
Circular Economy
For 30 years we have been the frontrunner when it comes to sustainability and circularity. Quite simply, it’s in our genes. We strive for the most sustainable solution of all: to create quality products, which we can reuse endlessly. The four steps we go through in the production process are as follows.
Circular and sustainable design
In the 1930s, the heavy Ahrend desks were made entirely of steel. It’s hard for us to imagine that now, as those desks were so heavy they were impossible to move around. Over the ensuing decades the function of the office changed, and the managing director was no longer the only one with a desk. Working in offices became more and more common during the ’60s and ’70s. The open-plan work environment evolved during this period, with multiple desks in a single space. A need arose for flexible, mobile furniture. In order to facilitate this, the products had to be made lighter.

Ecodesign

Cradle to Cradle
Following the introduction of Ecodesign, sustainable design evolved further. This led to Ahrend developing products in accordance with the Cradle to Cradle philosophy. This did not simply look at reducing the environmental impact by using less material: the quality of the materials was also taken into account. We can only use decent, healthy and safe materials within the circular economy. We do not assess this ourselves: an external body analyses the materials for their circular qualities. Right up to the modern day, Cradle to Cradle and Ecodesign are the foundations of our circular product design.
Circular services

Making optimum use of products

Circular value retention
Having implemented circular design for decades, always improving the sustainability of our products, we are now reaping the rewards. Many of the products we developed according to circular principles thirty years ago, are now coming back to us to be reused or revitalised. The trick is to keep the value of the product as high as possible and to prevent materials from needing to be recycled for as long as possible.
We achieve this through our circular services, which help our clients to fulfil their circular ambitions. If you have a lot of products left over that are no longer in use, we can make sure they will be reused by a new user. If the products have aged somewhat but still have plenty of life in them, we can repair and revitalise them on site. If the products require greater modification or could even be used in a different function, we will create a new design and give a second life to products or reuse their components.

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