IKEA Will Grow More Wood Than It Uses by 2020, Touts Clean Energy, Efficiency Commitments

Seth W/CC BY-SA 2.0

IKEA has unveiled a new sustainability strategy, outlining the mega-retailers' green plans through 2020.

Entitled "People & Planet Positive", the plan has three main areas supporting the notion, in the words of IKEA's Chief Sustainability Officer, "that sustainability should not be a luxury good; it should be affordable for everyone."

In terms of energy usage, IKEA plans on investing $1.95 billion in renewable energy by 2015?a figure including investments dating back to 2009?and by 2020 will produce as much renewable energy as it consumes. Already, solar panels installed on its buildings, and the wind farms it owns across six European nations, account for 27% of all the electricity it consumes. To date the company is slightly under halfway to its 2015 commitment on investment.

The plan also aims to improve energy efficient of of IKEA operations by at least 20% by 2020.

In terms of wood usage, IKEA has pledged to grow as least as much wood as it uses by 2020. By 2017, the amount of certified sustainable wood it uses will increase four-fold from the amount purchased today, meeting half of all its wood usage for the year.

Announced earlier this month, IKEA also plans to increase the energy efficiency of the products it sells by 2016, convert all lighting products it sells to use LED bulbs and selling induction cooktops.

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/ikea-grow-more-wood-than-it-uses-2020.html

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