Room & Board for Business Is Making Sustainable Design the Standard

At a Glance

• Sustainable design online searches have surged 120 percent over the past year, per the brand's materials.
• Room & Board for Business recently achieved its goal of 100 percent sustainably sourced wood usage.
• Each piece is crafted in a facility primarily powered by renewable energy.
• The Urban Wood Project expansion has diverted the equivalent of 365 trees from the waste stream.

Sustainable design has moved from trend vocabulary to purchasing behavior, with online searches surging 120 percent over the past year, and Room & Board for Business is converting the terminology into meaningful action. The workplace furnishings leader has committed to environmental impact across the full product lifecycle, from sourcing and material selection to manufacturing and end of life, and recently achieved its goal of 100 percent sustainably sourced wood.

Each piece is crafted in a facility primarily powered by renewable energy, with recycled packaging increasingly reducing the manufacturing footprint. More than 76 percent of available upholstery fabrics include recycled, upcycled, or bio-based content, selections that keep products largely biodegradable or recyclable at end of life.

The Hensley media cabinet, crafted by Wisconsin woodworkers, now comes in Reclaimed Elm through the brand's Urban Wood Project expansion, repurposing mature urban trees removed for age or safety, an initiative that has diverted the equivalent of 365 trees from the waste stream. The sinuous Hannah sectional showcases Sumner, a fabric made with 100 percent upcycled polypropylene, while the European-inspired Lloyd chair offers the same fabric across its streamlined silhouette. The Graft console table celebrates reclaimed Walnut and White Oak sourced with Cambium Carbon in northern California and Storm Trees in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and the Carlisle bench brings the approach to lounge seating with 241 Made for You fabric choices.

When a workplace furnishings leader makes reclaimed wood and upcycled textiles its defaults rather than its exceptions, sustainable design stops being a category and starts being the standard.