When office furniture gets old at Deutsche Bahn, the company doesn't throw it out. Instead, cupboards and tables are overhauled and reused in an upcycling process. This policy plays an integral role in the new Cube office suites, in which 700 items of used office furniture have been given a new lease of life. With old storage units transformed into new benches, shelves repurposed to create tables and cabinets, and furniture created by local carpentry and upholstery workshops using the designs of DB Real Estate, each element of the interior has been carefully considered to ensure the impact upon the environment is as minimal as it can possibly be.
As Andreas Gehlhaar, Head of Sustainability and Environment, explains, "We tackle environmental protection from every angle. This goes for climate protection as much as for resource usage in the workplace. Upcycling lets us extend the lifespan of our office furniture and eliminate waste. At the same time, we reduce our consumption of natural resources and cut our emissions. This is all part of DB's green transformation."