The iconic Swedish home furnishing conglomerate Ikea has stepped up its green policy from making its products 100% recyclable to ordering raw material from well-managed forest plantations.
“We are working with our suppliers to make sure that our social and environmental measures are on high standard,” said Thomas Bergmark, sustainability manager of Ikea Group.
“Currently, 72% of our products are renewable or recyclable. Our mission is to have a complete range of renewable or recyclable products in the future,” he said of the global company.
These green efforts follow the company’s code of conduct, issued in 2000, which focuses on social and environmental issues.
Ikea has also cooperated with the World Wildlife Fund to implement a forest action plan to ensure that Ikea will reach its goal of sourcing all wood from verified, well-managed forest plantations.
The company is also improving production processes to be in line with its environmental scheme. Such measures will not only enhance its environmental credentials but also lower cost and improve sustainable performance, Mr Bergmark said.
Ikea also plans to increase its orders from Thai suppliers by between 25% and 30% next year, he said. Currently, the company purchases products from 20 Thai suppliers worth 4 to 5 billion baht a year.
Ikea’s largest supplier is China, which represents 20% of total orders while Thailand contributes only 2% of the total purchasing orders for export markets worldwide.
However, Thai-made products will go on sale to domestic consumers in November 2011 once it opens its first store in Thailand with a massive 40,000 square metres of space in the Bang Na area.
