Swedish furniture giant IKEA has reported gains in reducing its climate footprint, according to the company's sustainability and climate reports for fiscal year 2023, and says it will reduce emissions by 50% by 2030.
The reports are created by the Inter IKEA Group and cover contributors across the entire IKEA franchise system and value chain. According to IKEA, its climate footprint in 2023 is estimated to be 24.1 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. That’s down 12% from the previous year and 22% compared to the baseline fiscal year of 2016.
The company attributed the decline to increased use of renewable electricity at its retail and production units, as well as energy efficiency across its lighting range and lower production volumes.
“Sustainability is an integral part of our business and our commitment to make sustainable living affordable and accessible to the many,” Jon Abrahamsson Ring, CEO of Inter IKEA Group, said in a statement. “We maintain a long-term perspective and are actively contributing to limiting our impact on climate change, reversing nature loss, and securing equitable growth.”
The reports come as the fast furniture industry -- which is typically made cheaply and quickly without a long expected life -- is increasingly taking up room in landfills. IKEA, for its part, has created resell and return options for its customers in an effort to reduce waste and give furniture a longer life.
The company also has a goal of using only renewable or recycled materials by 2030.
“In (fiscal year 2023), we introduced bio-based glue in the IKEA Industry board factory in Lithuania and explored a new technology for recycling fibreboard,” Ring said. “This will support the IKEA climate transition plans and the work to reduce emissions from materials, the largest contributor to the IKEA climate footprint.”
The reports also highlighted some big gains in carbon footprint reduction for IKEA, including adding one more market consuming 100% renewable electricity compared to last year, bringing the total number of markets to 25. Plus, another 142 factories or suppliers were using 100% renewable energy in 2023.
Compared to 2016, IKEA Group's direct operations climate footprint declined 80%. The company also noted its plastic packaging of consumer goods and total plastic packaging (including consumer packs, multipacks, unit loads, and handling materials) has been reduced by roughly 47% and 44%, respectively, compared to the baseline year 2021.
IKEA was among several big companies to pen a letter last year ahead of the COP28 -- the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference -- to urge governments to address the burning of fossil fuels in their efforts to mitigate climate change.
