ikea — FRANK DESIGN STUDIO

Sustainability – caring for people and the planet

To meet the challenges of unsustainable consumption, climate change, and growing inequality, we are – in collaboration with partners, co-workers, and customers – taking ambitious steps towards a more sustainable future.

Healthy & sustainable living We’re committed to creating products and services that inspire and support people to make positive lifestyle changes, consume more sustainably, and live better everyday lives.

Ready to make little changes in your daily life with IKEA? At IKEA, we are always looking for solutions to help everyone live more sustainably at home.

Because we believe that even small actions can make a big difference for your home and the earth! Even small actions are worth celebrating!

How sustainable is IKEA? Well, more sustainable every day. With home solar panels, veggie hot dogs, kitchen fronts made from recycled plastic bottles, and energy-saving solutions, we’re paving the way for more sustainable homes for the many.

We believe that people should feel empowered to live more sustainably, which is why we focus on inspiring change with affordable, recyclable, and energy-effective product design. Because, as Ingvar Kamprad once said: “No method is more effective than the good example.”

Better homes and a better world When we look to improve our homes, we all need to consider how to reduce our impact on the planet.

Does a piece of furniture really need replacing? Could it be given a second life? Our buy back and resell service is one of the ways we are making it easier and more affordable to live more sustainably.

Fully circular by 2030 We’re committed to being a fully circular business by 2030. To reach this goal, we create products that can be used and re-used for many years to come, right up until it’s time to recycle them and start again.

Plastic is everywhere for many reasons. It’s a strong, durable, lightweight, and versatile – yet low cost – material. But when plastic is not disposed of responsibly, the environmental implications become concerning. IKEA is committed to making a positive impact on people and the planet.

Our ambition is that by 2030, all plastic used in our products will be based on renewable or recycled material. We’ve already started our journey towards this goal with a plan to replace single-use plastic in our range and by using different kinds of sustainable plastic in an increasing number of products.

Phasing out single-use plastic Single-use plastic items pollute ecosystems if not disposed of responsibly. As part of our commitment to people and the planet, we phased out all single-use plastic products from the global home furnishing range in January 2020.

This includes items such as plates, cups and plastic straws. Single-use plastic articles offered in our restaurants, bistros, and cafes will be replaced by more sustainable disposables.

A recyclable plastic to feel good about We want to make more sustainable plastic products our customers can enjoy and love.

Made from renewable sources like corn, sugar beet and sugar cane instead of virgin fossil based, PLA is an example of a plastic which makes this possible.

Wood is the material most commonly associated with IKEA furniture, and with good reason.

We love working with wood not only because it’s part of our Scandinavian design heritage, but because wood is an excellent material from a design, quality and environmental perspective – provided that it comes from responsibly managed forests. Wood is durable, renewable, recyclable – and beautiful.

Do you feel bad about throwing things away? Maybe you want to repair, reuse or recycle, but lack the time, knowledge or energy to do so.

We can help. Every day IKEA explores new ways to make circularity – the elimination of waste and continual use of resources – more convenient and relevant for you.

We are constantly working towards helping you waste less time, money and effort by prolonging the life of the products you buy and how you buy them. For example, we are testing the potential for more circular solutions such as furniture leasing, take-back and buy-back schemes, and helping customers repair, reuse and recycle old furniture or give it a second life through reselling.

Waste can be valuable – it can be a resource. Have you ever tried to build something new out of things you found around your home? That’s what we try to do when we develop a new product.

Looking for ways in which we can be sustainable by using either leftovers from other productions or recycled materials, is a hot topic in our design process. The result is that you can buy products made from 100% surplus or recycled materials. In other words, our current products become our material banks for the future.

Using resources carefully, creating more from less, and optimising operations, are all actions that are embedded in the IKEA DNA. We’re not there yet, but we are well on our way to becoming a circular business.

In financial year 2019 we successfully gave 47 million products a second life, 38 million products were resold through the As-Is specialty shop, and more than 9 million products have been repacked back to the shelf.