5 Budget-Friendly Ways to Create a Sustainable Office for SMEs

Ida Gorecka • January 28, 2025

As an SME, every business decision needs to work hard for your money. When you're looking at your office setup, trying to balance costs, appearance, and environmental responsibility, it often feels like something has to give. After helping hundreds of SMEs tackle these exact challenges with second-hand office furniture solutions, we know it doesn't have to be this way.


Here are five practical ways to maintain an office that works for your business, your budget, and the planet.

1. Support the Circular Economy with Your Existing Office Furniture

Before buying new furniture, take a good look at what you've got. Those used office chairs with worn fabric? That tired office desk that's still solid underneath? They're probably worth saving. Not sure about the potential of your existing furniture? Our team can provide an assessment of what's worth refurbishing. Get in touch with us to find out more.


Think about:


  • Which pieces are structurally sound but just look worn?
  • Could reupholstering chairs in your brand colours add value?
  • What would it cost to replace versus refurbish?


Most premium office furniture is built to last 15-20 years but often gets replaced much sooner simply because it looks tired or worn out. At Coggin SOS, we specialise in refurbishing second-hand office furnitureinto pieces that look and work like new, for about a third of the replacement cost. It's not just a quick clean - our office furniture recycling processinvolves stripping everything down to the frame, replacing worn components, rebuilding mechanisms, and restoring finishes. 


Working with industry leaders likeInsightful Environments and Restore Harrow Greenmeans we maintain the highest standards, ensuring every refurbished office furniture piece meets the original manufacturer specifications. Plus, the majority of our second-hand office furniture comes with a comprehensive 12-month guarantee, giving you complete peace of mind.

2. Buy Smart When You Need More Office Furniture

When you do need additional furniture, this is where knowledge of the used office furniture market makes all the difference. While browsing new furniture catalogues with their high-end prices, many businesses like yours miss out on office furniture clearance options and second-hand office chairs that could save them thousands while delivering the same quality.


Take a premium used office chair like the Herman Miller Aeron. New, it costs around £1,600. At Coggin, our refurbished office furniture version costs about £595. Same chair, same quality, backed by our 12-month warranty. Looking for quality second-hand office furniture? Contact our team to explore our current stock.


Every purchase from our refurbished office furniture range comes with our Savings Certificate, documenting the exact environmental impact savings that you can include in your ESG reporting and share with stakeholders.


Unlike standard new furniture orders with their lengthy lead times, our second-hand office furniture can be delivered in 10 days. Plus, we maintain extensive stock of premium brands that can be customised to your exact specifications - from custom finishes to bespoke sizes, ensuring a perfect fit for your space and adding to our office furniture recycling mission.

3. Turn Your Office Clearances into an Advantage

Need office furniture removal? Most businesses simply pay someone to take and throw it away, missing a valuable opportunity. Our zero-landfill office clearance service at Coggin doesn't just handle office furniture recycling - it feeds into a circular economy that benefits everyone. We assess each piece of second-hand office furniture for its potential, refurbish what we can through our office furniture recycling process, carefully separate materials for specific recycling, and provide detailed documentation of your environmental impact.


Why does this documentation matter? Increasingly, companies looking to process office furniture clearance need to prove their environmental credentials to win contracts. When you choose our office furniture removal service, our environmental impact certificates and reports show exactly how much used office furniture you've kept from landfill and how much carbon you've saved through recycled office furniture initiatives.

4. Build a Long-Term Sustainable Strategy

Creating a sustainable office isn't about making one-off decisions, but developing a strategy that grows with your business. Through our partnerships with companies like Restore Harrow Green and Insightful Environments, we've helped countless businesses develop sustainable office furniture strategies that support their growth.


At Coggin, we start by understanding your current situation: 


What office furniture for sale could be recycled? 


Which used office chairs could benefit from our office furniture recycling service? 


How might your office clearance needs change in the next few years?


What environmental credentials from recycled office furniture would help you win more business? 


Then we look at ongoing management - how regular maintenance can extend second-hand office furniture life, how flexible solutions let you adapt as you grow, and how proper documentation of your refurbished office furniture helps prove your environmental commitment.


Have any office furniture that could benefit from refurbishing and supporting the circular economy? Get in touch with our team today and let’s discuss your options.

5. Implement Protective Measures for Your Furniture

Simple protective measures are often the smartest preventive investment for your office furniture. Desk mats, chair mats, and corner protectors might seem basic, but they're remarkably effective at preventing costly damage to recycled office furniture. A £30 chair mat can prevent years of carpet wear and make used office chairs roll smoothly, while desk mats protect furniture surfaces from scratches and spills. Corner protectors, particularly in high-traffic areas, prevent those expensive chips and dents that can make otherwise perfect office furniture look tired and worn.


