What Is a Circular Office and How Do You Create One?

A circular office is a workplace where furniture, equipment and materials are kept in use for as long as possible rather than following a simple buy, use and dispose model.

For businesses, this means thinking differently about workplace assets – reuse what you have, refurbish where possible and only replace items when necessary.

How does a circular office work?

The traditional approach to office furniture can be very linear: purchase it, use it and eventually dispose of it.

A circular approach asks a different question:

What is the best next use for this item?

That could mean relocating a desk to another department, repairing an office chair, reupholstering seating or finding a new owner for furniture the business no longer needs.

Start by understanding what you own

It’s difficult to make circular decisions without knowing what furniture you have.

An office furniture audit can provide an inventory of workplace assets, their condition and how they’re being used.

You can then identify what should be retained, repaired, refurbished, redistributed or eventually recycled.

Refurbish rather than replace

Furniture doesn’t always need replacing because it looks tired.

Task chairs can potentially be repaired, seating reupholstered and other furniture refreshed to extend its useful life.

This makes better use of existing resources and can reduce the need to purchase new furniture.

Find a second life for surplus furniture

A circular workplace doesn’t stop at your front door.

Furniture your business no longer needs could potentially be resold, donated or redistributed.

Extending the life of furniture elsewhere is still part of the circular economy.

Is a circular office achievable?

You don’t need to transform your entire workplace overnight.

Start with one simple principle: before buying new or disposing of something, consider whether an existing item can be reused instead.

At RFS Sustain, we help businesses make more informed decisions about their workplace assets, keeping furniture in use for longer wherever practical.

Want to take a more circular approach to your workplace? Talk to RFS Sustain about the furniture you already have.

Should office furniture ever be recycled?

Yes, but ideally once reuse and refurbishment options have been considered.

Some furniture may be damaged beyond economical repair or have genuinely reached the end of its useful life. In these circumstances, responsible recycling allows recoverable materials to be processed rather than simply sending complete items to landfill.

A sustainable office clearance should therefore look at the best next use for each asset, rather than treating everything in the building in the same way.

How can you make an office move more sustainable?

Start planning what happens to your furniture as early as possible.

Don’t wait until the final week of the move to decide what needs clearing.

By auditing your existing assets and considering reuse, relocation, refurbishment, resale, donation and recycling, you can build sustainability into the relocation from the outset.

It can also help your business make better purchasing decisions. If 60 desks can be reused in your new workplace, for example, why purchase 60 new ones?

Planning an office move? Talk to RFS Sustain about creating a more sustainable approach to your furniture, clearance and relocation.