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Sustainability

Kentwood Office Furniture Hosts WMSBF Community Solar Town Hall Meeting

December 18th, 2013 by

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West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum presented a luncheon program examining the feasibility of community solar and similar solar energy initiatives in West Michigan on Monday, December 9, at Kentwood Office Furniture from 12 to 2 pm. Featured speakers included David Konkle, Energy Programs Director for the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, and Haris Alibasic, Director of the City of Grand Rapids Office of Energy and Sustainability.

One of the Midwest’s most accomplished renewable energy advocates, Konkle was the lead author of the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association’s Community Solar Guidebook for Michigan, a partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corp. He shared various models available for community solar in Michigan and outlined some potential plans for how the business community could lead such an initiative. Alibasic shared a concept for redeveloping the Butterworth landfill in Grand Rapids as a solar energy field. The meeting concluded with a town hall on community solar featuring Konkle and representatives of the WMSBF Energy Committee and the Michigan Alternative & Renewable Energy Center at Grand Valley State University.

Konkle retired from the City of Ann Arbor in 2008 and is currently the Energy Programs Director for the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. He has made a lifelong commitment to educating people on energy issues and the importance of combating climate change and preparing for the end of the fossil fuel age. A nationally known speaker, Konkle has presented at national meetings of the US Department of Energy, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Dept of Agriculture, the American Planning Association, the US Green Building Council and numerous others. Among many other honors, he was awarded the EPA’s “Climate Protection Award” for individual achievement in Washington DC on Earth Day 2003.


Kentwood Hosts WMSBF Monthly Meeting on Energy Efficiency

November 20th, 2012 by Jeff Klein

WMSBF November Meeting

Kentwood Office Furniture was pleased to host West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum’s November meeting at their Grand Rapids Showroom. The WMSBF Energy Committee, supported by the Tools & Resources Committee, introduced the Energy Assessment Guide (EAG), a complement to the Primary Self Assessment Guide (SAG). This is the next phase of the WMSBF’s DEQ grant supported pollution prevention project. The Energy Assessment Guide provides a much more comprehensive approach to evaluating knowledge and integration of energy efficiency/conservation practices. It is intended to be a valuable tool to a range of business sizes and sectors.

WMSBF November Meeting

For additional information on the WMSBF, please visit their website.


The Rapid Looks to the Future with Completed Operations Center

April 18th, 2012 by Jeff Klein

The Rapid Operations CenterThe Rapid had a specific aesthetic vision for the new facility.  Kentwood Office Furniture suggested custom options from Kimball that fit the vision and color scheme perfectly.

The Rapid has been growing steadily since its start in 2000. They required an updated and expanded space which could support current and future growth. That is just what they got with the new Wealthy Street Operations Center. The center is a LEED certified building which uses natural light to illuminate much of the building. Bus washes have water reclaim systems and the building will collect rainwater to further reduce water consumption. Solar collectors will help heat the water the facility uses, compact rooftop wind turbines will provide much of the energy needed to operate the center, and the building materials are primarily durable/recycled.

Read the rest of this entry »


With Kentwood Office, It’s Easy to be Green…

September 30th, 2010 by Jeff Klein

Kentwood Office Furniture has always had a corporate commitment to sustaining the environment. From the green color of our logo to our popular slogan, “Just Re-Do It,” we are striving to improve ourselves, our customers, and our world.

Our Facility

In 2006, Kentwood Office Furniture purchased an abandoned 140,000 square foot building from an automotive supplier in bankruptcy. Reclaiming a building and revitalizing it was a clear choice to be consistent with our values. Over the past 3 years, we have reduced our energy consumption and improved our overall efficiency. Read the rest of this entry »


Kentwood Office Furniture Hosts West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum’s September Meeting

September 22nd, 2009 by Jeff Klein

September 14, 2009 – 12:00pm to 2:00pm
Meet, greet and share knowledge at our September “Meet the Experts” lunch event at Kentwood Office Furniture.  For member and guests alike this is a key opportunity to gather practical information that will help you reduce costs, kick start sistainability activities or move your efforts to the next level.  Multiple, concurrent and rotating sessions will allow you to spend time with atleast three different topic tables to discuss: Environmental Management Systems, Product Design & Development, Facilities, Logistics, Marketing, and Remanufacturing.


Kentwood Office “Go Green” featured in MiBiz

September 21st, 2008 by Jeff Klein

Go green – save green
Monday, September 29, 2008 – MiBiz
By Jessica M. Secord | MiBiz
jsecord@mibiz.com

GRAND RAPIDS – Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Kentwood Office Furniture is doing its part to keep the environment green.

In addition to new office furniture, the company now offers remanufactured and used furniture product lines, not to be confused with refurbished or reconditioned.

As capital has become tighter across the country, many companies appear to be looking for lower-cost, high-quality solutions for their workspaces. The company believes remanufactured furniture can meet those needs. Remanufactured and used furniture as a percentage of the Kentwood Office Furniture’s business has grown steadily over the last several years.

COPYRIGHT 2008. MIBIZ.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This article appeared in the Monday, September 29, 2008 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who are employed in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz, visit http://www.mibiz.com/.


Used: A Market Again

July 1st, 2008 by Jeff Klein

Don’t look now, but used furniture is beginning to hit the market again – the first burst of activity since the dot.com era.  Corporate downsizing is pushing lots of used furniture into the pipeline once again, said Art Hasse, owner of Kentwood Office Furniture near Grand Rapids. “There are entire buildings that are being vacated by companies,” he said.  “We’re seeing a lot of downsizing.  That means that there is more used office furniture that’s not that old that’s available.”

The furniture that is being snapped up by resellers is top quality.  Hasse said his company is seeing more used office furniture that is newer as well.  “Mortgage companies, for example, when they downsize, tend to have top quality office furniture,” he said.  “This isn’t a bunch of junk out there.  We’re seeing more good furniture now than there has been for a while.”

The increase in quality furniture hitting the used market also increases the number of used buyers, Hasse said.  Companies that might have bought new are seriously considering a used purchase as a way to cut costs.

“With the tough economy, a company that might typically buy new is turning to used.  They are squeezed from a profit standpoint so they turn to us,” Hasse said.

Kentwood Office Furniture has a new logo and new marketing campaign to promote its environmental efforts.  “The customers that are out there are very green focused.  And when they look at it, the option of used furniture becomes better and better for them.  Buying used furniture is probably one of the best ways to protect the environment, he said.”
Excerpts from Monday Morning Quarterback, July 21, 2008


HON Thinks Green

April 1st, 2008 by Jeff Klein

Leading Office Furniture Manufacturer Has
Long History of Environmental Responsibility

Muscatine, IA – April 15, 2008 – Sustainability and environmental responsibility are increasingly important issues in today’s society. At The HON Company, the second-largest office furniture manufacturer in North America, conserving raw materials is not a new concept. In fact, it’s something the company has been doing since its inception.

“More than fifty years ago, HON made recipe card boxes from pieces of scrap metal generated from our contract business,” says Mindy Billingsley, environmental marketing manager. “Today, we practice one of the industry’s strongest and most comprehensive programs to conserve raw materials and reduce waste.”

Beyond HON’s dedication to sustainability in product design, the company also has a number of programs in place to save the Earth’s resources. Having adopted the old adage, “waste not, want not,” back in 1947, it remains part of HON’s DNA and has shaped the company’s ongoing pursuit of environmental stewardship.



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