IKEA has released a sustainability report for FY20 that covers collective efforts from the contributors in the IKEA franchise system and value chain.
Company’s important achievements include reaching the 2020 forestry goal, assessing 9,500+ products for circular capabilities and improvements throughout value chain to further reduce the climate footprint.
The report stated that the pandemic called for extraordinary measures to mitigate the effects for co-workers, business partners and communities across the value chain. At the same time, the IKEA business continued to deliver on the long-term sustainability strategy.
“This exceptional year has made us even more determined to accelerate our efforts to tackle climate change and advocate for a circular and equal society. The Covid-19 crisis is in many ways a people crisis,” Lena Pripp-Kovac, chief sustainability officer, Inter IKEA Group, said in a press release. “Important movements have not been put on hold. We are on our way to develop a product range that is more circular, and we are making progress towards 100 per cent renewable energy in production. With the new 2030 Forest Positive Agenda we want to make responsible forest management the norm, going beyond our own business.”
IKEA’s highlights from the financial year 2020 include: mitigating the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, protecting and supporting the health and livelihood of co-workers, customers, suppliers and communities across the IKEA value chain; reaching the forestry goal for 2020. Today, more than 98 per cent of the wood used is from more sustainable sources (FSC certified or recycled wood).
All wood used in IKEA products is sourced from responsibly managed forests which do not contribute to deforestation; and continuing to decrease the IKEA climate footprint (even when taking the loss in sales into account as a result of closed stores): a 7 per cent reduction per EUR of retail sales FY19-FY20, due to several improvements for example using more renewable energy in production and transport, increasing the energy efficiency in the lighting and appliances ranges as well as introducing more plant-based food such as the Huvudroll plant-ball, with 4 per cent of the climate footprint compared to the ingredients of the traditional meatballs.
“FY20 marks a change in people’s relationship with the home, since many have spent so much more time there. People continue to want a healthier and more sustainable life, but as our research shows, they struggle to do so. For IKEA, this is a great possibility, and a responsibility. We want to make healthy and sustainable living the default option – offering attractive and accessible products and solutions at low prices for the many people,” Jon Abrahamsson, CEO, Inter IKEA Group, said.
