Gold Once Again: Yarra Valley Water's Second Life for Office Chairs

Yarra Valley Water, located in Melbourne, is the largest water retail utility in Victoria with the mission to provide essential water and sanitation services to 2 million people. They embarked on a sustainable furnishing project with Haworth International's Second Life program, aiming to refurbish office chairs that were out of warranty and had operational issues.

Location

Melbourne, Australia

Once an office chair is thrown out, it’s a lost opportunity. By refurbishing office chairs instead of disposing of them, we’re saving money and reducing waste. This relatively simple action is one of many we’re taking as part of our commitment to waste reduction, reuse, and embracing the circular economy.

Natalie Foeng

Chief Financial Officer, Yarra Valley Waters

A Green Initiative Took Root

Haworth introduced Yarra Valley Water to their Second Life program, which focuses on refurbishing and reusing furniture to reduce waste. The program provided detailed information and outlined the benefits, ensuring the process aligned with Yarra Valley Water's sustainability approach.

Yarra Valley Water decided to start with fifty chairs to evaluate the effectiveness of the Second Life program and ensure they were restored to 'as new' condition.

The refurbishment process was completed onsite, minimising downtime and environmental impact.

Achieving Remarkable Results

The project successfully refurbished the office chairs, providing Yarra Valley Water with 'as new' chairs and a full warranty. This initiative avoided over one ton of landfill waste, recycling 140 kg of plastic, 400 kg of metal, and 100 kg of cardboard.

The refurbishment resulted in 44% less carbon emission compared to purchasing new chairs, aligning with Yarra Valley Water's 2030 strategy of leading for an environmental future.

We are excited that Yarra Valley Water is the first Australian business to join our Second Life seat refurbishment program. This partnership demonstrates that refurbishing high-quality office furniture is commercially viable and environmentally beneficial. With our full warranty, Yarra Valley Water's seating has truly been given a second life.

Brendan Bruce

Haworth Australia Managing Director

    

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