Ikea has announced that it is committing €1.5 billion to transforming its business away from fossil fuels and towards renewable energy.
The retailer is working towards the target of reducing its climate footprint from its operations by 85 percent by 2030; and has already put €7.5 billion towards achieving this.
The company says that it has already reduced its overall emissions by 24.3 percent; and is now working to retrofit all of the company’s 150 existing properties with renewable heating and cooling.
Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ikea’s parent company Ingka Group, said: "Ending our reliance on fossil fuels is essential to tackling the climate crisis and halving global emissions by 2030. At IKEA, we started our journey in 2009 and have invested heavily in both on- and offsite renewable energy production to enable the transition.”
He added that 96 percent of the company’s retail sites now use renewable electricity. He continued: “The future of energy must be renewable, and this additional investment will enable us to reduce our carbon emissions, increase efficiency and lower costs in the long term. It’s also good for business – a win-win."
The company’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Karen Pflug, acknowledged that the company’s decarbonisation journey was “a complex and costly process” but added: “…we know it will pay off in the long term.”
Brodin added a call to action. He said: “We welcome the COP28 pledges on renewable energy and energy efficiency and consensus on transitioning away from fossil fuels. Now, to move from pledges to impact, governments and businesses need to combine efforts and address obstacles, such as complex and inefficient policy, permitting and reporting frameworks. We have five years left to deliver to the Paris Agreement – with the right commitment and leadership we have it in our hands.”
According to carbon management platform, Plan A, the retail sector is one of the top 10 most carbon-intensive industries. It states that this sector is responsible for roughly 25 percent of global greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions. It adds: “The majority of these emissions arise from the extensive retail value chain, which accounts for up to 98 percent of a retailer's total emissions.”
