All IKEA branches worldwide also comply to the IKEA Sustainability Direction 2015, the IKEA Sustainability Product Score Card, and the IKEA Way on Purchasing Products, Materials and Services (IWAY).
The IKEA Sustainability Direction 2015 as mentioned in IKEA’s Sustainability Report 2010.
Several strategic areas for improvement are as such:
1) Offering a range of products that are more sustainable
2) Taking a leading role towards a low carbon society
3) Turning waste into resources
4) Reducing our water footprint
5) Taking social responsibility
The IKEA Sustainability Product Score Card is an internal tool that will help IKEA measure their progress and improve the sustainability of their products. IKEA does not display eco-labels (internal or external) on their products and only display the IKEA logo, as they want their customers to know that the IKEA logo already stands for safe and sustainable products.
The fact that IKEA has gone the extra mile to do a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ analysis in the production for its products, illustrates IKEA’s farsighted concern for the environment. Coming up with an internal tool to measure the progress of their own efforts was an excellent way to demonstrate itself as an active and capable member of society, which paves the way for sustainable living.
IKEA’s ecological identity has led it to conduct deep re-evaluations of its responsibility and actions towards the environment. This in turn has brought about the rethinking of its supply chain, which manifested in the IKEA Way on Purchasing Products, Materials and Services (IWAY). IKEA requires their suppliers of products and services to follow the IWAY, which was first introduced in 2000. The IWAY states the supplier (and the supplier’s sub-suppliers) requirements relating to the environment, child labour, social and working conditions. The IWAY elaborates on areas like forestry, cotton, water, waste and climate.