Doing more with less: Elate

Whilst sustainability discussions often focus on materials, a product's environmental performance is influenced by every stage of its lifecycle, from manufacturing and transportation through to maintenance, refurbishment and end-of-life. 

This is changing the way furniture is designed. Alongside performance, comfort and aesthetics, there is growing consideration of how products can remain in use for longer, how they can be maintained throughout their lifespan, and what happens to their materials once they are no longer needed. 

For manufacturers, this means looking beyond a product's initial use and considering its entire lifecycle. Design decisions made at the earliest stages can influence not only embodied carbon and material consumption, but also how easily a product can be repaired, refurbished, remanufactured or recycled in the future. 

For us, this lifecycle approach plays a central role in product development. Elate, one of the latest additions to Senator's seating portfolio, provides an example of how designing with less can support both sustainability and long-term performance.

Developed by the Group's in-house design team, Elate was created with a clear focus on dematerialisation. Throughout the development process, every component was reviewed to understand where material could be reduced without compromising comfort, durability or functionality.  

Using less material not only reduces the overall weight of a product, but also lowers demand for virgin resources. This approach contributed to Elate achieving a product carbon footprint of 34.7kgCO₂e, making it Senator’s most carbon-efficient office chair.

Material reduction was only one aspect of the design process. Equal consideration was given to what happens throughout the chair's lifecycle, including maintenance, refurbishment and end-of-life recovery. Elate has been designed without adhesives or irreversible fixings, allowing components to be more easily separated when required. This simplifies disassembly, supporting the recovery, recycling and reuse of materials while also enabling refurbishment and remanufacturing. 

These principles align closely with our wider circular economy approach. Through services such as re:work and Sustain, products can be serviced, refurbished, remanufactured or recycled, helping to maximise the value of materials and components beyond their first use. Rather than focusing solely on replacing furniture at the end of its service life, increasing emphasis is being placed on extending product life wherever possible and retaining valuable materials within the supply chain.

At the end of its life, Elate's materials can be easily separated into individual waste streams, contributing to a recyclability rate of 99.9%. This focus on recovery reflects a wider shift towards keeping products and materials in circulation for as long as possible, ensuring that resources retain their value beyond a single lifecycle.

Supporting this approach is a growing understanding of lifecycle impacts. Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) provide insight into environmental impacts across manufacturing, transport, use and end-of-life stages, helping to identify opportunities to reduce carbon throughout product development. Alongside refurbishment and end-of-life services, they are helping manufacturers and customers make more informed decisions about the long-term environmental impact of the products they use. 

These themes form part of a broader sustainability strategy that will be explored further in our forthcoming ESG Report.