Taking care of the largest meeting place we all share
The vision we share with IKEA drives us to create a better everyday life for the many people. And we believe that those lives are truly better when they’re lived sustainably.
We want to do our part and bring value through our meeting places by having a positive impact on people, communities and our planet. For us it’s about balancing economic growth and positive social impact with environmental protection and renewal.
This means we always think long-term – to be able to meet the needs of people today, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
"Our planet is the largest meeting place we all share – the place where we meet our friends, families and the communities around us. And it needs us now more than ever.”
We're now accelerating our journey to become more sustainable in everything we do. That’s why we have set a goal to use 100% renewable electricity in all our buildings worldwide by 2025, and we’re aiming towards 100% renewable heating and cooling by 2030.
Our People & Planet Positive strategy
We have identified three major challenges impacting our world and our business:
Climate change: no longer a distant threat, but a visible reality, we believe that the climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity.
Unsustainable consumption: by 2030, nearly half a billion people will move into the middle class. In a world already using more resources than what is sustainable, this new segment of customers puts an even greater pressure on the planet.
Inequality: every year, large numbers of people move out of poverty. At the same time, many are still struggling on very low incomes. Gender equality is far from a reality, and many people are still denied basic rights and equal opportunities.
As a response to these three challenges, we’ve identified three corresponding focus areas to help us fulfil our vision and make a positive impact on people and the planet:
Inspiring and enabling healthy and sustainable living
We’ll provide an offer of experiences and services through our meeting places that inspire and enable millions of people to live a better, more sustainable, healthier and happier life – all within the limits of our planet. Together with our tenants and partners, we want to make healthy and sustainable living a desirable choice that’s attractive, accessible and affordable for as many people as possible.
Becoming climate positive in our operations
We’ll contribute to a low carbon society by striving for zero waste and being climate positive in our operations. Our meeting places should reflect sustainability through their effective, innovative and smart design and operations. Each new meeting place should be located, designed, equipped, commissioned and operated to be the most sustainable possible in the local context.
Being fair and inclusive
We’re here to create meeting places that become the heart of the community. We’ll be a partner in the solutions to local needs and opportunities, growing our business and the local community together. We strive to be inclusive and respect differences. By providing decent and meaningful employment and contributing to positive change in the communities where we are present, we can play our part in creating a fairer and more equal society.
Our Sustainability stories
Making the world go round
We opened the first Circuit space in our Birsta City meeting place in Sundsvall (Sweden), offering the many people easy access to a range of services, retailers and activities related to the circular economy.
Making room for a better world
At our Aleja Bielany meeting place in Wroclaw, visitors can find FOROOM, an intercultural community point where people don’t necessarily speak the same language, but where everyone wants to understand each other.
Love your stuff for longer
Like the previous year, we decided to stand out on Black Friday and Double 11 again and run the Love your stuff for a longer campaign.
Prevent it like a gentleman
Our team at MAR Shopping Algarve (Portugal), truly cares about their community and they’re committed to a serious-yet-fun annual event that focuses on men’s health.
Things to love and love again
Our team at ELNÒS Shopping, Brescia (Italy), helped developing a whole new kind of second-hand store where end products are as beautiful as the way they’re sorted.
The not-so-secret garden
In September 2020, our Wola Park opened the doors of its Everyday Garden (“Ogród Codzienny”).
Helping our planet while taking a break
Our very first centre opened in 1973, Birsta City in Sundsvall (Sweden) has many inspiring stories to tell.
Bags full of care
This is a story of love – love for fashion, but mostly love for people. And it starts with a simple, but wonderful idea.
