Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Spring 5-9-2018

Faculty Advisor(s)

Mackenzie Crigger

Abstract

This research looks into the procurement of furniture in the Chapman University residence halls. In total, Chapman currently owns over 2,500 bed frames and mattresses, 2,600 desks and chairs, and 2,300 dressers, among hundreds of other pieces. The purpose of this research is to evaluate whether or not there are more sustainable and environmentally friendly options for the procurement of furniture. The research has concluded that there are multiple areas of improvement in the current procurement process. The first is that all future furniture should be purchased from the same company within the same line. Each residence hall has a different finishing on the furniture with the pieces also coming in slight variations of size. As a result, furniture cannot be shared or reused across buildings. By purchasing from the same line each time, furniture will eventually be identical across buildings which will allow for a single storage space that all replacement pieces can come from. The furniture company recommended by the research is Sustainable Furniture Inc. They offer the “Sustainable Service Program” which will remove Chapman’s old furniture, reclaim the material, and re-manufacture it to new furniture. Secondly, old carpeting should be replaced using carpet tiles. While there are challenges that come with carpet tiles such as fading, the company Interface has tiling options that would not show signs of fading in the older tiles. While Chapman is certainly improving in terms of sustainability, furniture procurement is one area that has many options for eco-friendly advancement.

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Presented at the Spring 2018 Student Research Day at Chapman University.

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