Sustainable Solutions for Higher Education: Reuse and Refurbishment of Office Furniture

Ida Gorecka • December 19, 2024

Running facilities or sustainability at a university or college means your to-do list never gets shorter. Between managing department requests, controlling costs, and meeting ESG reporting deadlines, furniture decisions shouldn't add more pressure to your day. At Coggin SOS, we understand these challenges and have spent over twenty years helping education facilities create sustainable, cost-effective workspaces.

Refurbished Office Furniture: The Smart Solution

Behind every successful educational institution stands an invisible team making smart decisions about resources, space, and sustainability. If you're part of that team, you know the weight of those decisions. Modern universities and colleges demand modern solutions. While your institution focuses on education and research, you're tasked with creating spaces that support their work without breaking the bank. But what if you didn't have to choose between quality furniture and staying within budget? What if the same decision could help both your bottom line and your environmental goals?


That's where professional office furniture refurbishment makes perfect sense. Educational institutions across the UK are transforming their spaces by both refurbishing their existing furniture and purchasing refurbished pieces. Either way, they get furniture that matches new in quality and appearance - plus major cost savings and environmental benefits.

Premium Refurbished Office Furniture: Same Quality, Quarter the Price

The reason refurbished office furniture is so much more affordable is that the majority of the cost of new furniture goes towards manufacturing, shipping, and retailer markups. With refurbished items, these initial costs have already been absorbed, allowing the furniture to be resold at a fraction of the price.


Take our refurbished Verco Ergoform chairs - they're sitting in our Coggin SOS showroom right now. Brand new, they'd cost your department £500 each. Our refurbished version? Just £150. Same chair, same quality, fraction of the price. When your computer lab needs 30 chairs, that's £11,250 staying in your budget - the kind of saving that gets noticed in quarterly reviews.


At Coggin SOS, you'll find professionally refurbished office chairs, desks, and storage solutions ready to go. No long lead times. No complicated ordering processes. Just quality furniture that's ready within 10 days. Contact us now to arrange your visit.

How Refurbished Office Furniture Adapts to Your Changing Needs

As a facilities professional, you know that campus and college spaces are constantly in flux. Departments expand, faculty needs change, and student preferences shift - and your furniture needs to keep pace. This is where refurbished furniture offers better advantages over buying new. Apart from saving on costs, you get immediate availability, the ability to modify pieces to exact specifications, and the freedom to adapt spaces quickly.


At Coggin SOS, we make this flexibility work for you with:


  • Custom desk resizing to match your exact requirements
  • Fast 10-day turnaround on most orders
  • Mix-and-match options from our  inventory
  • Expert space planning support
  • 12-month guarantee on the furniture


Whether you're renovating an outdated administrative office or converting a lecture hall into a collaborative learning space, we'll work closely with you to understand your evolving requirements and provide refurbished office furniture that's the perfect fit. 


From resizing second-hand office desks to creating custom configurations for your unique needs, our team handles it all. Just let us know what you need, and we'll handle the rest.

Reduce Carbon Footprint with Refurbished Office Furniture Solutions

Your sustainability targets matter. Not just for reports and ESG ratings, but for showing everyone internally, and the wider world that you're serious about environmental impact. When you choose refurbished office furniture you're proving that sustainability works in practice, not just in policy documents. It shows your institution backs up words with actions.


Working with Coggin SOS turns these environmental commitments into real, measurable achievements. With every project, we provide you with detailed documentation that shows exactly what you've saved and what impact you've made. Perfect for ESG reports, sustainability audits, and proving the value of your initiatives.

Planning Your Next Campus Project?

Those department refits and renovation deadlines might be looming, but the solution doesn't have to be complicated. While you're weighing up long lead times and stretched budgets, let's have a conversation about a smarter way forward.


Contact us - you might be surprised at what's possible when sustainability meets practicality.

Why Now is the Perfect Time to Upgrade Your Office Furniture

February 18, 2025
As the end of the fiscal year approaches, many SMEs are facing a familiar challenge-how to use up remaining budgets before March 31st . One area that often gets overlooked? Office furniture. It’s a big expense, and many businesses either put off upgrading or settle for quick, low-quality solutions that don't really meet their needs. But there’s a better way to refresh your office without breaking the bank. Whether you decide to refurbish the furniture you already have or buy high-quality refurbished pieces , there’s an affordable, sustainable solution right at your fingertips. And, by making this choice before the end of the fiscal year, you’re setting yourself up for a smarter, more efficient office in the long run.

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

By 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.

How Facilities Services Can Contribute to a Circular Economy with Furniture Recycling

By Ida Gorecka • February 11, 2025
Our approach to furnishing workspaces is changing as part of a collective effort to reverse the projected 70% increase in global waste by 2050 . Design trends are constantly changing, and as companies race to keep up it can be challenging to keep up with the newest trends in office furniture. However, this constant cycle results in millions of office furniture pieces getting unnecessarily discarded every year when, with the right expertise, they could be repurposed, reused, or recycled. What can we do to reverse this trend? Facility Managers must help to embed circular economy thought processes into procurement and disposal strategies, across the entire supply chain. While recycling paper and reducing energy consumption are common strategies, one area that is often overlooked as a source of sustainable credentials is office furniture. By embracing furniture recycling and refurbishment , facility managers can make smarter , more sustainable choices that help reduce waste, cut costs, and ensure premium-quality office designs, often without the lengthy lead times that accompany new furniture purchases. If you haven’t considered refurbished furniture before, you are in the right place to discover why they should be your obvious choice for your next project. But even if you have considered it, keep reading for valuable insights into how refurbished furniture can improve sustainability initiatives, maximise cost savings, and support long-term business goals.
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