Last month, sustainability and circular economy consultancy Oakdene Hollins published its latest Furniture & Mattress Sustainability Benchmark Report, which aims to help the industry benchmark performance, pinpoint gaps, and prioritise its next steps under tightening UK/EU expectations. Furniture News asked Sonia Sanchez, senior managing consultant at Oakdene Hollins, how the results reflect the sector’s journey to greater sustainability …
“The furniture sector’s sustainability story is moving from intent to implementation,” states Oakdene Hollins in the report’s foreword. “This report distils where the market really is, what’s driving action, which levers companies are pulling, and where progress still lags. Its aim is to help industry players benchmark their performance against peers, pinpoint gaps, and prioritise next steps.”
Why is it important to benchmark the industry’s sustainability progress?
Benchmarking creates clarity and accountability in a space that is inherently complex. Sustainability spans many different topics, from carbon and energy to circularity and biodiversity. It can be difficult to know where to focus, particularly for businesses without the knowledge, resources or external support to undertake a full materiality assessment. Looking at what peers are actually doing helps signal the sector’s priorities and what is currently workable from a business perspective, given available technology, infrastructure, market demand and cost constraints.
With this report, Oakdene Hollins aims both to spark informed conversation and to support faster progress by making visible what more advanced players are already doing, while also clearly identifying the shared challenges where collaborative action across the sector will be essential.
What are the key headlines from the latest report?
There are three key takeaways: sustainability is moving from aspiration to action, but progress is inconsistent across the sector; carbon management is gaining momentum, yet truly science‑based ambition remains the exception rather than the norm; and circular initiatives are emerging, but adoption is still limited and far from scale.
What were the most alarming findings?
There is a lot of cause for optimism in the findings, but the most concerning issue is speed and scale. Progress is happening, yet not fast enough to match the urgency of the climate and biodiversity emergencies.
… and the most encouraging?
A key opportunity is greater collaboration. Moving from a linear to a circular system requires co-ordinated action across the value chain. There is real potential for the sector to accelerate impact by working together, grounded in science, and shared goals.
Two very positive stats are that 58% of assessed companies report active resource and energy efficiency programmes, and 83% source paper and timber with a responsible forestry certification.
The report principally references data drawn from large companies – which businesses were involved?
This report primarily draws on publicly available disclosures and survey responses from key players in the UK furniture and mattress sector, because their size means they are more likely to have formal reporting, data and documented commitments that can be assessed consistently.
They include IKEA, West Fraser, The Vita Group, Orangebox, Silentnight, Leggett & Platt, Harrison Spinks, Simba Sleep, Vispring, Hypnos, John Cotton and Loaf.
We are very conscious that many small- and medium‑sized businesses are doing excellent – often pioneering – work on sustainability. The challenge is that smaller companies are frequently less resourced when it comes to formal reporting and outward communication, which makes it far harder to capture their progress in a structured benchmark, despite the real impact they are having.
How might the findings be applicable to smaller businesses?
For smaller businesses, the value of the report lies in signalling direction of travel. It shows where the sector as a whole is focusing, which approaches are proving workable today, and what is realistically achievable. Many smaller players can use this as inspiration and reassurance to prioritise their efforts, adapt ideas to their own scale, and focus on actions that are already gaining traction across the industry.
What is the biggest challenge facing the furniture sector specifically?
Scaling circularity. Moving from a linear, ‘take‑make‑waste’ model to circular systems requires changes across product design, materials, business models, reverse logistics and end‑of‑life solutions, none of which are easy or cheap.
While individual businesses can make meaningful progress, circular models become faster to implement, more robust and more cost effective when there is greater alignment and collaboration across the value chain. Shared infrastructure, common standards and joined‑up thinking make it easier for circular solutions to move beyond pilots and embed into mainstream business practice.
How much impact do contemporary politics have on the industry’s environmental strategies? Are businesses rolling back, or do they remain committed?
Contemporary politics undoubtedly shape the context for environmental action, but our findings suggest that commitment within the furniture sector remains strong. We are not seeing widespread roll‑back. If anything, many businesses are moving from broad commitments to more practical, implementation‑focused action, particularly around efficiency, carbon and circularity.
While political uncertainty can affect the pace or sequencing of investment, the overall direction of travel is clear and consistent. The majority (78%) of the survey respondents stated that sustainability sits at the heart of their short-, medium- and long-term strategy, and, according to a study by Deloitte, 83% of executives interviewed increased sustainability investment in 2025.
How have your services evolved in recent years? What are the most important factors driving demand for your expertise in this sector?
Our services have evolved alongside the sector’s shift from strategy and ambition to delivery and implementation. A few years ago, the focus was on setting high‑level sustainability commitments. Today, companies are looking for practical support – measuring what matters, turning data into decisions, and embedding sustainability into day‑to‑day operations and investment planning.
In response, our work has expanded from carbon baseline assessments and mandatory reporting into decarbonisation roadmaps that include circular business models and eco‑design strategies, biodiversity and value chain engagement, and product‑level tools such as LCAs, EPDs and product carbon footprints.
The main drivers of demand in the furniture sector are clear. Regulation is tightening, customer and retailer expectations are rising, and businesses are under increasing pressure to demonstrate progress with reliable data. At the same time, companies are seeing sustainability more clearly as a commercial lever, for cost reduction, risk management, supply‑chain resilience and long‑term competitiveness.
How are you planning to work with the sector in 2026?
Our focus is on supporting faster, more joined‑up progress across the sector. Using insights like those in this report, we want to spark informed conversation, facilitate collaboration and make the sustainability journey easier for companies, whatever their starting point. We’re particularly keen to work more closely with groups of companies across the value chain, where shared challenges can be addressed more effectively together.
What one key message would you like everyone to take away from these findings?
The findings show a sector that is making real progress. The opportunity now is to raise the level of ambition and delivery and turn good practice into best practice at scale.
Access the report here.
