SUSTAINABILITY

Source: FY12 Annual Report IKEA

It was in 1990 that IKEA decided to transform its conscious efforts into a
sustainability action plan. Adopted in 1992, the Environmental Action Plan
included 10 key initiatives:
1. Replace polyvinylchloride (PVC) in wallpapers, home textiles, shower
curtains, lampshades, and furniture
2. Minimize the use of formaldehyde in its products, including textiles
3. Eliminate acid-curing lacquers
4. Produce a model of chair (OGLA) made from 100% pre-consumer
plastic waste
5. Introduce a series of air-inflatable furniture products into the product
line to reduce the use of raw materials and transportation weight
and volume
6. Reduce the use of chromium for metal surface treatment
7. Limit the use of substances such as cadmium, lead, PCB, PCP, and
AZO pigments

8. Use wood from responsibly managed forests that replant and

maintain biological diversity
9. Use only recyclable materials for flat packaging and "pure" (nonmixed) materials for packaging to assist in recycling
10.
Introduce rental bicycles with trailers for customers in
Denmark
After working on these initiatives for nearly 16 years IKEA has made
sustainable progress and become a place where consumers can
confidently buy products sourced, manufactured packaged, shipped, and
sold in an environmentally friendly way.
One of the biggest challenges of 21 st century is how to tackle the
expected shortage of resources and climate change, while providing a
good quality of life for people around the world. IKEA has taken and is
taking various steps on this regard. Sustainability is one of the four
cornerstones of the Growing IKEA together business director. People &
Planet Positive is one of the initiatives taken by the IKEA on this regard.
Some of the key highlights
A more sustainable Resource and energy A better life for
life at home
people
Independence
and communities
Take the lead in
developing
and
promoting products
and solutions that
enable customers to
live
a
more
sustainable life at
home.
By the end of
FY20, achieve more
than
a
fourfold
increase
in
sales
from products and
solutions, inspiring
and
enabling
customers to live a
more sustainable life
at home.
Engage and involve
people
and
communities around
our
stores,
our
suppliers and coworkers
through

Strive
for
resource
independence by using
resources within the
limits of the planet and
by
encouraging
all
waste to be turned into
resources.
By FY17, 50% of
projected wood volume
will
come
from
preferred sources.
By end of FY15, all
cotton used will be
produced in line with
the
Better
Cotton
Initiative.
By the end of FY15,
all
main
home
furnishing
materials,
including
packaging,
will be either made
from
renewable,
recyclable or recycled
materials.

Ensure
that
the
requirements we place
on our own operations,
with
regards
to
environmental,
social
and working conditions,
meet or exceed those
we require of our
suppliers
using
our
people strategy.
Support
the
realisation of human
rights and have a
positive
impact
on
peoples daily lives,
with the UN Guiding
Principles on Business
and Human Rights as
our base.
Building on our belief
that our actions should
always have the best
interests of the child in
mind, we will use the

impactful,
relevant
and
unique
communication.
By the end of
FY15, at least 95%
of co-workers,
95% of our suppliers
and
70%
of
consumers
view
IKEA
as
a
company that takes
social
and
environmental
responsibility

Childrens Rights and

Business Principles to
strengthen the work
we do throughout our
business to protect the
rights of children

Integrity sustainability in product development

IKEA uses various tools and management processes that enable them to
improve product sustainability performance. One of the sample is shown
below.

Sectors of Industry and sustainable supply chains

It is easy to think about the present without considering the future.
Consumers want more goods and services to improve their standard of
living. The problem is they make choices about goods and services that
have long-term consequences for the environment. In our modern world,
organisations need to show responsibility. This means that they use

resources efficiently, do not harm the environment and consider how what
they do affects the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
The supply chain of IKEA involves a flow of production and processes
through each of the three industrial sectors.

IKEA takes its responsibilities seriously and organises its operations in

order to have a positive effect upon the environment.
It aims that all the products and materials it takes from the primary
sector do not harm
the environment.
Its products are manufactured in a responsible way.
Primary Sector
IKEA doesnt belong to primary sector but is heavily dependent on the
primary sector for raw materials. IKEA works very closely with all suppliers
of primary sector. IKEA uses a tool - the e-Wheel - to evaluate the
environmental impact of its products. The e-Wheel helps IKEA to analyse
the four stages within the life of a product. This also helps suppliers
improve their understanding of the environmental impact of the products
they are supplying.

IKEA creates many design solutions to minimise the use of materials. For
example:
some tables are made out of recycled plastic
some rugs are made of material clippings that would otherwise be
wasted
products such as water cans are designed to be stacked - this means
that more can be
transported in each load, reducing the number of lorry journeys and
therefore lowering
fuel costs.
Each of these ideas helps IKEAs products to be more sustainable and
reduce the impact on
the environment.
Secondary Sector
Within secondary sector, Manufactures create final products from the raw
materials. Products keep moving in the supply chain and value gets added
to products by each step.

IKEA designing team puts great effort in designing the product so that less
resource should get wasted. As manufacturers or suppliers add value to
products, the IWAY code of practice identifies IKEAs minimum
requirements. The IWAY code of practice expects suppliers to:
follow national and international laws
not use child labour
not use woods and glues from non-sustainable forests
reduce their waste and emissions
contribute to recycling
follow health and safety requirements
care for the environment
take care of their employees.
In 2000 IKEA formed a partnership with UNICEF to work on a community
programme in Northern India. The aim of the work was to prevent child
labour by raising awareness and addressing the root causes. IKEA has also
formed a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). IKEA and WWF
have committed themselves to promoting the sustainable use of natural
resources. This helps to ensure that forests can be used both now and in
the future.
To support sustainable partnerships with suppliers, IKEA works with other
organisations.
For example, IKEA and WWF actions have led to a series of training
courses for people in Russia, Bulgaria, Romania and China on responsible
forest management the development of forestry plans in China
demonstrations to managers in Latvia on the benefits of responsible
forestry. All these projects show IKEA's commitment to supporting
sustainable practices.