What we mean by "office decommissioning"

A full-scope move-out from a corporate office space at lease end, downsizing, or relocation. The deliverable is a broom-clean floor (or building) ready for landlord turn-over. The work involves furniture, IT equipment, fixtures, signage, kitchen and pantry contents, and miscellaneous corporate property accumulated across the lease term.

Smaller-scale office work — single-floor TI debris, partial decommissions during ongoing operations, single-room move-outs — is handled under the broader office scope. Decommissioning specifically refers to a full-scope, deadline-driven exit from a space.

  • Office furniture: workstations, cubicles, desks, chairs, conference tables, breakroom furniture
  • Storage: filing cabinets, lateral files, lockers, shelving
  • IT and AV: monitors, computers, servers (when not redeployed), printers, AV equipment, network gear
  • Fixtures: artwork, signage, branded interior elements, modular walls
  • Kitchen and pantry: refrigerators, vending machines (when not landlord-owned), microwaves, coffee equipment
  • Miscellaneous: archival document boxes (with shredding routing as needed), holiday decor, marketing materials, old branded merchandise

Document destruction with chain-of-custody for confidential records is routed through certified shredding partners. IT asset disposition (when assets are being redeployed or sold rather than disposed) is coordinated separately with the IT team.

How the timeline typically works

A lease-end decommission is usually scheduled six to twelve weeks before the lease termination date. The on-site walkthrough happens early — preferably while the space is still operating — to inventory volume, identify donation-eligible furniture, scope IT equipment routing, and stage the work plan. Three weeks of work for a 100,000 sq ft floor is typical.

Sequencing is usually back-of-house first (storage rooms, archive areas, breakrooms), then operating areas as people leave, with the C-suite and front-of-house typically last. After-hours and weekend work is standard to keep operating floors functional during the wind-down.

For the deadline itself, we plan the final delivery against the landlord's broom-clean inspection date plus a buffer for any landlord-requested touch-up. The buffer is non-negotiable in our planning — most landlord disputes during turn-over come from rushed final cleanup, not the main decommission work.

Donation-first handling for furniture

Most corporate clients want office furniture donated rather than disposed when condition allows. We pre-arrange donation partnerships with regional nonprofits — typically schools, vocational training programs, and small-business support nonprofits — to absorb the volume. Donation receipts go back to the facilities team for ESG reporting and tax purposes.

Furniture in poor condition or non-standard pieces that nonprofits won't accept go to landfill or recycling depending on material. The mix is tracked by weight and reported as part of the decommission summary.

Realistic diversion rates for a healthy office decommission run 60 to 80 percent depending on the age and condition of the furniture and the regional donation network capacity. This is genuinely tracked and reported, not estimated.

IT equipment under chain of custody

IT equipment that's being disposed (rather than redeployed or sold) gets routed through certified e-waste partners with R2 or e-Stewards certification. Chain-of-custody documentation goes back to the IT team plus the corporate ESG file. Hard drives are physically destroyed with destruction certificates issued, not simply wiped.

For mixed inventory — some equipment redeploying to a new office, some being sold via ITAD, some being disposed — we coordinate with the IT team's asset disposition partner to route each category correctly. We don't do ITAD, but we work alongside ITAD partners regularly.

How invoicing and reporting work

Decommissioning is typically priced as a fixed scope-of-work for the full project rather than per-truck or per-day. The price is locked at contract execution based on the on-site walkthrough's volume estimate. Above-scope volume — for example, items the team finds in storage rooms after the walkthrough — is added as a change order.

Reporting at project close includes total volume by category, donation diversion summary with nonprofit beneficiaries listed, e-waste destruction certificates, and disposal records for landfill-routed material. Most ESG teams need this data in a specific format for sustainability reporting; we deliver it in whatever format the client needs.

Frequently asked

Office decommissioning questions we hear from facilities teams.

How far in advance should we engage JRP for a decommission?

Six to twelve weeks of lead time is ideal. Below six weeks gets tight on donation coordination — nonprofits need scheduling lead time to absorb the furniture volume. Below three weeks, donation-first handling becomes impractical and more material routes to disposal. We can work shorter timelines but the diversion rate falls.

How does JRP coordinate with our IT team on equipment routing?

Early in project planning, we map every piece of IT equipment to one of three categories: redeploy (your IT team handles), ITAD/sale (your IT asset disposition partner handles), or dispose (we handle through certified e-waste). The IT team owns the categorization decision; we execute the disposal portion. Hard drive destruction certificates go to the IT team and the ESG file.

What documentation do you provide for ESG reporting?

Total volume by category, donation diversion summary listing nonprofit beneficiaries, R2/e-Stewards certified e-waste destruction certificates, and disposal records for landfill-routed material. The format matches what most ESG teams need; we adapt to your specific reporting platform.

Can JRP work after-hours and weekends?

Yes — that's standard for decommissions. Most corporate spaces can't support a full decommission during business hours. We schedule against your space-vacation timeline, working evenings and weekends as needed to avoid disrupting any floors still operating.

What happens to fixtures the landlord wants left in place?

Many landlords require certain fixtures (built-in casework, security systems, branded interior elements) to be removed at lease end and the underlying space restored to building-standard condition. Others require the opposite — leave it in place. We work from the landlord's lease-end specification, not assumptions. Restoration work beyond junk removal scope (drywall, flooring, paint) is coordinated through GC partners.

How do you handle confidential documents?

Document destruction with chain-of-custody for confidential records is routed through certified document destruction partners. We coordinate with the records team to identify boxes that need shredding versus boxes that can be disposed normally. NAID AAA certification on the shredding partner is standard.

Tell us about the decommission.

Square footage, lease-end date, current population status, and ESG documentation needs. Our corporate accounts team handles decommissions directly and gets back to you within one business day.

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Office · Decommissioning

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