IKEA’s dedication towards environmental sustainable practices are aptly conveyed in the words of Mikael Ohlsson, President and CEO, IKEA Group:
“The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people, and we believe that home is the most important place in the world. We offer affordable home furnishing products and solutions, while also taking responsibility for people and the environment. We want our customers to be able to freely choose from our range, knowing that they do not have to choose between sustainability, style, function or price.”
IKEA Singapore can be seen as a positive role model to inspire other companies through the many initiatives it takes.
Several of the initiatives done at IKEA Singapore are described in detail below:
IKEA takes on tough stance against the use of plastic bags.
Since April 2007, IKEA Singapore has stopped giving out free plastic bags. It was the first retailer in Singapore to adopt this curtailment behavior. About 45.5 tonnes of biodegradable plastic bags were saved between July 2009 to June 2010, and this translates to about 2,148,000 plastic bags saved per year.
The proceeds collected from the sale of the plastic bags from April 2007 – May 2010 went to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Singapore to help fight the haze in Sumatra, by promoting sustainable forest management and developing alternative sustainable livelihood for the villagers. From May 2010 onwards, the proceeds go to the Little Green Dot student research grant, jointly organised with Nature Society (Singapore). The grant allows students to conduct research on methods of conserving marine and freshwater life.
Sustainable practices are alive in IKEA’s offices.
IKEA realizes the importance of sustainability education and awareness for its employees, and they go through a sustainability e-learning programme. Recycling bins for easy sorting of materials, favoring of email over print, use of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) -certified paper, are some forms of behavioral choices offered to its employees.
IKEA’s dedication to material reduction and recycling permeates into the shopping environment.
Recycling bins are placed throughout the store for shoppers’ convenience and practice at recycling. Waste fabrics are donated to organisations and nearby schools, which they convert into useful products to support their causes. All the waste oil, about 3,000 kg per month, from both restaurants are sent to Alpha Biofuels to be recycled into bio-diesel. The IKEA restaurants have also stopped providing takeaway boxes to minimize the usage of disposal packaging. Currently, only IKEA Alexandra sells the take-away boxes, when requested by customers. The proceeds from the sales of the takeaway boxes from IKEA Alexandra is donated to WWF Singapore to support local conservation efforts. Biodegradable cornware containers and utensils are also used.
‘As-Is’ sections encourage reuse for slightly less than perfect products.
Furniture that are returned, damaged or ex-display are given a new lease of life and sold at the As-Is corner at reduced prices, to maximize reuse.
Children learn to care for the environment at Småles.
The Småles programme engages children to be environmentally friendly through fun activities and games. Workshops and programs have been conducted to enhance children’s sense of efficacy in practising the 3Rs. They learnt to transform old socks into sock puppets and used paper into paper beaded necklaces. They are also encouraged to bring used newspapers to recycle and given redeemable credits as incentives. Interaction with the environment is also encouraged via outdoor photography contests. This would help in the development of an environmental identity in the children. Newsletters provide knowledge on green issues at a level which is easy to understand for children, and tips to go green at home. Children are give a chance to participate in the community via serving the ‘parliament’ in Småland as elected ministers. This increases their motivation to contribute towards the environment via their given roles in ‘parliament’.
“All of us Ministers went on stage to get our certificates and took a pledge to serve the citizens of Småland. I feel very honoured to be the Green Minister and will try my best to bring 5kg of newspapers whenever I visit Småland!”– Green Minister for Småland, age:9