UNSW introduces sustainable furniture reuse program
UNSW Strategic Procurement and Estate Management have launched a new furniture panel to improve standardisation, sustainability, and value for the whole University.
Published on the 26 July 2019
The new furniture panel establishes which furniture companies to use when buying furniture for University use. The updated panel increases standardisation, sustainability, and whole-life value for UNSW, with nine sustainable and ethical furniture companies chosen.
ESP Focus Area: Buildings & Campus
UNSW made a series of commitments to sustainability with the recently launched Environmental Sustainability Plan, including a goal to reduce general waste to 10% by 2022.
Nationally, furniture disposal is a significant part of waste, making up 30% of Australia's landfill. The new furniture panel helps to combat this issue by selecting sustainable suppliers with a focus on whole-life value. This reduces throwaway behaviours with higher quality products made from recyclable materials and minimum 10-year warranties.
Nine sustainable and ethical furniture companies were chosen for the new panel through an open-market tender process, ensuring better value and higher quality through dedicated relationships with select suppliers. These range from large international and domestic suppliers to a dedicated Indigenous-owned supplier, Winya, which supports and encourages Indigenous training and employment growth.
UNSW's furniture panel is complemented by a furniture reuse program, which allows UNSW's faculties, departments, and organisations to reuse valuable furniture and reduce waste.
When purchasing furniture for the University, please follow this process:
- Check the furniture reuse program
- Look at the University's furniture panel (select 'Furniture' and press Search)
Please contact UNSW Procurement if you need to use a different company than the options listed on the furniture panel.
If you are purchasing furniture at a high volume (over $100,000), please contact Procurement directly.
The nine companies selected by UNSW for the new furniture panel are:
Large/Medium Domestic Suppliers
- Sebel Pty Ltd
- Watts Office Furniture Manufacturing Pty Ltd
- Schiavello Systems Pty Ltd
- OfficePace t/a AMS Furniture
Large/Medium International Suppliers
- Unifor Australia Pty Ltd
- Living Edge Aust Pty Ltd
- Work Arena Pty Ltd
- Business Interiors Pty Ltd t/a Winc Australia
Indigenous Supplier/Small Medium Enterprise
- Winya Indigenous Furniture Pty Ltd
For more information on furniture procurement and reuse at UNSW, visit the Estate Management intranet site. This article first appeared on Inside UNSW.