Installnet hits major sustainability milestone, diverting 50 million pounds of unused office furniture from landfill

Commercial furniture solutions company Installnet hit a major milestone this week, diverting more than 50 million pounds of unused office furniture from landfill through its sustainability program, Ecoserv. Instead of going to landfill, where the furniture would have generated dangerous emissions, Installnet kept the furniture in circulation through resale, donations, and recycling.

The effort eliminated the equivalent of more than 91,750 metric tons of emissions, which has the same benefit as cutting 235 million miles of driving by gas-powered vehicles.

"We are immensely proud of this milestone," said Dale Ewing, founder and CEO of Installnet. "Fifty million pounds is 2,500 semi-trucks of furniture still in use instead of being sent to landfill. Our work helps community groups - from domestic violence shelters to police stations - devote more of their resources to serving people in need."

Watching furniture go to landfill and believing there must be a better way, Installnet created Ecoserv in 2012. Since then, the program has evolved and grown to meet the changing needs of customers, including hybrid work which has prompted many corporations to downsize and redesign their offices. Installnet is also strengthening its reporting mechanisms to meet new sustainability requirements from California and the European Union expected to take effect next year.

About 17 billion pounds of office assets are dumped into landfills each year in the U.S., creating emissions equal to those produced by 5.7 million cars ? one-third of all cars sold in the country each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Unlike other programs that pick and choose items to donate, recycle or sell, Installnet takes responsibility for all the items removed from a site, reporting to clients the total percentage of items diverted. Last year, the company completed 389 decommission projects, for an average diversion rate of 79.5%.

A fulltime outreach team matches local nonprofit and community groups that need furniture with unused furniture coming out of commercial sites. Finding homes for the unwanted assets within a 14 to 60-day timeframe can be challenging, requiring creative, unusual solutions.

In a recent project in Birmingham, AL, for instance, Installnet worked with King's Home, a nonprofit serving victims of domestic violence and the homeless to turn laminate worksurfaces into tables that can be sold in their thrift shop or used in their group homes. King's Home took 1,200 worksurfaces from the Vulcan Materials corporate headquarters building and added legs to them to keep them out of landfill. Worksurfaces are some of the most difficult items to reuse and they cannot be recycled.

"This specific donation from Vulcan is such a blessing because not only are we able to sell these items it also helps in our backroom operations," said King's Home President Lew Burdette. "Every penny that we make in these stores goes back to helping others. What a blessing that is."

About Installnet

Installnet, a leading commercial furniture solutions company, delivers inspired workspaces that help people and communities thrive. Our custom solutions are designed to serve our clients' unique needs, from project management to access to Installhub, a self-serve platform, to Ecoserv, an award-winning circular decommission program. Many members of our network of 350 installation companies have been with the company since its founding more than 27 years ago.