Knoll, ANEW and Mazda Collaborate on Full Circle Project

With a shared focus on sustainability, Knoll and ANEW (Asset Network Education Worldwide, Inc.) collaborated to create the Full Circle Project for economically, socially and environmentally responsible options for decommissioning furniture and surplus items from workplaces. The Full Circle Project worked with six separate entities when changing tenants, including Mazda North American Operations, to avoid landfills.

Since its founding in 2005, ANEW aims to extend the lifecycle of surplus items. As partners, ANEW and Knoll continue to bring this goal to fruition through stewarding products when companies relocate. Over a span of nine months in 2017, Mazda North American Operations worked with the Knoll Full Circle Project to decommission a total of 240,673 pounds of surplus furniture, fixtures and equipment. The move culminated in a 100% diversion from landfills, split between two nonprofit organizations.

Both Goodwill of Los Angeles and the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo were recipients of the stewardship. Goodwill, as well as other organizations of its kind, worked with ANEW through an increased interest in the surplus stewardship experienced. For over eight hundred years, the Ohkay Owingeh peoples have occupied their vast land, arranged around the Rio Chama and Rio Grande. The recipient services of the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo include Boys & Girls Club, Head Start, Housing Authority, Human Services and Veteran Services, all impoverished groups from within the region. The material donations provide substantial support to recipient organizations. Additionally, all teams involved worked to continue restoration of the Pueblo.

The Full Circle Project with Mazda, stays true to Knoll’s core beliefs through a consciousness of environments, focus on modernity, and of course sustainability.