Ikea puts aside €200m for carbon-positive vision

The furniture brand has touted its plan for a sustainable future before. Now, ahead of the COP25 climate change conference, Ikea says it will spend €200 million improving raw material sourcing and realizing 100% clean energy supply for its production operations.

November 27, 2019 Marian Willuhn

The flat-pack furniture supplier will look into its wood sourcing practices, invest in reforestation and focus more on clean energy supply for its production processes.

Image: Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2019

Swedish flat-pack furniture giant Ikea is stepping up its sustainability efforts – again.

Ahead of the 25^th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP25 – meeting in Madrid, the Swedish retailer said it will invest an additional €200 million into its plan to become a carbon positive business by 2030.

The company, which wants to improve its use of renewable energy and is aiming to rely on 100% clean energy in its production processes, now wants to extend that ambition to its suppliers.

“Our ambition is to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions in absolute terms by 2030 than the entire Ikea value chain emits, while growing the Ikea business,” said Torbjörn Lööf, chief executive of Inter IKEA Group. “To reach this goal, we will continue to invest in areas that create impact.”

Reforestation

Where wood is chopped, splinters must fall, as the German proverb goes, and Ikea’s furniture manufacturing business model involves an awful lot of wood being chopped. To lessen the environmental impact, part of the newly-committed €200 million will be used for reforestation and sustainable forest management, the Swedish business said.

Ikea did not offer specifics on its renewable energy plans but has been installing solar panels on the roofs of its buildings as well as deploying wind power facilities and signing renewable power purchase agreements.

The company also sells off-the-shelf Solstråle PV systems in its stores in Germany, Belgium, Poland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the U.K., Italy and Sweden.

pv magazine’s Becky Beetz recently interviewed Signe Antvorskov Krag – global development leader for Ikea’s Home Solar business – about the company’s PV business model.

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