How the University of Westminster furnished a Covid-19 emergency health centre

The University of Westminster has been enriching lives for over 180 years. Only since working with Reyooz have they begun saving lives by simply not wasting office furniture and equipment.

The zero waste clearance of 101 New Cavendish Street resulted in over £265,000 of furniture and equipment being redistributed to the NHS to build medical centres, charities opening new branches and schools building better environments for pupils and staff.

"We knew that we were going to be undertaking a lot of refurbishment work across the campus and we were looking for a more sustainable approach. As we’re based in central London, storage in our buildings is pretty much non-existent. That means furniture that was being replaced as part of the refurbishment programme would end up in an incinerator.”

Jordan Lamb, Sustainability Manager, University of Westminster

The numbers are in

£263,354

Value donated to good causes

46,513kg

Saved from landfill and incineration

224,540kg

Embodied carbon saving

21%

Saving on disposal costs

How much CO2 is that?

Watch TV for 56,041 days non-stop

Power a house for 6,304 days

Produce beef for 89,816 burgers

Drive a car for 8,720 hours non-stop

Light a bulb for 1,975 years continuously

Burn 79 tonnes of coal

101 New Cavendish Street reuse statistics

The problem

Rents in London are high and most companies cannot leave a building empty for a period at the end of a tenancy and afford the luxury of having an empty office to clear.

This was a working office, the clearance had to be done in stages as teams were to be moved one at a time. Furniture and equipment could only be dismantled and cleared from the building on specific evenings and weekends.

Clearance teams also had to leave the office tidy and clean to minimise disruption to staff who continued to work.

"Often during a refurbishment you’re having to move people around, inconveniencing them. Being able to show staff that their old desk and chair was being used by a charity, a school or a local community group made a massive difference. It turned what could have been an issue into a good news story”

Jordan Lamb, Sustainability Manager, University of Westminster

The Work

Reyooz surveyed the entire office ahead of the first scheduled clearance date. Using our app to record a photographic inventory of every item in the building.

The inventory serves as a precise record of the contents. For the University, this made it easy for them to specifiy what was to be cleared and on what dates. Some items were also to be set aside for employees who wanted to take them with them to their new office.

Collaboration and communication

Almost every large scale move and clearance involves several third parties working side by side. Reyooz worked closely with the University projects teams and third party contractors.

After each successive clearance, Reyooz provides a record of what was dismantled and removed, helping the University and third parties to monitor progress and manage expectations.

612 Chairs
483 Desks and tables
396 Cabinets
440 Pedestals
500kg Office Supplies

The results

The project saved over 46 tonnes of office furniture and equipment from landfill and incineration, saving around 240 tonnes of embodied carbon. More than £260,000 of goods was redistributed and reused by over 120 charities, schools and small businesses.

"As a member of the sustainability team, the infographics Reyooz provide makes my job so much easier - they show the difference reuse makes in a clear and simple way that makes sense to everyone.

As a University, students and staff rightly expect us to do the right thing for the planet and for the community. Working with Reyooz is one of the most effective ways we can do that."

Social Impact

“Reyooz helped us get this new health centre open in double-quick time and that’s going to save lives. We didn’t believe this would actually happen until the desks and cabinets started arriving on trucks and were being fitted into the consultation rooms.”

“Getting furniture this cheap is brilliant. The huge sofa makes such a difference to the space, it's far more welcoming than it was before. Thank you Reyooz.”

“If we didn’t have access to great office furniture from Reyooz, I am not sure if we would have been able to open our most recent training centre in Harrow.”

Join the Reyooz revolution

Getting started with Reyooz is free, our clients only pay for results.

Book a call hello@reyooz.com

Learn more about the full Reyooz office clearance experience.

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Office

Reyooz Limited,
Third Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London.
EC2A 4NE

Warehouse

Reyooz Warehouse,
Node Farm, Bury Lane, Codicote, Hertfordshire.
SG4 8TS

Reyooz is a limited company registered in England & Wales Company Number 08874735