint adds up fast, even before it arrives.


Looking for local, sustainable solutions? Contact us to reduce the carbon footprint of your office furniture while still getting top-quality pieces.


Disposal

In the UK alone 300 tonnes of office furniture enters landfill every day. Much of this furniture is still perfectly usable - it might just need some care or updating. As this furniture breaks down in landfill, it releases methane - a greenhouse gas that traps more heat than CO2. Then the cycle starts again as businesses buy new furniture to replace what they've thrown away.


Find out more about where your waste actually goes.


But, you don't have to participate in this carbon-heavy cycle. Your office furniture choices can cut both emissions and costs. The three Rs - Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle - offer practical ways to make this happen. Let's look at exactly how each one works…

1. Reduce: Smart Choices with Lower Local Impact

Want to save money, time and cut your carbon footprint at the same time? Start by thinking about how you buy office furniture. A new office chair releases around 82kg of carbon. Multiply that across your office, and you're looking at a serious environmental issue before anyone sits down.


Most office furniture starts overseas. Remember that journey we talked about? Raw materials get shipped between factories, parts are made in different places, and everything crosses oceans. All those steps increase the carbon footprint and slow down delivery.


At Coggin SOS, we skip the carbon chain by keeping things local. Instead of importing new furniture, we source high-quality, pre-owned pieces from UK businesses. Brands like Herman Miller and Steelcase last for decades, so why send them to the landfill? By refurbishing them locally, we cut emissions from both manufacturing and long-haul shipping while giving you the same quality furniture at a fraction of the price.


What’s in it for you:



  • Faster delivery - we deliver in 10 days or less, while new furniture takes 8-12 weeks
  • Lower carbon footprint - local sourcing and refurbishing, no global supply chain
  • Big savings - high-quality furniture at a fraction of the cost of new


Skip the carbon-heavy supply chain. Contact our team at Coggin SOS to source local, quality second-hand office furniture for up to 80% less compared to buying new.


Wondering if refurbished furniture is the right choice for you? Here’s what you need to know before making the switch!

2. Reuse: Keeping Quality Office Furniture in Circulation

Every year, tons of perfectly good office chairs, desks, and storage units are thrown away-not because they’re completely broken and unusable, but because they look a little worn. That’s money wasted, resources lost, and landfill space filled up unnecessarily. Meanwhile, businesses spend a fortune replacing furniture that could easily be restored to as-new condition.


At Coggin SOS, we offer two valuable options for you to make a smarter, more sustainable choice. 


1. Refurbish Your Existing Office Furniture

We can restore your current office furniture to like-new condition, from reupholstering chairs matching your brand colours to refinishing and resizing desks for the perfect fit for your space. This extends the life of your furniture by decades, saving you the cost and carbon impact that come with buying new.


2. Replace Your Office Furniture 

We also offer high-quality, second-hand office furniture that is expertly refurbished and ready to go in just 10 days. For up to 80% less compared to buying new! Plus, every piece comes with a 12-month warranty, so you can be sure you’re getting high-quality, lasting value.

3. Recycle: Your Simple Solution to Office Furniture Waste

Not all office furniture can be refurbished, but that doesn’t mean it should go straight to landfill. At Coggin SOS, we make sure your old office furniture is recycled properly, turning it into valuable materials instead of contributing to landfill waste. We handle everything. Metals get turned into raw materials for new products, while plastics and foam are sorted and repurposed.


Here’s why that matters for you: Businesses are under increasing pressure to prove they’re taking measured environmental action. We make it easy by providing you with savings reports and certificates that show exactly how your recycling efforts make a difference. These reports help you:


  • Demonstrate genuine sustainability to stakeholders
  • Secure green contracts that prioritise environmental responsibility
  • Meet ESG reporting standards
  • Ensure you’re compliant with waste regulations


Get in touch with us today to see how we can help recycle your old office furniture responsibly.

Save Money, Cut Carbon: Your Sustainable Office Starts Here

You're in business to make money, not to spend it on new office furniture every few years. But you also know that sustainability matters - to your clients, your investors, and your own conscience. You don't have to choose between your budget and your environmental goals.


At Coggin SOS, we offer solutions that tick all the boxes. So why spend more time and money on new furniture that just adds to your carbon footprint? Make the smart choice for your business and the planet. 


Get in touch with Coggin SOS today and let us show you how easy and cost-effective eco-friendly office furniture can be. Because the future of business is sustainable. The question is, will you lead the charge, or be left picking up the pieces? It's your move. Make it a good one.

End of Financial Year Facilities Management: How to Use Your Remaining Budget with Refurbished Office Furniture

By Ida Gorecka • March 26, 2025
March is almost over, and for facilities managers and teams, that means one thing: the pressure to allocate your remaining budget before it disappears. You've spent the past year balancing costs and keeping your work schedule running smoothly. Now, with time running out, you face a choice: panic-buy to use up funds or invest in something that delivers long-term value . Too often, last-minute spending leads to low-quality purchases and missed opportunities. But with the right approach and investment, you can update your offerings, improve ESG credentials, and save money long-term. Refurbished office furniture offers an excellent way to achieve all three goals. In fact, the UK's sustainable office furniture market is experiencing a compound annual growth rate exceeding 5% , reflecting a shift towards eco-friendly business practices. Book a no-obligation chat with our team to see how refurbished office furniture could work in your space.

Government Office Furniture Assets: End of Year Investment Strategy with Sustainable Options

By Ida Gorecka • March 24, 2025
The financial year-end is approaching quickly. As budgets are finalised and procurement decisions loom, that familiar "use it or lose it" pressure creates a real dilemma for procurement professionals like you. You need smart investments that deliver genuine value, not hasty purchases that waste resources. While juggling procurement frameworks, sustainability targets, and public spending oversight, you need practical options. Premium refurbished office furniture offers the ideal solution that ticks every box on your procurement checklist while helping you beat that March budget deadline. Let's take a closer look at how this office furniture strategy can turn budget pressure into a genuine win for your department.

Understanding the Circular Economy in Office Furniture: A Comprehensive Analysis

By Ida Gorecka • March 20, 2025
Did you know that the way we design, use, and dispose of old office furniture is at a crossroads? With growing environmental concerns, tightening regulations, and shifting corporate sustainability goals, businesses can no longer afford to overlook the impact of their office fit-outs. The traditional 'take-make-dispose' model is outdated - and it's costing you money.  Modern organisations are shifting toward a more sustainable model , one where office desks, chairs, and storage units are reused, refurbished , or recycled instead of ending up in landfills and polluting our environment. This approach, called the circular economy , is all about getting the most value out of materials while reducing waste and cutting carbon emissions. Find out more about the circular economy and how it relates to your business here . But how does it actually work for your business? Let's break it down.
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