Product-service systems for office furniture: barriers and opportunities on the European market

Published Date
August–September 2005, Vol.13(10):1083–1094, doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2004.12.003

10th Anniversary of the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE): Management and policy for sustainable consumption and production

Author 

• Katrin Besch 

• International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Lund University, P.O. Box 196, 22100 Lund, Sweden

Accepted 20 December 2004. Available online 5 February 2005. 

Abstract

The environmental problems associated with office furniture consumption call for a more efficient use of office furniture that can decrease emissions and volume of waste. The author discusses the opportunities and barriers for the implementation of a PSS for office furniture. In addition, the paper identifies possibilities to overcome these barriers. The article is based on interviews with European office furniture producers, customers and experts that were confronted with a PSS scenario that was developed based on literature. The author concludes that the practical implementation of the developed PSS scenario will probably not lead to much success under the current market conditions and suggests how the PSS scenario can be adjusted to offer environmental benefits and to provide alternative business models to producers.

Keywords

• Product-service systems
• Office furniture
• Product lifetime extension
• Remanufacturing
• PSS scenario

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http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0142694X