IKEA | social & environmental responsibility

social & environmental responsibility


Forestry projects A substantial part of the raw material for IKEA's products is wood or wood fibers. This is why we want the forests from where we take our raw material, to be managed in a responsible way. The long-term goal is to source all wood in the IKEA products from verified well-managed forests. For more information on how we work with the forestry issue, click here. See how IKEA actively works against illegal logging. The IKEA Group contributes to the following forest projects: · Since 1999, IKEA co-operates with Global Forest Watch, an initiative of WRI, World Resources Institute. The project objective is to map the world's remaining intact natural forests. Knowledge about the locations of intact natural forests, relative to logging operations, is essential to be able to save these forests. · Since 2001, IKEA is funding a scholarship for students from Russia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to study forestry in Sweden, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science for one year. Approximately 20 students annually, for a five-year period will receive the scholarship. · The foundation Sow a Seed, started by IKEA in 1998, aims to rehabilitate 14,000 hectares of degraded rain forest in the Malaysian State of Sabah. The project's objective is enrichment planting of native tree species and research on how to best rehabilitate a rainforest. . IKEA and WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) have joined forces to promote responsible forestry. In co-operation, IKEA and WWF are carrying out a series of frest projects that will contribute to the development of global toolkits on forestry issues and promote responsible forestry in priority regions, i.e. in Russia, China, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Bulgaria. For updated information regarding IKEA’s corporate contribution, you are welcome to contact PRCO@memo.ikea.com


	Play for life Help children in Angola and Uganda Support UNICEF in helping affected children to recover from armed conflicts in Angola and Uganda. For every IKEA PS BRUM soft toy you buy, UNICEF receives $2. Our goal is to raise a total of $400,000.00 through the sales of IKEA PS BRUM world-wide. In Angola, the IKEA contribution will get to some 80,000 children through a non-formal education effort with main focus on learning by playing. In northern Uganda, civil conflicts have torn the people for almost two decades. The IKEA funds will support play-based programs for at-risk teenagers to strengthen the awareness about the threat of HIV/AIDS. Every child has the right to playtime in a safe environment. This has been stated in the most internationally adopted treaty in the history – the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. The right to play may seem as a natural thing, but millions of children are deprived of this vital element due to conflicts, diseases and exploitation. IKEA has supported UNICEF programmes around the world for more than 10 years, including recent contributions to support immunisation and child protection programmes in Northern India.


The IKEA Group is concentrating its corporate contributions on a few selected causes. These are primarily environmental projects, projects aimed at the prevention of child labour and initiatives to support children and their opportunities for learning and development. We have established relationships with a small number of recognized international and national organizations. The projects that IKEA contributes to are linked to our business and are therefore as close as possible to our suppliers. Children's rights Child labor is an unacceptable part of today’s reality. This situation exists in some of the countries where IKEA purchases. It is a complex problem that can be solved only by addressing the root causes of child labor, together with the broad engagement of different parties in society. We want our activities to be in the best interests of the child. The ambition is to make sure that no child labor is involved in the manufacturing of IKEA products. This includes all our suppliers worldwide, as well as their sub-contractors. Providing quality education is one way of preventing child labor.


	The IKEA Group supports the following projects: In India: · In collaboration with UNICEF, United Nations Children’s Fund, IKEA has initiated community development projects in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. The objective is to prevent child labor. The projects covers more than 500 villages with a population of approximately 1.3 million people. Alternative Learning Centres for children are set up to help them join the formal school system. Approximately 54,000 children benefit directly from the project. In addition, UNICEF is working via local NGOs and in co-operation with local authorities to support women in their efforts to establish self-help groups. These measures help women to gain access to micro credit schemes and find alternative income-generating opportunities. · IKEA has supported CREDA, a local non-governmental organization in India. The two-year project started in September 2000 and covered a geographic area of 25 villages. Focus was on providing educational opportunities for young girls. In addition, 500 adult women were given basic literacy education. The project was implemented by UNDP, United Nations Development Programme. · Together with WHO, World Health Organization and UNICEF, IKEA has initiated a vaccination project in India starting in April 2002. The objective is to provide immunization to infants between 0-1 years of age against the six most common childhood diseases. All pregnant women will also be vaccinated with the tetanus toxoid. A total of 290,000 women and children will be immunized. The project covers 3,000 villages in India, some where IKEA already has an ongoing UNICEF project.


In Kosovo: · Since 2000, IKEA is supporting the International Save the Children Alliance to re-establish schooling for the children in the Western part of Kosovo after the war in 1999. The main aim is to re-build 49 schools, reconstruct and repair classrooms, provide support to schools with pre-school classes and teacher training. This helps to restore normality in the lives of thousands of children. · IKEA is supporting UNICEF for the repair of eight pilot schools in Kosovo benefiting some 8,000 pupils. The project, which started in 2000, also includes new equipment, teaching materials and the improvement of water supplies and sanitary conditions. An important part of the project is a special teacher training, building on interactive teaching with the focus being on children and their enthusiasm. The teachers will then train other colleagues to introduce the methods in 35 additional schools around the province.