How to measure emissions from Furniture

What counts as Furniture

Office and other furniture purchased by the organisation — desks, chairs, storage units, sofas and related fittings — recorded as purchased goods at point of purchase. Excludes furniture purchased for resale by a retailer or wholesaler, and excludes fixed building fit-out items recorded under Construction.

Furniture is a purchased-goods category distinct from general Materials or Construction: use Furniture for discrete, movable items such as desks, chairs and storage, and Construction for fixed fit-out works like partitioning or flooring installed as part of a building project. Where an office refurbishment includes both new furniture and construction works on the same invoice, split the two so each is recorded against the correct sub-type and unit.

What activity data you need

Collect the most specific physical unit available. Unit definitions are in Appendix I — Description of Units.

• Unit
• £ Spend
• $ Spend
• tonne

Which emission scope it falls under

Furniture activity data typically maps to Scope 3 Category 1 under the GHG Protocol. Confirm organisational boundary and ownership before reporting.

Sub-types available in the platform

All 15 sub-types available in the platform.

• Armchair: Average
• Chair: Beam seating: Average
• Chair: Visitor chair
• Chair: Work chair
• Desk: Average
• Desk: Six-people bench desk: Average
• Desk: Wave desk: Average
• Desk: Work station: Average
• Furniture: Average: UK
• Medical furniture: Average: UK
• Office furniture: Average
• Sofa: Average
• Storage: Desk high pedestal: Average
• Storage: Wood filing cabinet: Average
• Table: Dining table

Common questions

How do we record a bulk office refit that mixes desks, chairs and storage?

Split the invoice or purchase order by item type where the supplier provides a breakdown, recording unit counts against Desk, Chair and Storage sub-types separately; only fall back to a single spend figure under "Office furniture: Average" if no breakdown exists.

Does furniture we lease rather than buy still count here?

Leased furniture is typically an upstream leased asset or a service, not a purchased good — check whether your lease is a capital or operating lease and record accordingly; this entry is for furniture the organisation purchases outright.

Should refurbished or second-hand furniture be recorded the same as new?

Record the purchase (unit count or spend) the same way, but note in your methodology that the item is refurbished or second-hand if your platform allows a distinction, since reused furniture typically carries a materially lower purchased-goods footprint.

We buy furniture in a currency other than GBP — how should we record spend?

Convert to your reporting currency using a consistent exchange rate methodology (e.g. average annual rate or transaction-date rate) and document which approach you used, so year-on-year spend comparisons remain meaningful.

Does disposal of old furniture count in this entry?

No — disposal of furniture at end of life is a waste activity; record it under the relevant waste entry (e.g. Waste: Average or a materials-specific waste stream) rather than against this purchased-goods entry.