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IKEA announces plans to go green by 2020

October 23, 2012

IKEA announced today that it will shift to renewable energy by 2020 as part of a preservation plan that has won support from environmentalists, according to a Reuters report.

The Swedish-based retailer wants to build on many customers' desires for a greener lifestyle, also committing that it would limit sales by 2016 to energy-efficient products including induction cookers and LED light bulbs, according to Reuters.

Under the plan, IKEA will invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.95 billion) from 2009 to 2015 in solar and wind power to produce at least 70 percent of the group's energy. By 2020 it would produce as much renewable energy as it consumes.

Also by 2020, IKEA said it will grow at least as many trees as it uses to make products such as beds or cupboards. Already, IKEA says it does not take wood from natural tropical forests, such as in the Amazon or the Congo basins, Reuters reported.

Mikael Ohlsson of IKEA said that the retailer had freedom to act partly because it is not listed on a stock market. "We are owned by a foundation, it means also that our whole focus is customers throughout the chain and not stock exchange and owners," he said.

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