Ingka Group announced today it had released its Annual Summary & Sustainability Report. In the document, the company shows that last year, it produced more renewable energy than it consumed in its operations for the first time.
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Ingka Group at the forefront regarding sustainability goals
Ingka Group (Ingka Holding B.V. and its controlled entities), one of 12 different groups of companies that own and operate IKEA retail under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V., announced Thursday it had released its Annual Summary & Sustainability Report.
Through the new document, Ingka highlights that in 2020 it generated more renewable energy than it consumed in its operational work. According to the company, this is the first time the company achieves such a strong performance.
Furthermore, the operator believes that it is continuing to progress on its sustainability goals while allowing continued investments.
In this regard, Jesper Brodin, CEO of the Ingka Group, said in a public statement: “FY20 was a truly exceptional year, in so many ways. It has been incredible to see over 166,000 entrepreneurs come together, putting people at the heart of everything we do, as well as quickly adapt to meet the new needs of our customers.”
Joint efforts with IKEA
“In a time when the home has never been more important, we made IKEA more accessible by safely opening 26 new customer meeting points in cities like Helsinki, Seoul, and Tokyo. And we accelerated our omnichannel transformation, allowing us to end the year with solid results, even though 75 percent of our stores were closed for almost two months,” the CEO added.
As the climate crisis worsens and the covid-19 pandemic shows the importance of reliable and sustainable power generation capacities, the company is more determined than ever to be part of solving these problems and shaping a new normal that’s better for the generations to come.
In this sense, the company has committed to accelerating its efforts towards the IKEA ambition of becoming climate positive by 2030. This commitment includes further investments of EUR 600 million during FY21, increasing overall investments into sustainability to EUR 3.8 billion.
Looking forward
“At Ingka Group, we stay committed to our sustainability ambitions, and we are proud to say that for the first time, we have generated more renewable energy than we consumed in our operations, landing at 132 percent globally, thanks to our investments in solar and wind technology”, said Karol Gobczyński, Climate & Energy Leader of the Group.
“At IKEA Canada, we are proud to contribute to this global goal by producing more renewable energy than consumed in our total operations since 2015. Through our two wind farms in Alberta and solar panels on more than half of our stores across the country; we generate renewable energy equivalent to 4x our total consumption nationally;” said Melissa Barbosa, Sustainability Manager at IKEA Canada.
“Looking forward, we will continue to accelerate efforts in Canada to tackle unsustainable consumption and climate change; and will launch initiatives to inspire Canadians to live a better everyday life within the boundaries of the planet,” Barbosa added.
Sustainability highlights
Ingka Group’s 2020 sustainability highlights include:
- More than 920,000 solar panels on the roofs of IKEA stores and warehouses.
- The Group inspired 97,400 customers and co-workers to reduce energy, water, and waste through its ‘Better Living’ app.
- Globally, the company introduced the HUVUDROLL plant balls with only 4% of the iconic IKEA meatball’s carbon footprint.
- IKEA Canada continues to give the furniture a second life through its Sell-Back program
