PLATSA Frame, white, 80x55x120 cm

"All you need is your hands," says product developer Freddy Kramer while clicking together one PLATSA frame after another. Yes, clicking. The secret is a type of plug called a wedge dowel. Freddy goes on to explain why assembling or taking frames apart easily is an important detail. "People's lives are changing more and more today ─ we move more often, live in smaller spaces and maybe share a home with others at times. That's why our needs don't look the same throughout life."

Freddy shows how the frames can be arranged vertically, horizontally or like steps, to then be completed with shelves, wire baskets, clothes rail, drawers and doors. "Even the exterior can be used. You can place hooks there or a clothes rail which is fixed between two frames."

For PLATSA to be truly long-lasting, quality was just as important as flexibility and ease of assembling. But improving quality without adding to the price is not easy. "Right quality in the right place," Freddy says, and opens a cabinet door. "Here on the outside of the door, which you see and touch every day, we've used a matt foil with fine texture, while the inside, which is not as exposed, is coated with a simpler base foil." The PLATSA project took a lot of time and commitment. But it also gave results. "Those empty white boxes for the frames might not look like much at first glance, but they’re actually white boxes filled with love,” Freddy says, smiling.

Forests contribute to maintaining balance in the atmosphere, purify the air that we breathe and are part of the water cycle. They nourish wildlife biodiversity and provide homes for indigenous communities who depend on forests for their livelihoods. 90% of plant and animal species living on the planet need forests to survive. They provide sources of food, fuel, timber and many other ecosystem services that we rely upon. Sourcing approximately 19 million m3 of roundwood per year from some 50 countries, IKEA has a significant impact on the world’s forests and the timber industry and a huge responsibility to positively influence how wood is sourced. Responsible wood sourcing and forest management ensure that the needs of people dependent on forests are met, that businesses can work sustainably, that forest ecosystems are protected and biodiversity is enhanced.

At IKEA, we work with strict industry standards to promote responsible forestry. We don’t allow any wood in our supply chain from forest areas that are illegal or contain high conservation values or from forest areas with social conflict. Before starting to work with IKEA, suppliers must demonstrate that they meet IKEA critical requirements on wood sourcing. IKEA requires all suppliers to source wood from more sustainable sources (FSC-certified or recycled wood). All suppliers are audited regularly and non-compliant suppliers are required to implement immediate corrective actions. By working together with our suppliers, we are proud to announce that we have reached our more sustainable sources goal, which we set out to achieve by 2020. Today more than 98% of the wood used for IKEA products is either FSC-certified or recycled.

As pressure on the world’s forests and the surrounding eco-systems increases due to unsustainable agriculture, the expansion of infrastructure and illegal logging, it is time to take an even more holistic approach to protect and support these important resources for generations to come. The IKEA Forest Positive Agenda for 2030 set out to improve forest management, enhance biodiversity, mitigate climate change and support the rights and needs of people who depend on forests across the whole supply chain and drive innovation to use wood in even smarter ways. The agenda focuses on three key areas: • Making responsible forest management the norm across the world. • Halting deforestation and reforesting degraded landscapes. • Driving innovation to use wood in smarter ways by designing all products from the very beginning to be reused, refurbished, remanufactured, and eventually recycled.

For many years, IKEA has partnered with businesses, governments, social groups and non-governmental organisations to fight forest degradation and deforestation and increase the volume and availability of wood from responsibly managed forests both for our own supply chain and beyond. We are on a journey to improve global forest management and make responsible wood sourcing the industry standard, contributing to building resilient forest landscapes and improve biodiversity.