What: A semi-promotional piece about how Ikea is leading its sustainable efforts in the constraints of limiting its prices.

Why it is important: sustainability is often associated with high prices by both retailers and customers, and this is what limits the possibilities to go greener and more efficient at the same time in terms of business.

Karen Pflug, the chief sustainability officer at Ingka Group, Ikea's largest retail franchisee, is leading the group's ambitious transition to a circular business model by 2030. This initiative includes making sustainable living affordable and accessible to all, incorporating circularity in store design, and educating consumers about sustainable practices. Ikea aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve full circularity in the same year. The company is focusing on using recycled or renewable materials in its products and making them easy to reuse, refurbish, or recycle.

Ingka Group conducts a global survey every two years to understand consumer attitudes towards sustainability, informing its strategy to work with municipalities and governments for better legislation and initiatives. An example of this effort is in the Netherlands, where Ikea collaborated with local authorities to recycle over a million mattresses.

The challenge for Ikea is to alter consumer perceptions of its products as disposable and low-priced, and instead emphasize durable, sustainable, and affordable products. Ikea stores now feature sustainable living shops and circular hubs, offering second-hand furniture and products that support a sustainable lifestyle. The company's buyback & resell service is also gaining popularity, with significant increases in customer usage and items given a second life.

Ikea, under Ingka Group, is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and fostering a more sustainable business model, demonstrating that environmental consciousness can coexist with affordability in retail. Pflug envisions a future where sustainability is so ingrained in Ikea's operations that her role as a sustainability officer becomes obsolete.

How Sustainability And Affordability Can Go Hand-In-Hand: The Case Of Ikea