IKEA has announced new plans that will enable the company to become ‘truly circular’ by 2030. This includes extending the life of products and materials and using resources in a smarter way.
Swedish furniture giant Ikea has long led the way in corporate sustainability, from investing in sustainable forestry to purchasing solar and wind farms. But an announcement at a design conference in Sweden last week has taken the company’s sustainable commitments to a new level.
“Our ambition is to become people and planet positive by 2030 while growing the IKEA business. Through our size and reach we have the opportunity to inspire and enable more than one billion people to live better lives, within the limits of the planet,” said Inter IKEA Group CEO Torbjörn Lööf.
All IKEA products will be designed with new circular principles, with the goal of only using renewable and recycled materials in the future. The company will also remove all single-use plastics from all its stores and restaurants by 2020, while at the same time increase plant-based choices in its food offer. What’s more, IKEA aims to achieve zero emissions home deliveries by 2025 and reduce its total climate footprint by an average of 70 per cent per product.
“Becoming truly circular means meeting people’s changing lifestyles, prolonging the life of products and materials and using resources in a smarter way. To make this a reality, we will design all products from the very beginning to be repurposed, repaired, reused, resold and recycled,” added Lena Pripp-Kovac, Sustainability Manager.
In its commitment to become climate positive, IKEA’s ambitions will have to go far beyond its own products and operations or even its own value chain. The company will also have to support its direct suppliers reduce their total footprint, and not just the manufacturing of IKEA products, while at the same time inspire and enable people to save and generate renewable energy at home.
“Change will only be possible if we collaborate with others and nurture entrepreneurship. We are committed to taking the lead working together with everyone – from raw material suppliers all the way to our customers and partners,” said Torbjörn Lööf.
Image credit: yassan-yukky via Flickr
