Planned obsolescence is among the greatest threats to business investment and infrastructure longevity. Product lifecycles affect not only office infrastructure—where computers, furnishings, and systems must be regularly upgraded with new models—but also automobiles, where new car models with advanced features are released annually. The “latest and greatest” quickly becomes “standard,” followed by yet another cycle of updates and upgrades.
In the workplace infrastructure industry, planned obsolescence means that property owners, facility managers, and other stakeholders must proactively safeguard their investments from premature replacement costs. Adaptable solutions such as access flooring systems can mitigate the impact of planned obsolescence by providing a flexible infrastructure capable of accommodating technological advancements without costly and repetitive upgrades that often require renovations to implement.
How Obsolescence Impacts Workplace Infrastructure
Most property owners and facility managers adopt circular economy principles to lower project building, operational, and maintenance costs. Sustainable products and systems last longer and have been designed and built to promote reuse, refurbishment, recovery, remanufacturing, and repurposing before heading to the landfill. Planned obsolescence does the opposite by significantly adding to the landfills while creating a steady stream of new and return customers for companies that still utilize a linear (take-make-waste) business model.
Though not every business product or technology has a clear-cut sustainability solution in terms of lifecycle management, there are things a business can do to prolong the lifespan of existing equipment and products within the workplace.
- Update lighting from incandescent or fluorescent bulbs to LED options that use less energy and can last between 50,000 and 100,000 hours for up to 14 years of regular daily use.
- Reuse and repurpose furnishings and products to maximize lifecycles while reducing local environmental impact.
- Incorporate sustainable products that promote future flexibility and adaptability. These include infrastructure like demountable wall systems or access flooring systems, which are added to the built environment during initial construction, maintenance, and remodeling projects.
In addition to higher replacement costs for the business or property owner, regularly replacing office equipment allows reusable materials such as steel, copper, and aluminum to be discarded instead of reused, refurbished, or remanufactured.
Planned Obsolescence in Commercial Office Spaces
Determining the total dollars and cents cost of planned obsolescence to US companies is difficult due to the number of interconnected factors involved, such as security, maintenance, and employee productivity.
Older tech is more susceptible to security breaches, putting company and customer data at a higher risk than newer, more secure systems. As technology ages, replacement parts become more expensive and difficult to find, which can simultaneously increase downtime and ongoing maintenance costs. You’re only as good as your tools, like a carpenter or auto mechanic. Consequently, when office employees struggle with bandwidth limitations, slow networks, and static configuration issues, these obstacles can disrupt productivity.
One trackable factor of this equation is the amount of e-waste generated by planned obsolescence. According to The Roundup, 59.4 metric tons of e-waste (computers, phones, and monitors), or the equivalent of 350 Queen Mary ocean liners, were generated in 2022 alone. That number could reach 65.3 metric tons by 2025 and 74.7 metric tons by 2030. The 53.6 metric tons of e-waste from 2019 is estimated to be worth nearly $57 billion. Over 1.39 billion cell phones were sold in 2022. Recycling just one million cell phones can yield 772 pounds of silver, 35,000 pounds of copper, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium.
To reduce those e-waste numbers and costs, owners and facility managers can:
- Utilize tax write-offs for fixed assets associated with aging technologies, infrastructure systems, and components.
- Incorporate financial planning into the purchasing process to improve longevity and sustainability benefits.
- Offset some potential obsolescence costs through other systems, such as streamlined maintenance procedures and adopting a circular approach to building infrastructure systems and their components.
Circular Approach and Planned Reuse
While many industries still rely on the take-make-waste approach, in a circular economy, products are designed to be easily reused or refurbished to extend their life cycle. While not all situations allow for reuse, designing longevity in the workplace can be accomplished with green building designs, eco-friendly materials, and infrastructure systems that can evolve and adapt to changing business needs.
Demountable partition systems allow spaces to be configured on an “as-needed” basis and then quickly reconfigured or removed as situations change.
Energy-efficient VAV (Variable Air Volume) systems utilize small units with minimal ducting to optimize the air temperature within a space. As the business needs change, the units can be easily relocated or reconfigured to maximize performance.
Raised access flooring systems, such as the Gridd Adaptive® Cabling Distribution® System, move the data and power cables from their traditional location within the walls and above ceilings to a more accessible location beneath the finish floor. Cabling changes or updates can be performed in days instead of weeks without the noise and mess of traditional construction processes.
While designing longevity in the workplace is typically considered for new construction projects, it can also be done during most renovation or remodel projects. Property owners and facility managers should always consider the long-term benefits of eco-friendly materials and green building practices. Adopting a circular approach to their maintenance and procurement processes leads to lower future costs.
