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Are your corporate headquarters planning on reopening soon? Before you can safely welcome employees back to the office, some things will have to change. Yesterday’s collaborative workspaces go against today’s physical distance policies, so you need to reimagine your open-plan layout to de-densify the workplace. In other words, you’ll need to rethink corporate asset distribution.
This unexpected office revitalization can come with a sticker shock, but an experienced office decommission service can help you cushion the blow to your budget and make you feel a bit better about it. Here’s how a smart office decommission can help you and your bottom line.
Resale
Part of any de-densification plan will involve spreading out individual workspaces to maintain six feet of distance between employees. Naturally, fewer pieces of office equipment will fit in your space with these rules in place, which means a lot of your old assets have to go.
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In a typical liquidation, used office furniture goes straight to a landfill, but office decommission experts see this as a costly mistake.
Not only do you have to pay tipping fees for every ton of furniture you discard, but you also lose out on any resale value of those items that could have a second life.
That’s why a streamlined decommission service will first sell office furniture to their network of companies that buy used office furniture. If successful, this sale will bring in revenue that helps offset the overall cost of de-densification while keeping items out of landfill.
Tax Incentives
When resale is not possible, the next step is to donate office furniture to non-profits or charitable organizations. Just as a decommission firm has a network of companies that buy used office furniture, they will also have a group of non-profit partners who will take in-kind donations of older gently used equipment.
This is a great PR opportunity, as you can share how your donation positively impacts your community.
But more to the point, you can leverage used office furniture donations into a sizeable tax deduction. Your write-off may equal a fair market value of the donated goods if your finance and accounting teams track these donations properly.
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LEED Points
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (or LEED, for short) is a green building rating system that ensures your office meets global efficiency guidelines. It’s a point-based system that awards more points to buildings that show energy and resource efficiency.
If you have a LEED certificate, you want to score top marks by earning as many points as possible. The more points you have, the higher level of LEED certification you receive, and the more benefits you earn.
One way you can earn more points is through your office decommission. With the right team of experts by your side, your decommission will keep as many office assets out of the landfill — whether by resale, in-kind donations, or recycling.
Besides the obvious eco-benefits of keeping assets out of the landfill, this can add LEED points that may boost your certification and unlock tax incentives.
Supporting a Circular Economy
There are no doubt substantial cost-efficiencies to keeping your office assets out of the waste stream, but don’t overlook the social benefits of your good deed. By tapping into the circular economy like this, you’re not only helping the environment, but you’re also helping charities build more resilient communities.
Many of these charities operate on razor-thin margins. By accepting your in-kind donation, they won’t have to tie up their limited budget with new furniture expenses. Instead, they can invest every valuable programming dollar into providing fair employment wages, serving community needs, and making a difference.
Bottom Line
De-densification is the future of the workplace, no ifs, ands, or buts. Since it’s an inevitable step in your reopening plans, you might as well leverage it in your favour. Find a decommission firm that will help you resell assets, donate used office furniture, and earn LEED points. This partnership will help offset the costs of this unavoidable office revitalization while doing something good for your community.
