Office design and build company Oktra has partnered with circular economy platform Material Index to drive higher levels of office material reuse and prevent thousands of tonnes of waste going to the tip.
The partnership will create a marketplace for office materials such as carpets, ceiling tiles, desks, chairs, appliances and flooring a second life, aiming to keep materials out of landfill amid rising levels of office refits.
Oktra is a workspace design firm and is behind the headquarters of YouTube, Adidas, Trainline and Deliveroo. Material Index has so far audited six sites for Oktra and identified more than 3,000 tonnes of reusable material. It said that with a top-tier contractor like Oktra partnering to reduce waste, it hoped others would follow.
The move comes as the government prepares to introduce mandatory digital waste tracking in October.
According to the partnership, construction currently produces more than 60% of all UK waste and 12% to 14% of global carbon dioxide emissions, yet currently only 1% of building components are reportedly reused.
The partnership said an estimated £60bn of valuable building assets across the UK and the US were reclaimable last year alone, and it vowed to try to close the gap between waste and opportunity.
Jamie Firman, head of sustainability and environmental at Oktra, said: “A well-designed office doesn’t need to mean brand new. Reuse can become part of how a space’s identity and character are built, rather than a constraint. By extending the same thinking we already apply to workspaces to the materials themselves, we can give furniture, flooring and fittings a life beyond a single lease.
“As companies look for their office to say something authentic about their values, being able to point to considered, second-life materials adds a genuine layer to that story. Every move or refurbishment is an opportunity to unlock value from existing assets that might otherwise be waste, and reclaimed materials are often more cost-effective and quicker to source than new, adding welcome security to a volatile supply chain.”
Rob Smith, managing director of Material Index, said: “We have been working with Oktra now for over one year, so it feels good to formalise the relationship with this licence agreement. It will bring consistency and structure across the two organisations, allowing Oktra the autonomy to carry out site audits themselves using the MI AI-enabled audit tool, push materials to our marketplace or bring Material Index in for additional support at a discounted price.”
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