Overview
Financial Services
Nationwide Program
2016 – Present
Green Standards and PNC have worked together since 2016 to decommission and remove no longer needed furniture and equipment from dozens of corporate offices across the US. More than 75 schools and non-profit organizations benefited from the office furniture redistribution program where these in-kind donations revitalize classrooms, reduce waste and help the environment.
The Objective
For PNC Financial, reducing their carbon footprint while revitalizing their nation-wide corporate offices was a significant goal. Across over 30 projects, with more planned, their fundamental approach to corporate waste sparked a partnership with Green Standards, managing and measuring their impact on local communities as well as the environment.
PNC’s corporate real estate and corporate social responsibility teams demonstrated leadership in regards to their sustainability efforts acknowledging the unique opportunity to further reach their industry-leading corporate responsibility goals.
The Challenge
PNC required a turnkey provider with the specialized knowledge, networks, and processes in place to facilitate the decommission and donation of tens of thousands of items while maintaining project timelines and budgets.
With a 95%+ landfill diversion goal, they required in-depth reporting to benchmark the environmental and social performance of their projects, including landfill diversion metrics, item-by-item tracking, and estimates of the fair market value of in-kind donations and CO2e offsets.
Previous to a partnership with Green Standards, reporting on performance was limited by the capacities of regional business units and multiple vendors, providing little transparency and
greater costs through their decommissions.
PNC strives to reduce our impact on the natural resources that surround us every day. With Green Standards, PNC reduces the amount of waste sent to the landfill while making a difference for schools and non-profit organizations across the country.”
Nana Wilberforce
Energy Manager, PNC Financial
The Solution
Green Standards took responsibility for the entire process; from onboarding and managing commercial movers, to engaging eligible local non-profits, coordinating and documenting asset delivery, and providing environmental and community impact reporting.
To bolster PNC’s existing community investment initiatives, Green Standards connected with PNC’s Corporate Social Responsibility teams, PNC Foundation and the Charitable Trust Group, to target specific community partners for donation.
Project Sites
- Pittsburgh
- Philadelphia
- Chicago
- Minneapolis
- Houston
- Cleveland
- Burlington
- Pasadena
The Results
Since 2016, PNC has deployed Green Standards services nation-wide, including in more than 30 office projects in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, Minnesota and New Jersey. Overall, these projects have achieved a landfill diversion rate of 98%. Of the 1,483 tons of office equipment diverted from landfill, 56% was recycled, and 31% was donated to more than 80 non-profit organizations.
The in-kind donations to date, valued at $705,933 have benefited numerous partner organizations including United Way, Habitat For Humanity and The Sto-Rox, Monessen and
Carlynton School Districts.
PNC has demonstrated that sustainability matters across its office footprint. By planning ahead and thinking twice about its furniture, PNC will benefit dozens of organizations while practically eliminating this type of waste.”
Jonathan Milnes
Strategic Accounts Manager
Green Standards
Asset Distribution (by weight)
- Resale
- Donation
- Recycling
- Landfill
- Relocation
“This has been a tough year,” said Debra Kozar, the Instructional Technology and PIMS Data Coordinator for the school district. “We couldn’t purchase anything last year.”
With the help of Green Standards, a specialized environmental firm that helps corporations reuse their furniture in a number of ways, including through donations to schools, offices and non-profit organizations, nearly 70 chairs have found new life in the Monessen High School.
Without these donations, we would have had to find a way to repair wooden chairs that were 35 years old, we and our students are so grateful to have this new-to-us furniture.”
