GM embraces repurpose program

The automaker General Motors, along with its partners Herman Mill, an office furniture company, and Green Standards, an environmental firm, are working together to transform and update GM’s office space, while at the same time repurposing tens of thousands of pieces of office furniture and equipment to various Michigan-based community organizations.

GM notes that the program also follows along with the company’s landfill-free approach.

The project is being undertaken by Herman Miller’s rePurpose Program, which is managed by Green Standards, which works with corporations and other large organizations to responsibly redistribute no-longer-needed surplus office furniture, equipment and supplies through a combination of resale, recycling and donation.

Through the repurpose program, GM will divert from the landfill nearly all existing furniture, equipment and supplies resulting from renovations taking place at GM’s Technical Center in Warren, Michigan, its proving ground in Milford, Michigan and its global headquarters in Detroit.

GM will reallocate some assets to other company locations.

“We view waste as just a resource out of place,” says David Tulauskas, GM sustainability director. “This reuse program enables us to reduce our environmental footprint while making a positive contribution to our community.”

The partnership between GM and the Herman Miller’s rePurpose program came from GM’s $1 billion investment in its Warren Technical Center campus that was announced in May 2015.

To date, GM has diverted 550 tons of office materials from the landfill through the rePurpose program. Over its lifetime, the program is estimated to have diverted more than 2,000 tons of materials.