Crown Workspace Ltd: Leading the way in office furniture reuse

The CNC machine purchased with the support of WRAP’s Reuse and Repair grant scheme

Problem

Back in 2013, Premier Moves (now Crown Workspace), a relocation company noticed that tens of thousands of items of workplace furniture were going to landfill with no consideration of the wider environmental impacts. Yet, an increasing number of their clients were expressing an interest in more sustainable options.

Applying the principles of the waste hierarchy, Crown investigated the reasons why high-quality office furniture was being discarded. They found that many items were being discarded due to aesthetic preferences or sizing issues, leading to unnecessary waste.

Crown introduced repair and resizing capabilities to extend the life of these assets. They began refurbishing furniture either for their original client or reselling it to others. At first, the company began manually remanufacturing desktops, but the process lacked precision and consistency. While the demand for this service was growing, it became clear that a more professional solution was required. As there were no existing examples of workplace furniture remanufacturing to replicate at the time, it was necessary to innovate! 

Solution

In 2013, Crown Workspace was awarded and match-funded a capital grant of £50,000 from WRAP’s Reuse and Repair grant scheme to purchase a computer numerical control (CNC) machine for furniture refurbishment. Through this purchase, Crown sought to expand its operational facilities, enhance the quality and precision of its desk remanufacturing service, and improve its overall efficiency.

While Crown, an SME from a services background, had little experience in the furniture refurbishment sector, WRAP’s grant created a catalyst for further investment.

Following receipt of the funding, Crown invested an additional £250,000 to purchase a lifting device and dust extraction system and construct an additional area within its premises to accommodate this new machinery.

Crown Workspace continues to drive change in reuse and waste reduction. In 2017, it made an additional significant investment to expand its upholstery facility. The business also expanded into the IT refurbishment sector with further support from WRAP via the EU funded Resource Efficient Business Models (REBus) project in 2019.

By receiving WRAP’s backing, Crown Workspace’s Board of Directors gained the confidence to start on a journey that has led the business to where it is today (Crown Workspace is now a global brand and operates three Renew Centres globally, in London, Singapore and New Zealand).

This investment support from WRAP and the confidence it gave us as a business in our early days proved critical in building the circular economy focused company we are today.  In the UK we are now typically remanufacturing and refurbishing tens of thousands of items of IT and furniture each year and this is part of our globally growing service.

Phil Oram, Regional Director at Crown Workspace UKI

Environmental and economic impacts

By applying circular economy principles: keeping materials in use for as long as possible through reusing, refurbishing or re-selling office furniture, they have enabled businesses to reduce the demand for new resources while diverting waste from landfills. This has resulted in both costs savings (from waste management and new revenue sources) and carbon avoidance of the associated manufacturing and transporting of new furniture for its clients.

Since the project, Crown Workspace’s office refurbishment work has gone from strength to strength, saving 483 tonnes of CO₂e in 2024*.

* Source: Crown Workplace’s 2024 Sustainability Report

Social impact

The investment also delivered the growth in green jobs and skills. Crown Workspace upskilled existing staff members and recruited additional personnel to support the increased workflow. Their facilities now employ teams of trained staff that carry out sustainability focused jobs and utilise a range of skills. The business has also expanded into the reuse and recycling of unwanted IT and electrical equipment through its Renew IT programme to maximise the financial, environmental and social value of retired and end-of-life IT assets.

Crown Workspace has encouraged its clients ‘give back’ by helping them to donate furniture, IT and electrical equipment from office clearances to local charities, schools and social enterprises through their Giving Back Project. In 2024, they aided the donation of over 6,000 items, saving over 131 tonnes of waste and saving 216 tonnes of CO₂e in comparison to buying new.

The climate crisis and social inequality are now at the forefront of business leaders’ minds. So, Crown’s focus as a business has moved from managing waste in line with the waste hierarchy, to preserving assets and materials to keep them in use for longer, helping our clients reduce their carbon footprints, and give social value back to their communities.

Ann Beavis, Head of Sustainable Development at Crown Workspace

For more information and support email us on Resources.Wales@wrap.ngo for expert advice from our Circular Economy Team.