The Flemish government’s Facility Services Agency opts for circular office furnishings

Interreg NSR ProCirc Pilot

With its framework contracts for refurbished office furniture, the Facilities Agency of the Flemish government (HFB) wants to encourage the Flemish government and local authorities to make circular choices.

Why buy new furniture when you already have everything you need for a fresh, new interior? Based on this philosophy, HFB concluded two framework contracts in 2019 for the refurbishment of furniture with Nearly New Office Facilities (Nnof).

The first framework contract focused on the refurbishment of own furniture that is in need of refurbishment. You could call on Nnof to make an inventory of the existing furniture and to carry out a redevelopment study. They then take care of the collection, refurbishment and return of the renewed furniture. This set-up appeared to appeal to many governments. That is why, at the beginning of 2022, HFB concluded another contract with Nnof for this service.

A second framework contract focuses on surplus furniture. Is there furniture that no longer has room for, even after possible refurbishment? Then you can have it picked up by Nnof in exchange for credits. Nnof then ensures that the refreshed or refurbished material is available to other entities that are looking for circular pieces. They can acquire the items with a dicount based on their credits.

Circular impact

These framework contracts have already resulted in many beautiful, high-quality interiors. But for HFB, the sustainable and circular impact is especially important. Nnof's annual report maps these out, and the results are impressive! In 2021, 308,329 tons of CO2-equivalent emissions were avoided by opting for second chance and refurbished furniture. No fewer than 1,123 pieces of furniture were reused after a light refreshment. Another 1,002 pieces of furniture were reused after refurbishment. New materials are sometimes also used in this process, but this amounted to only 8% of the total amount of material. The remaining 86,944.05 kg of material was reused and thus result in avoided waste.

Interreg NSR ProCirc

By participating in the Interreg NSR ProCirc project with this pilot, HFB can inspire European partners with their pioneering experiences.

Het Facilitair Bedrijf

Sectors Office Furnishings ›

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