People
Improvement #2
Some things can’t be compromised - safety, respect for people of all ages, the environment. We call it IWAY (The IKEA Way on Purchasing Products, Materials and Services). It’s our code of conduct, and it specifies the minimum requirements we place on suppliers. It also describes what they can expect from us in return. IWAY includes zero tolerance for child and forced labour; safe, healthy working conditions; compliance with local laws; care with chemicals – and more. IKEA co-workers are often on site at suppliers, to ensure that our requirements are met. We work to motivate and support suppliers to take increased responsibility themselves. Since we introduced IWAY in 2000, we can see a continuous positive development – more than 100 000 improvements have been made so far.
Improvement #6
IKEA does not accept child labour, and we work actively to prevent it. All IKEA suppliers and sub-contractors must comply with the IKEA code on conduct on child labour: The IKEA Way on Preventing Child Labour. It states that all actions must be in the best interests of the child. Rules and monitoring must be complemented with addressing the root causes behind child labour. That's why IKEA Social Initiative invests in child rights projects with UNICEF and Save the Children.
Improvement #19
Together with WWF, we are running Farmer Field Schools in Pakistan and India. Cotton farmers learn how to use water more efficiently and how to handle essential pesticides and artificial fertilisers in ways that are safer for both people and the environment. The Schools have generated positive results for sustainable cotton production – in Pakistan the average use of pesticides has dropped 48%, the use of fertilisers by 32% and the water use went down 40%. At the same time earnings for farmers have increased by 87%.
Improvement #20
In 2001, we funded a scholarship for students from Russia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to study sustainable forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science. The scholarship is available for students every year.
Improvement #23
The annual Soft Toys campaign “One Euro is a Fortune”, runs each year in November and December in all IKEA stores, and donates one Euro for each Soft Toy sold to UNICEF and Save the Children educational projects. Together with IKEA customers we contribute to improved education for children. IKEA Social Initiative has so far been able to donate 16.7 million euros, supporting over 40 projects in more than 20 countries such as Albania, Bangladesh, Russia, Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Uganda and China.
Improvement #29
SUNNAN work lamps combines low energy LED technology with solar cell panels. Since there’s no need for electricity, you can use it anywhere indoors not depending on your sockets. Just charge the panel for 9-12 hours in the sun and get four hours of full lamplight. From summer 2009 onwards, UNICEF will receive one SUNNAN lamp for every SUNNAN sold in IKEA stores worldwide. This enables children in homes without electricity to read, write and draw even after dusk. The first donations go through UNICEF to Pakistan.
Improvement #32
In 2005, IKEA Social Initiative donated 18 000 NORDEN tables to Unicef in Liberia and Burundi. They were great support to the school enrolment drives and are now used in schools. IKEA Social Initiative can when possible make In-Kind donations.
Improvement #35
In 2005 IKEA initiated a pilot project in which approx 2 000 women took part. They embroider cushion covers, IKEA PS GRINDTORP, which are sold in IKEA stores. The women had previously been part of self-help groups during the IKEA and UNICEF partnership to prevent child labour in 500 villages in northern India, 2000-2007, and they were trained in children’s rights, health and nutrition.
Improvement #40
Versatile NÄSUM baskets are made from what most people would consider waste: remnants from banana trees after the harvest. Once a banana tree has produced its golden fruit, the trunk slowly dies. Instead of being thrown away, the trunk is cut into strips and left in the sun to dry. Once woven, NÄSUM is made durable with water-based lacquer.
Improvement #52
IKEA US implemented a program to help victims of hurricane Katrina in 2005. Part of the "Give a Hug" program was that every dollar from the sale of heart-shaped FAMNIG cushions at all IKEA stores in the US would be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.
Improvement #54
After the major earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, IKEA Social Initiative donated 335 000 quilts to the victims through UNICEF. After the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, IKEA Social Initiative donated 200 000 Soft Toys through Save the Children. In an emergency IKEA Social Initiative can at an initial state donate products and later work with its partners to provide mid-term/long-term support in the aftermath of a disaster, e g the reconstruction of schools in China after the 2008 earthquake.
Improvement #57
IKEA Social Initiative is supporting major health initiatives carried out by UNICEF. These programmes aim at developing integrated, community-based, sustainable approaches to improve child survival in some of India's most deprived areas. The initiative covers 18 states and is expected to benefit 80 million children and adolescents, and 10 million women. The focus is on improving the health and nutrition of children by vitamin supplements, advocate breastfeeding, provide safe water and create a healthy environment for children and their families.
Improvement #58
All coffee sold and served at IKEA is UTZ Certified. That means that you can trace the bean all the way back to the plantations through a code on the packaging. UTZ Certified is an independent non-profit organisation that sets social and environmental standards for sustainable coffee growing and distribution.
Improvement #64
IKEA Italy developed educational material for schools in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Two different packs were developed: a “Responsible Energy pack” and a “Responsible Forestry pack” (2006) - both distributed for free to schools near the stores.
Improvement #66
IKEA PS GULLSPIRA is one of three different wall hangings with masks depicting characters from Scandinavian fairy tales. Indian village women entrepreneurs make them, with a hand-stitched quilting technique using wool and cotton. Each wall hanging is a one-off piece, with the Hindi name of its maker embroidered on the back. The women were previously part of a joint IKEA Social Initiative and UNICEF project, started in 2000, which has helped to economically and socially empower more than 20,000 women through self-help groups, as part of a broad programme to prevent and eliminate child labour in Uttar Pradesh in northern India.
Improvement #67
IKEA Sweden organised a sustainability contest for young students, grades 1-3, in cooperation with WWF Sweden in 2008. More than 48 000 children collected aluminium tea light holders (recycling aluminium uses 96% less energy than producing new!). Swedish kids gathered together over 50 millions tea light holders for recycling – that’s 35 tons of aluminium. As part of the contest children get to learn about the environment and how to save resources.
IKEA catalogue 2010: