IKEA Sustainability In Packaging
2010-01-28
IKEA embraces sustainability in packaging and other efforts
Company points to its nearly 20 years of sustainable practice, looks at it as a “never ending job”
IKEA is dedicated to helping create a better world where we all take care of the environment, the earth's resources and each other. But being a company who takes care of all these things is not often easy. After all, it's a big job that requires focus and commitment. In fact, this is a topic that recently dominated the COP15 (Copenhagen Climate Change) conference. It was here that nations and businesses from around the world came together to seriously look at our environmental conditions and start to initiate purposeful change.
COP15 great leaders discussed carbon control and CO2 emissions, new forms of energy, recycling, responsible waste disposal and many other topics. And at the core of these discussions was “what can businesses do to reset and change their thinking in a sustainable way.”
As a global retail leader and a sustainable company, IKEA has been working hard and continues everyday to be a part of the solution. For almost twenty years, IKEA has been looking at sustainable practices within the IKEA business, continually examining and changing things. Each step, across every area of the business, may at times seem small. But each one adds up to something with a noticeable impact. And as this continues, IKEA knows it's a never ending job with a never ending list of more to do.
Some IKEA sustainable facts:Economizing on resources is one important way to keep costs and to minimize IKEA's impact on the environment. IKEA believes in low prices but not at any price. This is a prerequisite for doing good business at IKEA.
-- IKEA strives to build long-term relationships with suppliers. The
focus is to motivate and support suppliers to take more responsibility
and ownership. Every three years, IKEA conducts an anonymous supplier
survey to collect feedback on the relationship.
-- IKEA strives to use as much renewable and recyclable materials as
possible and to work actively to reduce the impact on the climate.
-- IKEA gain's knowledge through dialogue with stakeholders and partners.
This includes Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Building and Wood
Workers' International (BWI), Business for Social Responsibility
(BSR), Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG), European Retailers Round
Table (ERRT), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Global Compact,
Greenpeace, Green Power, Market Development Group, International Labor
Organization (ILO), The Network for Transport and Environment (NTM),
Rainforest Alliance, Refrigerance Naturally, Save the Children,
UNICEF, UTZ Certified, WWF.
-- IWAY - The IKEA Code of Conduct IWAY specifies the requirements that
are placed on suppliers and details on what IKEA expects. With over
1750 suppliers worldwide in 54 countries, IKEA is responsible for
communicating The IKEA Code of Conduct to their workers and
sub-suppliers.
-- IKEA purchases fresh, packaged food for IKEA restaurants and the
Swedish Food Market. All 80 suppliers must comply with
national/international legislation and agreements relating to the
food, as well as the IKEA IWAY Code of Conduct.
-- IKEA products are transported by road, rail and sea between suppliers,
distribution centers and IKEA stores. By 2012, IKEA's goal is to have
100% IWAY approved transport suppliers. All transport service
providers must measure their carbon dioxide emissions and set a three
year target to reduce them.
The IKEA never ending list of sustainable improvements is many, here is a beginning.
Improvement # 1
IKEA does not design flat packs to sell more but to save more. Flat packs means optimized loads and fewer transports, which reduces emissions. Our use of recyclable packaging requiring minimal raw material helps, too. Brown cardboard is one of our best friends - it saves costs and the environment ... more never ending stories to be continued....
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