Furniture retailer IKEA has today revealed ambitious clean energy plans, as the company is aiming to be energy and resource independent by 2020, as well as making its products more sustainable for consumers.
In its new sustainability strategy People & Planet Positive, IKEA has announced its goals up to 2020. Part of the strategy involves helping its 770m customers save money and reduce waste by using more efficient products. For instance IKEA wants to convert all lighting to LED, which will use 85pc less electricity and last up to 20 years.
IKEA is also planning to invest €1.5bn in wind and solar projects up to 2015 to produce 70pc of its energy demand. By 2020, IKEA is aiming to produce as much renewable energy as it consumes.
More than 250,000 solar panels have been installed on IKEA stores and buildings up to now, while the company also owns and operates 126 wind turbines in five countries. In 2011, IKEA purchased a 12.3MW wind farm in Huntly, Scotland, for instance.
In terms of energy efficiency, IKEA is on a mission to make its operations 20pc more energy efficient, and to encourage suppliers to do the same.
The company said it wants to ensure all of its main home furnishing materials, including packaging, are renewable, recyclable or recycled.
“We want to create a better every day for the many people. A better life includes living more sustainably. We have been working towards that goal for many years and have already done a lot, and we are now ready to take the next big step,” said Mikael Ohlsson, president and CEO, IKEA Group, in a statement today.
