Imagine the energy consumed to manufacture enough top-quality furniture for a 22-story office tower, especially in the inefficient 1970s.

Last week's Puget Sound Business Journal ran a back-to-school piece about Safeco's donation of a tower of furniture to UW. That gift not only saved all that embodied energy, it also saved UW $9 million, reports Jane Meyer Brahm in "Tower tryout: 35-year-old furniture in UW office of today." It also saved Safeco the cost of moving and selling the furniture, and no doubt got them a handsome tax deduction. Insurance companies are no dummies, after all, when it comes to finances.

A partner in my firm also teaches marketing at UW, and has been in this building. She said the furnishings are classy wood finishes and beautiful fabrics -- not the typical university fare -- from chairs to cubicle walls.

UW bought the building in August, 2006, for $130 million. The deal included five buildings and a parking structure, and Safeco donated the tower's furnishings and a Robert Sperry sculpture. Safeco moved its headquarters to leased space in downtown Seattle, but about 700 employees stayed in the sold tower through this summer.