Office furniture reuse and circular economy: the Kytom method

For an 850 m² office headquarters hosting 70 employees, furniture can represent several dozen to several hundred tonnes of CO2 equivalent according to the INIES database, a footprint often higher than the building’s annual heating, an order of magnitude to be refined during the stock diagnostics. BREEAM In-Use certification is valid for 3 years, unlike BREEAM New Construction and Refurbishment which have no expiry date, and rewards the reuse rate with 4 to 8 points on the Materials criterion. The eco-organisations Valdelia and Ecomaison ensure the regulatory traceability of outgoing flows, an audit requirement for the statutory auditor.

The Kytom method in 5 steps over 12 weeks

The method unfolds in 5 phases coordinated by the relevant Kytom agency:

1. Stock diagnostics (weeks 1-2): room-by-room inventory, photographs, technical assessment of seating, worktops, partitions and storage. Target reuse rate: 40 to 70% depending on the nature of the stock and fit-out constraints.
2. Fit-out plan (weeks 3-4): integration of retained furniture, complementary sourcing via 15 referenced partners (Valdelia, Adopte un Bureau, Bluedigo).
3. Workshop refurbishment (weeks 5-9): deep cleaning, reupholstering of seating, retapestry, epoxy painting of metal frames. 2-year guarantee, with a durability requirement aligned with the BIFMA e3 framework (credit 6.2.2 Design for Durability), which requires a minimum of 20% by weight of recyclable materials in the product (BIFMA, 2019).
4. Custom upcycling (weeks 8-10): transformation of meeting tables into acoustic panels, conversion of cabinets into individual lockers, design added value validated by the dedicated interior architect.
5. Delivery and traceability (weeks 11-12): material sheets per batch, reuse certificates, carbon avoidance calculation based on INIES.

Each agency mobilises a team of referents trained in reuse, for projects of 200 to 5,000 m². Heritage furniture benefits from a reinforced refurbishment protocol, with potential return to the original manufacturer for emblematic pieces.

Methodological limit. The custom upcycling phase is not justified below 30 transformable pieces: the workshop cost becomes higher than the equivalent new purchase. This is a threshold we have learned to identify on our recent projects. On these scopes, we recommend upcycling restricted to 5 to 8 emblematic pieces in the reception area, with the rest moving to standard refurbishment.

For the CFO and Asset Manager: reuse as an accounting asset, not a CSR gesture

Furniture reuse is too often filed under the CSR line of the summary note. This is an accounting framing error. On our recent projects, a new workstation generally costs between €1,500 and €3,500 excl. VAT, against €400 to €1,200 excl. VAT for a refurbished equivalent, guaranteed for 2 years by the reconditioner. For a 70-workstation headquarters, the gap represents €77,000 to €161,000 excl. VAT, or 6 to 14 months of rent avoided on an average Greater Paris office asset.

Three direct implications for the finance department and the asset manager:

• CAPEX vs reclassified OPEX: refurbished furniture is depreciated over the same fiscal period (5 to 10 years depending on category, BOI-BIC-AMT-10-40-30) as new. The depreciable base decreases by 30 to 60% with no reduction in useful life, improving the depreciation/result ratio.
• CSRD ESRS E5 reporting: circularity indicators (incoming reuse rate, tonnes avoided) become consolidated KPIs, audited by the statutory auditor. Untracked data is data that cannot be valued in extra-financial ratings (EcoVadis, CDP, MSCI).
• Asset value and tertiary energy regulatory trajectory: furniture reuse does not count towards the tertiary energy regulatory trajectory, but feeds the asset’s ESG score, a criterion increasingly scrutinised during SCPI and OPCI arbitrage.

For the CFO, the framing test boils down to one question: does the furniture item appear in the annual circular balance sheet with tonnes avoided and euros documented?

Measured benefits on our delivered circular projects

On our delivered circular projects, we observe significant budget savings on the furniture item, measurable carbon avoidance and additional points obtained on environmental certifications. The implementation time is slightly longer than a new purchase, offset by the economic and extra-financial benefits documented in the CSR report.

These observations apply excluding projects under 200 m² and stock over 15 years old, excluded from the methodological scope for the reasons set out in section 1.

Method

1. Audit of the existing stock
   Physical inventory workstation by workstation with geolocated photo record. Classification into four categories: reusable, refurbishable, upcyclable, to be recycled. Deliverable within 5 to 10 days with quantified valuation.
2. Definition of the circular mix
   Arbitrage between retention, refurbishment, upcycling and refurbished purchase. Validation of a visual charter to ensure aesthetic consistency. Budget framing and avoided carbon commitment.
3. Complementary sourcing
   Activation of partner channels (Bluedigo, Adopte un Bureau, Tricycle Office) to meet needs. Reservation 6 to 8 weeks before installation to secure high-end models with a minimum 12-month guarantee.
4. Workshop refurbishment
   Selected pieces sent to a partner workshop: resanding, recovering, replacement of wear parts. 12-point quality control before return to site. Average lead time: 2 to 3 weeks depending on volume.
5. Installation and carbon reporting
   Installation coordinated with new items, finishes and adjustments. Issuance of an avoided carbon certificate based on a recognised methodology, usable in your Scope 3 assessment and your CSR or CSRD report.