Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Green Office Furniture - Benefits To The Environment

By Daniel Harris

In this era of ruthless attack of pollution and rapidly declining forest zones on the planet, the need to go green is greater than ever. Using green office furniture is one of the newest steps in this regard and it can go a long way in building an environment friendly business.

One way of lightening the load on the environment is to opt for modular offices. As these offices have minimum material requirements, they don't lead to several trees being cut down . Apart from being environment friendly, it also cuts down the company's expenses. Modular offices are quite cost effective, and their rents are lower as they take up lesser floor space.

Used or recycled furniture placed in offices also enormously helps in conserving the rapidly depleting natural resources. This kind of furniture is suitable for any type of office and requires only minimum alterations to look as good as new. Because of the present economic downslide, several companies are out of business and are auctioning their furniture at very low rates, which presents an excellent opportunity to cut down office costs. The non-renewable resources of the planet are conserved by use of such furniture, without compromising on quality and comfort.

Even brand new furniture can be green furniture if certain considerations are kept in mind. The furniture materials must be reusable and must have been manufactured locally so that transportation would not lead to large emissions.

Make sure that lethal chemicals such as CFCs and HCFCs, which cause tremendous damage to the ozone layer, have not been made use of in the production of foams. The wood for the furniture that you purchase must not have come from delicate forest ecosystems. Finally, purchasing more furniture than you need must be avoided and you must be frugal in your use of products.

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