How United Airlines’ Eco-Skies Alliance incorporated our work

INDUSTRY
Aviation, Transportation

COMPANY SIZE
75,000

HEADQUARTERS
Chicago, Illinois

When United Airlines moved the Houston Corporate Support Center to its new location, the company partnered with Green Standards to divert their surplus office furniture and equipment from landfills and instead donate them to local non-profits in Greater Houston.

truck sending furniture to landfill

LANDFILL DIVERSION RATE (728.3 TONS)

0%

Saving money

IN-KIND DONATIONS

$0+

Green Standards provides free furniture donations to registered non-profits

NON-PROFIT BENEFICIARIES

0

Green Standards donates office chairs to non-profits and charitable organizations

EMPLOYEES WORTH OF FURNITURE

0+

SQUARE FEET OF OFFICES

0+

METRIC TONS OF CO2e EMISSIONS AVOIDED

0

Challenge

United was consolidating two offices and moving their 1,400 Houston employees to one newly constructed tower and partnered with Green Standards to look at innovative ways that they could give back to the community and also be environmentally conscious with the 360,000 square feet of offices they were leaving behind.

United’s core business is moving people safely from one location to another. With over 1,400 employees being relocated and 14 floors of surplus office furnishings, it created the need for a more complex, multi-channeled disposition strategy to handle and mitigate what they would not be bringing with them.

“United Airlines really wants to lead by example and maximize our potential and sustainable efforts. We really wanted the expertise and to leverage someone who’s an industry expert and Green Standards gave us that opportunity.”

Roxana Mora

Senior Project Manager, Corporate Real Estate

United Airlines

Solution

Green Standards took responsibility for the entire process, including the dismantling, removal and relocation of each item, and coordinating between the movers, buyers, local non-profits and specialized recyclers. It also provided documentation and in-depth environmental and social impact reporting to help United Airlines capture and review the outcome of the project.

By combining donation, resale, and recycling strategies with turnkey project management, Green Standards maximized asset recovery, streamlined community donation, and virtually eliminated waste.

Green Standards and United donate furniture in Texas

Result

Through Green Standards platform, United was able to repurpose valuable products with a 100% landfill diversion rate on 500+ tons of surplus assets. The majority of items – including tables, desks, chairs, shelves, and drawers – were either resold, recycled or donated, reducing costs, while benefiting the environment and local community groups.

Project Recap & Achievements

  • United Airlines Donate Surplus Furniture in Houston
  • 360,000 Square Feet of Corporate Real-Estate
  • 2 Buildings across 14 Floors
  • 1,400+ Employees on the move
  • Cost-competitive to conventional solutions
  • 100% (728 tons) Landfill Diversion
  • 2,196 Metric Tons of CO2e emissions avoided
  • $278,779 of In-Kind Donation to Non-Profits
  • 18 Houston unique Non-Profits received donations
  • Beneficiaries reported more functional, and safe working environments

Asset Distribution

Resale

Donation

Recycling

Relocation

Landfill

Beneficiary Spotlight

Green Standards and United donate furniture in Texas

American Red Cross

“Because of this partnership with Green Standards and United Airlines, we’re able to save the money we would have to spend on office equipment and we can put that right back into the mission delivery. ”

Henry Van de Putte, Regional CEO

American Red Cross Texas Gulf Coast Region

In the media

How Green Standards is Helping Offices Reduce Waste by Selling or Donating Their Furniture ↗

How Green Standards is Helping Offices Reduce Waste by Selling or Donating Their Furniture ↗

Business Insider

In the Media

The United Airlines model can work for your company and community.

More Client Stories

A new design solution for all of Adobe’s office relocations

Texas

Everything’s bigger in Texas — including our social impact