IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings retailer, has announced a new programme in India, Poland and China that supports nearly 1,600 direct suppliers to switch to 100 per cent renewable electricity.

The company is striving towards 100 per cent renewable energy throughout the entire value chain.

The programme will be introduced this year for suppliers in Poland, China and India, who represent three of IKEA’s largest purchasing countries, followed by a stepwise global roll-out. Achieving 100 pre cent renewable electricity with these suppliers will save 670.000 tonnes CO2 emissions a year, equivalent to approximately 3 per cent of the total climate footprint of the IKEA value chain.

“India is one of IKEA’s largest purchasing countries, and we are excited to adopt this programme in this market. The programme is a critical contribution to reach our science-based targets that are aligned with the 1.5°C ambition and supports the IKEA long-term commitment to become climate positive by 2030 by reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than the value chain emits, while growing the IKEA business,” said Henrik Elm, Global Supply Manager, Inter IKEA group.

“Together with our direct suppliers we will take the necessary steps and contribute to limit climate change to 1.5°C. By working together, we can make renewable electricity both more affordable and accessible,” he said.

“At IKEA, becoming people and planet positive is an integral part of how we do business at every step. With this initiative in collaboration with our valuable partners, we will save precious resources and reduce the climate footprint. We have 50 direct suppliers with more than 400.000 co-workers in the Indian supply chain,” said Marius Martinaitis, Purchasing Manager, IKEA South Asia.

IKEA suppliers today cannot generate all their renewable electricity on-site — a majority still needs to be bought from the grid. Through this program, IKEA will have a complete offer to both support suppliers to generate renewable energy on-site and enable them to purchase the remaining part from the grid.

In addition, IKEA will continue to lead by example through its own operations. Already today, 51 per cent renewable energy consumption in IKEA stores, offices, warehouses, factories, and other operations is implemented. The goal is to reach 100 per cent renewable electricity in 2025 and by 2030 secure that all remaining energy, such as heating and cooling, is renewable as well.

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