By Ruth Minnick

When it comes to going green, many people think it’s too hard to do a sustainable project, too difficult to re-design, too expensive, and just too involved.

But the reality is there are a lot of ways you can still incorporate sustainability into your office design and plenty of experts who can help. Part of what sustainable designers and companies do is make it easy on their clients—and on their budgets.

That’s where Rightsize Facility Performance comes in. Founded in 2004 as a furniture liquidator, the company has since grown into a full- service design furnish company serving corporate clients in transition.

“Rightsize is committed to sustainable practices—that is our heritage,” said Ruth Minnick, Senior Account Manager, Chicago Loop Team Lead at Rightsize. “Today we continue to decommission space. For example, let’s say a large company is downsizing or moving, and updating their things. They have really great furniture as well. What will happen to this great furniture? Most likely, it’ll go in the garbage, and that’s just a big waste.”

Minnick said the great thing about Rightsize is that they’ll take that product and save it from the landfill. “We’ll clean it up, inspect it, and give it a new life,” she said. “That’s a very simple way to be green, and also save on your budget.”

There’s a whole surplus of product out there in the industry, according to Minnick, because people typically re-brand, or move, about every three to 10 years, and they’re updating. She says regardless of the time frame, things often aren’t a complete waste.

“Most things are valuable to be used as is, with a little bit of tender care and love. Or there’s refurbishing, which is another option.”

She added, “You’re just re-using the skeleton, the bones of something, saving its essence. Sometimes it doesn’t even take that much work. Maybe it’s just a coat of paint and keeping the rest of it. Overall, it’s a really simple way to save money, to save something from landfill, and to be a sustainable product.”

Going the green route keeps things local as well, as opposed to ordering from overseas.

“You’re not wasting gas,” Minnick said. “You eliminate shipping and labor. For a lot of companies starting out, it’s a perfect solution for them. It’s a good solution for any company because you can still get new product, while adding a green element.”