Improvement #1
We don’t design flat packs to sell more but to save more. Flat packs mean optimised 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.
Improvement #2
Some things can’t be compromised - safety, respect for people of all ages, the environment. We call it IWAY (The IKEA Way on Purchasing Products, Materials and Services). It’s our code of conduct, and it specifies the minimum requirements we place on suppliers. It also describes what they can expect from us in return. IWAY includes zero tolerance for child and forced labour; safe, healthy working conditions; compliance with local laws; care with chemicals – and more. IKEA co-workers are often on site at suppliers, to ensure that our requirements are met. We work to motivate and support suppliers to take increased responsibility themselves. Since we introduced IWAY in 2000, we can see a continuous positive development – more than 100 000 improvements have been made so far.
Improvement #3
IKEA designers work to the philosophy of "more from less". It’s about creating the price tag first, and looking for design solutions and innovations that use materials and resources in an optimal and environmentally friendly way, right through the entire supply chain. Our board-on-frame MICKE and STUVA series are two good examples where design has minimized the use of resources and made the product easy to handle and transport.
Improvement #4
We don't accept illegally felled wood, or wood harvested from intact natural forests. We're working with suppliers to improve their ability to trace the origin of the wood they use - a requirement for all suppliers of solid wood.
Our long-term goal is to source all wood for IKEA products from forests certified as responsibly managed. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is so far the only forest certification standard supported by IKEA. We also have our own forest specialists working in the field. They inform, share knowledge and trace timber back to its origins at suppliers. IKEA work together with WWF to promote responsible forestry and to fight illegal logging.
Improvement #5
The "IKEA Goes Renewable" project means that all IKEA buildings will move towards being supplied with 100% renewable energy for electricity and heating and we will improve energy efficiency by 25%. We are making progress; we’re at 48% renewable energy and we’ve achieved a 9% energy efficiency improvement since 2005.
Improvement #6
IKEA does not accept child labour, and we work actively to prevent it. All IKEA suppliers and sub-contractors must comply with the IKEA code on conduct on child labour: The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labour. It states that all actions must be in the best interests of the child. Rules and monitoring must be complemented with addressing the root causes behind child labour. That's why IKEA Social Initiative invests in child rights projects with UNICEF and Save the Children.
Improvement #7
We’ve moved to a new compact format for the IKEA catalogue, to reduce paper consumption and cut transportation needs. A bonus: CO2 emissions per copy will be lower with the new streamlined catalogue format.
The IKEA catalogue was the first major colour publication in the world to be printed on Totally Chlorine Free paper. The bleaching technology in the paper and pulp industry has developed and today we know that a harmful substance in the bleaching process is elementary chlorine. Due to that, we use papers in a mix of both TCF and ECF in order not to involve elementary chlorine.
Improvement #8
Every year, millions of people eat at IKEA restaurants. And even here we’ve got an eye on the environment – at least one organic dish is offered in all IKEA restaurants and 15% of all products in the Swedish Food Market are certified organic.
Many markets are sourcing organic food for their national menu in the restaurants; for example IKEA Italy has around 70 organic ingredients used for restaurant food preparation, ending up on the plates as delicious dishes.
Improvement #9
NORDEN birch tables are a great example of how IKEA tries to get the best possible return from every tree trunk. Introduced in 1998, it was probably the first time anyone had thought of making furniture also from the knotty top part of the birch tree instead of burning it as firewood or grinding it for chipboard production.
Improvement #10
The “Waste Management Manual“ for the IKEA group was established in 1999 requiring all stores to sort the five most common waste items, at a minimum. In practice, this ensures that almost 75% of the waste is sorted in the stores and more than 80% is (at the end of life) recycled or used for energy production.
Improvement #11
In 1997, IKEA developed a new type of particleboard specially aimed for furniture in co-operation with other furniture and particleboard producers. With this new material, the use of raw material was reduced by 85 816 tons. Annually, this resulted in 2 800 less trucks for transportation due to lower cargo weight, easier handling of the merchandise for the customers and reduced costs and prices.
Improvement #12
It is our policy never to use optical brighteners in IKEA textiles. In addition, IKEA products must not contain hazardous substances and we always try to minimise the use of chemicals used in production processes. Whenever practicable, we apply the strictest health and safety requirements to manufacturing in all of our markets.
Improvement #13
Since its launch in 1996, EKTORP sofas have been one of IKEA’s most popular and enduring products. They are also the bulkiest, making it a challenge to transport and store them in a cost-effective and environmentally sound manner. We have recently made EKTORP a customer assembly piece – which means that the product can be packed in a way that reduces space consumption during transport and warehousing by half. With this change, each EKTORP pallet fits twice as many sofas, which has made transport costs drop sharply. And guess what? So has the price, along with improved functionality and maintained quality.
Improvement #14
IKEA encourages customers to leave their cars at home: some countries offer free shuttle buses to travel to IKEA from surrounding urban areas. Some of the IKEA stores Switzerland discounts home delivery rates for customers using public transport to come to the stores.
At IKEA UK stores offer interest free loans and a 15% s rebate to co-workers travelling to work by public transport. In May 2007 IKEA Canada launched a Hybrid Parking Program, rewarding customers driving a hybrid or fuel-efficient car, with a premium parking spot. Many IKEA stores also promote bikes as a sustainable mode of transport. IKEA Poland stores provide facilities for bikes, maps of bike paths and tools to repair customer bikes. IKEA Denmark stores lends out bicycles equipped with trailers at its stores. The trailers enable customers to transport up to 45 kg per trip.
Improvement #15
MICKE series is one of the latest IKEA products made from wood-based frames filled with recycled, honeycombed paper, a fabrication chosen for its strength and rigidity. MICKE uses less raw material than particleboard. It is also more lightweight and thus easier to handle during transportation and ultimately, for our customers.
Improvement #16
STUVA series is made from board-on-stripes (BoS), a strong and light material that uses a very efficient production technique. Like LACK and MICKE, it has a honeycombed paper filling, but its production technique is even more efficient. Two long strips of particle board or MDF are laid out on fibreboard sheets of up to 250 by 500 cm, and the paper filling is placed between the strips. Finally, it is topped with another thin layer of fibreboard. The construction is then cut to the product’s final shape and dimensions before being lacquered or veneered. From the perspective of transportation and raw material use, that’s much more efficient use of resources.
Improvement #17
The IKEA patented Loading Ledges are a smart alternative to traditional wooden pallets. Instead of a pallet’s rigid platform, ledges are flexible, expanding and contracting to the size of the load. The Loading Ledges are made from polypropylene plastic that is continuously recycled and made into new ledges. Their size and shape are optimised for containers, so load units are easily handled with forklifts. Thanks to ledges’ low weight, containers can be loaded with two tons more goods than if wooden pallets were used.
Improvement #18
The cotton in DVALA bed linen is grown in a more sustainable way, using substantially less water, chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Not only that, the fabric is woven using 15% less cotton but still feels just as good as comparable bed linen.
Improvement #19
Together with WWF, we are running Farmer Field Schools in Pakistan and India. Cotton farmers learn how to use water more efficiently and how to handle essential pesticides and artificial fertilisers in ways that are safer for both people and the environment. The schools have generated positive results for sustainable cotton production – in Pakistan the average use of pesticides has dropped 50%, the use of fertilisers by 30 % and the water use went down 50%. Farmers act as inspiration to others, and better farming practices are being spread from farmer to farmer.
Improvement #20
In 2001, we funded a scholarship for students from Russia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to study sustainable forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science. The scholarship is available for students every year.
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