These small upfront investments in protection typically save you money in the long run by reducing premature wear and extending the life of your furniture. When furniture eventually needs refurbishment, well-protected pieces are generally much easier to restore to their original condition.

Smart Office Solutions That Work For Your Budget

As an SME, every decision about your office needs to balance immediate costs against long-term value. Supporting the circular economy and creating a more sustainable workspace doesn't have to be expensive or complex. It can be as straightforward as choosing refurbished furniture over new, maintaining what you already have, or planning ahead for future changes. Each choice you make not only reduces costs but also strengthens your business's environmental credentials.


Want to understand your options better? Our team is happy to share two decades of expertise about what might work for your situation. Contact us today and let’s have a chat about your sustainable office needs.

One Size Doesn't Fit All: The Benefits of Resizing and Repurposing Office Desks

By Ida Gorecka • September 8, 2025
Your office transformation is approved. Budget's signed off. New layout's finalised. There's just one problem: those 1600mm executive desks that worked perfectly in the old corner offices are now 400mm too wide for your new collaborative pods. The reception desk you spent £3,000 on last year? It's the wrong height entirely for your rebrand. Most facilities managers would see this as a disposal problem. Skip hire , landfill tax , 12-week lead times for replacements. But what if that's completely backwards? What if the furniture that doesn't fit isn't a problem to solve, but an asset to unlock? Every year in the UK, around 1.2 million desks and 1.8 million office chairs are sent to landfill and only 14 % of them are being reused (Source: WRAP , Lancashire Business View ). Those old, "wrong-sized" desks you're planning to skip? They can be professionally refurbished and resized to your exact specifications in 7-10 days , at 40-70% less than new , with zero waste and a 12-month warranty . This article is for facilities managers, procurement leads, and fit-out teams who want practical, product-focused solutions. You’ll see when resizing and repurposing makes sense, the savings it delivers, the compliance boxes it ticks, and how to roll it out step by step. Curious what your current desks could deliver if resized or refurbished? Book a free assessment - we’ll map options, costs, and timelines for you.

Why Paying More Isn't Always Better: The Smart Choice of Refurbished Ergonomic Chairs

By Ida Gorecka • August 19, 2025
Refitting an office today means juggling a lot: tighter budgets, faster timelines, and pressure to deliver on ESG goals. And when it comes to ergonomic chairs, the one piece of furniture an office team relies on every day, many assume paying more for “new” automatically means better. But that’s no longer true. Refurbished ergonomic chairs offer the same comfort , durability , and support as new, backed by warranties , come with less cost and with far shorter lead times . For facilities and procurement teams, that means more budget freed up for other priorities, and fewer delays holding back your project. At Coggin SOS, we work with organisations that once assumed refurbished meant second-best. Until they saw the results. High-performance, fully warranted ergonomic chairs. Fast delivery. Circular outcomes they could actually report on. And savings of up to 80% compared to new (check out our case studies here ). In this article, you’ll learn what refurbished office chairs really offer in practice, why they’re becoming a preferred option for FM teams and procurement leads, and how your next fit-out or move could be both greener and smarter than you think. Thinking about your next office project? Contact our team and see how premium refurbished ergonomic chairs can give you comfort, savings, and sustainability in one.

Beyond Recycling: The Role of Office Furniture in a Truly Sustainable Economy

By Ida Gorecka • August 7, 2025
If you're here, you're probably managing a lot. A relocation, a refurbishment, or a growing ESG brief. Maybe you’re under pressure to meet sustainability targets, stay on budget, and deliver results your team and clients can actually see. And right now, office furniture might not be on your radar. But it should be. In most organisations, furniture is still treated as an afterthought. It’s functional, it’s bulky, and when it’s no longer needed, it’s often sent straight to landfill. But here’s the truth: when you start thinking of office furniture as a strategic asset within the circular economy , everything changes. For your budget . Your carbon reporting . Your project timelines . Your reputation . This article is for you if you’re tired of defaulting to skips. If you want smarter ways to meet ESG goals without blowing your budget. If you’re ready to make office sustainability a measurable advantage - not just a checkbox. We’ll show you just how much office furniture is wasted each year, what it’s really costing your business, and how the circular economy can apply directly to your projects. You’ll learn how organisations like yours are saving thousands, avoiding skips entirely, and turning unwanted furniture into reportable ESG wins - plus practical steps to get started today. Curious what your office clearance could be worth? Get in touch with our team for a free circular furniture audit.