Environmental Impact — Per Desk, Every Desk
Every GreenDesk is a data point. Plastic rescued. Timber displaced. CO₂ avoided. Measured, documented, and reported using GHG Protocol methodology.
The Three Pillars of Impact
Every GreenDesk is manufactured using 20 kilograms of post-consumer plastic waste recovered directly from Dandora — East Africa’s largest landfill. Plastic type is recorded at source (HDPE, PP, mixed polyethylene). Every kilogram is weighed and logged before production begins. The landfill is not a problem we solve around. It is our supply chain.
Plastic that enters our production process is plastic that will never decompose in an open dumpsite, leach into groundwater, or release methane during uncontrolled burning.
Weight of plastic input per desk recorded at point of collection. Material type documented. Aligned with GHG Protocol Scope 3 waste diversion accounting.
Almost every school desk in East Africa is manufactured from timber. The standard Kenya Ministry of Education school desk uses approximately 0.05 m³ of timber. At an average plantation tree yield of 0.18 m³ of usable timber, every three GreenDesks produced saves one tree from being logged.
A standing tree is not simply a saved tree — it is a carbon sink, a soil anchor, and a future. Every GreenDesk cancels a timber order that would have ended a tree’s life.
Based on Kenya MoE standard desk timber specifications and FAO plantation yield data (E. grandis average 0.18 m³/tree). Source: Kenya Forest Service species tables.
Our carbon impact figure combines four separate avoided emission sources: (1) avoided virgin plastic production (2.5 kg CO₂e/kg virgin HDPE vs 0.5 kg CO₂e/kg recycled — saving 2 kg CO₂e per kg recycled); (2) avoided landfill decomposition and burning emissions (0.5–0.7 kg CO₂e/kg waste, IPCC 2006 Vol.5); (3) avoided deforestation — stored carbon released when a tree is logged (conservative 50 kg CO₂ per plantation tree); (4) lost future sequestration (15 kg CO₂/yr over a 20-year horizon).
We report a conservative figure including only components 1–3, and disclose component 4 separately. Our current conservative estimate is 30 kg CO₂e per desk.
GHG Protocol Product Standard (WRI/WBCSD). Sources: Plastics Europe LCA 2022, IPCC 2006 National GHG Inventories Vol.5, FAO Forest Carbon tables. Full third-party LCA (ISO 14040/14044) planned for Phase 2.
Scale Projection
Verification Roadmap
This calculator and report uses GHG Protocol Product Standard logic. All inputs are documented at source. Fully auditable on request.
University partnership or NGO-supported simplified Life Cycle Assessment. Target: Stockholm Environment Institute Africa or ACTS Kenya.
Third-party verified Life Cycle Assessment. Required for institutional procurement and Tier 1 climate fund reporting. Budget: ~$8,000–20,000.
Ready to See It Built?