What began as a modest effort to redirect redundant office furniture to good causes has grown into one of the world’s largest ethical reuse programmes. Today, Waste to Wonder Worldwide has
“It was a surprise, a thrill, and a moment to reflect,” Alan says, looking back on more than two decades at Waste to Wonder Worldwide, the social enterprise he founded with a simple but powerful mantra, “Challenging the perception of waste.”
Alan’s vision was rooted in a simple principle, if businesses could see surplus differently, the outcomes could be transformative. Despite the scale of the organisation today, Alan’s philosophy remains grounded in everyday action.
“Running a company brings with it many opportunities,” he reflects. “To support customers, to embrace every skill and idea from colleagues, and to work alongside valued partners. But it also brings a responsibility to do positive things further afield.”
Waste to Wonder Worldwide's work has sent resources from corporate offices to classrooms in Ghana, rehabilitation centres in Ukraine, hospitals in North Macedonia, and vocational training hubs in Gambia. For Alan, the award is less about personal achievement and more about the collective effort behind Waste to Wonder Worldwide's mission.
“This OBE is as much for our team, partners and supporters as it is for me,” he says. “Impact is never created alone.”
Alan Cooper reflects on receiving an OBE:
I was notified by the Cabinet Office that I would be receiving an OBE - a surprise, a thrill, and a moment to reflect on the journey so far as founder and director of Waste to Wonder Worldwide.
When I started the organisation, it was with a simple mantra: ‘Challenging the perception of waste.’ The idea was straightforward, to take redundant office furniture and equipment from businesses, including some of our earliest FM partners, and redirect it to schools and charities that needed it. That simple principle remains unchanged today.
Over the years, Waste to Wonder has grown far beyond anything I imagined. Together with our FM partners, customers, and colleagues, we have been able to donate over £49 million (Fair Market Value) of furniture and equipment to schools and charities in 47 countries, including here in the UK. To see the FM sector increasingly embrace ethical reuse and asset-management solutions that prioritise both environmental outcomes and social value has been one of the most rewarding parts of this journey.
Looking ahead to 2026, I believe businesses, especially those working in FM, workplace transformation, and property, have an extraordinary opportunity. Running a company brings with it the chance to support customers, to harness the ideas and skills of colleagues, and to collaborate with valued partners. But it also creates a wider responsibility: to use our operations as a catalyst for good.
Every company now has the ability to reach well beyond its immediate footprint. In 2026, I hope organisations and their employees will sit down and consider how their decisions, whether during a clearance, a relocation, or a refurbishment, can benefit people they may never meet, in communities they may never visit. That is the true power of sustainable practice.
Nil magnum nisi bonum - nothing is great except good.
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