Corporate refits have historically assumed a high volume of waste, but one non-profit is taking on reuse with their “Office to Office” program and meeting with some success … one cube at a time. greenGoat, a public charity dedicated to materials reuse has been working with Rhode Island’s Ponaganset High School Science Lab to fill the furniture gap left by construction budget overruns. The school built a state-of-the-art lab in order to build curricula around the blossoming renewable energy and energy efficiency themes in education.
The school opened this September with a gift from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island, arranged by greenGoat, of:
· 196 Steelcase cubicles
· 254 shelving units
· 289 Knoll chairs
· Various binders, white boards, and desk accessories.
In all, Ponaganset helped greenGoat pull over 180 tons of material that would otherwise be sent to a scrap yard instead sent back into use. The donor project gave away over 1,000 tons and $1.5million of furniture to 43 area non-profits (including schools), ranging from animal welfare to adoption agencies.
greenGoat, an environmental non-profit, also calculates the environmental benefit of every donation. From an environmental perspective, metal and glass consume a lot of embodied energy in their manufacture process, making the case for reuse even stronger. Over 41 billion BTUs were spared in the BCBSRI project, calculated using the EPA life cycle measurements for energy used in harvesting raw materials, manufacturing, and distribution of the furniture.
The distribution phase took place in early 2010, and the facilities staff at the high school had to scramble to make room for the furniture gift. The staff also needed to make modifications of the wall-dependent cubicles in order to construct free standing desks out of available stock. The extra effort was worth it, saving nearly $200,000 that would have been needed to outfit the lab with desks, chairs, book shelves, and filing cabinets.
greenGoat, based in Somerville, Massachusetts, has offered conservation services for commercial buildings since its inception in 2001. The organization is a public charity, so all materials donated to them may accrue a tax benefit, making donation a savv