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Child being served a vegetarian meal.

Becoming people and planet positive

The IKEA sustainability strategy

The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people, and we believe those lives are truly better when they’re lived sustainably. For us, it’s about balancing economic growth and positive social impact with environmental protection and renewal. So, our mission overall is to meet the needs of people today without compromising the needs of future generations. 

This means rethinking and inspiring changes in lifestyle and consumption, as well as adopting new ways of working. Because the more people we reach, the bigger impact we have in helping the many create a better everyday life. 

Wind turbines at open sea
Woman sanding down a chair, giving it new life with a new coat of paint.

People and Planet Positive

We have identified three major challenges impacting 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: In a world that already uses resources requiring more than one planet, billions of new consumers put an even greater pressure on the planet. . 

Inequality: Every year, people move out of poverty, while others tragically fall back into it. There is also an ever increasing level of inequality in the world with a widening gap between the wealthiest in society and the rest. 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 the IKEA vision and become people and planet positive: 

  • healthy and sustainable living 
  • circular and climate positive 
  • fair and equal 
Man and child in a garden with plants

Healthy and sustainable living

The way we live at home has a big impact on the planet and our health. Many people want to make healthier and more sustainable choices – but not at the expense of price, quality or convenience. With our size and reach, we have a big opportunity to make healthier and more sustainable living affordable and accessible to people around the world. By promoting sustainable home furnishing and food products, services, life-at-home knowledge, and inspiration, we can make healthier and more sustainable living possible for the many people. To achieve this, we actively listen to people in each of our markets and work together with others to create meaningful connections and experiences. 

By 2030 our ambition is to inspire and enable 1 billion people to live a better everyday life within the limits of the planet.  

With clean energy services like home solar and electricity subscriptions, we’re making it easier and more affordable for our customers to use and produce renewable energy. This is an important contribution towards supporting the transition to a net zero society. Our clean energy services are now available in several countries, where we offer home solar, battery storage systems and an electricity subscription service using solar and wind. Read more about our energy efforts and our performance in FY22.

By testing new circular services, we’re exploring ways to prolong the life of our products, give customers access to furniture without owning it, and help people give products they no longer need a second life. We have implemented 170 circular hubs in 26 markets and offer spare parts helping customers prolong the life of their IKEA products. We are also testing furniture subscriptions and an IKEA second hand store offering only secondhand IKEA products. Read about our progress in FY22 on enabling more circular consumption.

We are one of the largest food businesses in the world, serving millions of food customers every year. By promoting tasty, affordable plant-based food options, we make it easier for more people to try, enjoy and afford healthier and more sustainable food. In FY21 we launched the plant-based mince VÄRLDSKLOK in 26 markets and our popular HUVUDROLL plant ball is now available in all our 32 markets. Read more about how we make our food range healthier and better for the planet, and our progress against the goals. 

Man gazing towards the treetops in a pine forest.

Circular and climate positive

A group of schoolgirls on their way to school.

Fair and equal