A high-security clearance with a sustainable objective
VISA’s VPL office premises, located in Aldersgate Street, London, was coming to the end of its lease, and VISA decided to use the opportunity to move the team of 200 into their Paddington HQ.
Specific requirements included a high level of security clearance for the IT relocation due to the sensitive nature of the data. In line with VISA’s CSR policy, sustainability was a core objective of the project, with VPL wishing to make redundant furniture available for donation. Crown’s integrated services were well-positioned to fulfil these requirements, working alongside partners CBRE.
Reuse, resale or donation to divert unwanted items from landfill
Crown’s Account Manager attended the Aldersgate site to carry out an assessment of the move requirements, collaborating closely with CBRE and VPL’s Space Management team leader to produce a detailed move programme.
The specialist IT team have high level security clearance and to tailor this to the client’s requirements, they also underwent specific security protocols to become ‘on-boarded’ in order to decommission the desktop equipment. This equipment was then securely packed and transferred to VISA’s European HQ in Reading for redeployment.
Working under Covid-19 social distancing restrictions, the Moves team packed bulk filing, and desk, pedestal and locker contents. All items were logged into a spreadsheet to enable the VPL team to identify their effects upon arrival at the Paddington office.
Remaining items were identified for reuse, resale or donation in accordance with Crown’s Circular Economy Policy. Items to be reused elsewhere within the VISA estate were transferred to the Paddington HQ, except for two adjustable height desks which were delivered by Crown to Cirencester and Ashford to support home working requirements. Through Crown’s Office Resale retail channel, VPL was able to gain a rebate for 112 unwanted office chairs and 400 redundant monitor arms, saving £5.6k and 8.14 tonnes of CO2e.
A selection of redundant items was identified for donation through Crown’s Giving Back Project, with a Primary School in Ilford selected to receive the quality used furniture and equipment. Crown delivered a total of 43 items including locker units, desks, catering and electrical equipment as well as boxes of stationery and crockery and whiteboards. Of these items, seven pieces of furniture were associated with a carbon saving of 0.48 tonnes CO2e. The other objects donated were not able to be linked to a carbon weight saving but offered a great opportunity for the school to save on the cost of buying new.
The total listed carbon savings from the project amounted to 8.62 tonnes CO2e, the equivalent of fully charging 1.1 million smartphones, or providing a home with energy for one year. All unwanted items were diverted from landfill, with 29% of furniture reused, 64% being recycled and 7% of remaining non-recyclable material being converted to energy.
Crown Workspace fulfilled the requirements of this project in the agreed timescale, providing a security-cleared team for the sensitive IT relocation. VISA was committed to donating as much as possible to ensure that their unwanted assets could go to help others in greater need and Crown was able to use their established channels for the resale and donation of unwanted items, ensuring that redundant equipment was not sent to landfill.
The services provided included:
- Project management
- High-security IT decommission
- Relocation and logging of personal effects
- Office furniture relocation
- Rebate for unwanted items through Office Resale
- Donation of redundant items through the Giving Back Project
- Recycling according to the waste hierarchy
Find out more about our Moves and Changes services here
“We are so grateful to VISA for the items they donated, and to Crown Workspace for all the brilliant work they do to support schools such as ours.”
Susan Johnson, Headteacher
“The crew on site were amazing. Everything was spot on and I have nothing but great things to say about how Crown Workspace managed the teams on both sites.”
Sajidah Anwar, Senior Move Manager, Space Management, Moves and Changes