Ikea has announced a global commitment to remove all single-use plastic products by 2020 as part of its updated sustainability strategy.
The strategy, known as People and Planet Positive, also includes a commitment for all of its stores around the world to become climate positive and reduce the total Ikea climate footprint by an average of 70 per cent per product.
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The strategy also features plans to design products with new circular principles, with the goal to only use renewable and recycled materials, as well as increase the proportion of plant-based choices in the Ikea food offer.
By 2025, the Swedish retail giant plans to achieve zero emission home deliveries and expand the offer of affordable home solar solutions from five markets to 29 markets around the world.
The aim of the updated strategy is to transform Ikea into a circular business and create positive social impact.
“Our ambition is to become people and planet positive by 2030 while growing the IKEA business,” Inter Ikea group chief executive Torbjörn Lööf said.
“Through our size and reach we have the opportunity to inspire and enable more than one billion people to live better lives, within the limits of the planet.
“Change will only be possible if we collaborate with others and nurture entrepreneurship. We are committed to taking the lead working together with everyone – from raw material suppliers all the way to our customers and partners”.
At this year’s Democratic Design event, Ikea demonstrated several new innovations that enable people to save water, clean the air in their homes and use products made from innovative and recycled materials.
These include a tap nozzle can save more than 90 per cent of water used and the development of textiles that will help purify air in the home.
Ikea sustainability manager Lena Pripp-Kovac said: “Becoming truly circular means meeting people’s changing lifestyles, prolonging the life of products and materials and using resources in a smarter way.
“To make this a reality, we will design all products from the very beginning to be repurposed, repaired, reused, resold and recycled.”
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