Reducing Waste and Supporting Communities Through Asset Recovery Partnerships
The Australian construction industry sends a staggering six million tonnes of waste to landfill annually. To combat this, more companies are developing strategies that transform their processes from linear to circular systems. A priority of the circular economy is to reuse and recycle materials in ways that retain their functionality. A number of Sheldon’s recent office fitouts involve the transformation of an existing office space. Our team extended the lifetime of existing elements by either incorporating them into the refurbished workplace, or donating them to community organisations through a defit process.
At Sheldon's recent adaptive reuse project across 320 Pitt St, Sydney, where we are converting an existing coworking complex into private speculative suites, we collaborated with Project Net Zero to undertake an asset recovery program to donate existing furniture that was not reused in the new offices.
Partnering with Project Net Zero
Project Net Zero is a 100% Indigenous-owned business that specialises in providing defit services to companies. These services include managing loose furniture and fixed assets, conducting make-good processes, and sourcing community donors for asset recovery. At 320 Pitt St, Sheldon worked with Project Net Zero to recover unused workstations and furniture from levels 9 & 10. These items were donated to various charitable organisations, which reduced the project's waste, carbon footprint, and the need for new manufacturing, while supporting local communities.
The Defit Process
The scope of the defit process undertaken by Project Net Zero included:
Collecting all specified loose assets from the site.
Coordinating the delivery and storage of assets.
Conducting inventory assessments to identify items suitable for donation or recycling.
Sorting and delivering donations to community organisations.
Managing the auctioning of remaining items for reuse.
Providing a detailed report to Sheldon Interiors about the sustainability outcomes.
Sustainability Achievements
Through this asset recovery process, 296 workstations were removed from the site and donated, diverting 7,393 kg of material from landfill. Additionally, 109 items weighing 2,702 kg were donated to organisations including One Hand One Heart, Serving Our People, the Sydney Aboriginal Family Support Service, and Togoba Kofi, thanks to support from Charter Hall. Remaining items were sent to Project Net Zero’s warehouse to be auctioned or sold, further promoting the reuse of materials and contributing to the circular economy.
Community Impact
The furniture and equipment recovered from 320 Pitt St was distributed to community organisations including:
One Hand One Heart: A not-for-profit organisation that addresses social issues affecting marginalised groups, including Aboriginal and refugee communities. Fifty desks were donated to this organisation.
Serving Our People: A fast-growing charity established during the pandemic to provide essential items to people in crisis. They received eight desks from the project.
Sydney Aboriginal Family Support Service (SAFSS): An organisation dedicated to empowering Aboriginal families through culturally safe support. Five desks were donated to a family in need.
Togoba Kofi: A Papua New Guinean initiative founded by Fredrick Koldop that exports coffee to Australia and returns with supplies to support schools, hospitals, and communities in remote villages. Fifteen desks were donated to this effort.
For more information about how Sheldon prioritises sustainability in fitouts, including circular economy initiatives, adaptive reuse and asset recovery, reach out to our team via sustainability@sheldon.com.au.
