Sheffield pupils benefit from law firm’s sustainable office move
A large international law firm whose team of 300 was to move into dynamic new premises in Sheffield required a sustainable clearance for the property which was being vacated, as well as temporary storage for furniture and equipment until the new offices were available.
An important factor for the client was to be able to avoid sending items to landfill and ensure a positive environmental outcome by making available for resale any redundant items in a suitable condition, as well as benefitting the local community by donating other items of furniture.
Through a sustainability-focused service offering, Crown proposed an in-house solution for these requirements, also offering to add financial value to the project via rebates on the resale of reusable items.
Crown’s in-house services deliver an efficient clearance project
Following detailed planning with the client’s key stakeholders, Crown’s dedicated Account Manager put forward a schedule, fitting in with the tight timescale for the project, also factoring in COVID restrictions to ensure the team’s safety. A floor-by-floor phased relocation was proposed to minimise disruption to the 300-strong team.
During each phase, the Crown team carefully packed and relocated desk and meeting room furniture, filing and IT equipment, providing the client with full details of stored items ready for delivery when the new offices became available.
The meticulous audit process enabled the project team to identify items that were to be temporarily stored by Crown, and which were in a suitable condition for resale via Crown’s Office Resale website. A total of 306 items were resold, including office desks, different types of chairs and seating as well as metal cabinets. This meant a carbon saving of 14.41 tonnes of C02e and 9 tonnes diverted from landfill.
There remained 287 items that had little or no resale value and so were marked for donation to local schools via Crown’s Giving Back Project. Three school organisations benefitted from the donations which included office and meeting desks and chairs, sofas, metal cabinets and steel pedestals. The weight of items diverted from landfill amounted to 7.85 tonnes, meaning a carbon saving of 15.31 tonnes of C02e. All items that were unfit for reuse were recycled with local recycling facilities.
According to Crown’s savings report which was provided to the client on completion of the project, the total carbon savings from the clearance were 29.72 tonnes of C02e, enough to fully charge 3.79 million smartphones or provide 3.4 homes with energy for a year.
A smooth and efficient clearance and relocation was provided by Crown, within the required schedule. The donation of furniture items to schools within the local community, and the diversion from landfill into reuse gave the client a fantastic sustainability news story, which linked into their CSR strategy. A financial rebate was also provided to the client via the resale of redundant items.
The services provided included:
- Project planning from Crown’s Account Manager
- Dismantling and audit of furniture and electrical equipment
- Secure temporary storage
- Packing and delivery of IT equipment, furniture and filing to storage
- Sustainable clearance
- Rebate for resale of redundant items
- Charitable donation and recycling
- Delivery of stored items to new premises
“This was the first project Crown Workspace had delivered on for CMS. Working directly with the local and national FM, we were able to deliver their clearance on programme, and within tight timescales.
We were able to offer a sustainable clearance, with items for resale, donation and recycling, and a very happy client on completion of the project”
Gus Arbon, Account Manager, Crown Workspace