WWF and IKEA renew their 23-year partnership

Since 2002, WWF and Inter IKEA Group have partnered in projects focusing on forests, climate, cotton, and freshwater to protect key landscapes, enhance biodiversity, and empower communities. Today, the partnership announced the next phase until 2030, continuing its work within forests and freshwater while taking a wider stance on agriculture.  

WWF and IKEA have worked together to promote responsible management and protection of natural resources through joint projects in 23 countries, across Europe, Asia and South America. The new phase of the partnership will run from 2025 to 2030 and coincides with a critical period for addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. 

During the next five years, the partnership will continue its efforts to protect, manage and restore key landscapes within forest, freshwater and agricultural ecosystems, including projects in twelve countries: Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Romania, Slovakia, Thailand, Ukraine, and Vietnam. Through close collaboration with local communities in these countries, the partnership will continue to support livelihoods and foster long-term stewardship of natural resources. These efforts will be supported by cross-cutting themes such as advocacy, biodiversity, climate, and communication.

“The urgency to reverse nature loss and reduce emissions has never been greater - and achieving real progress demands cross-sector collaboration. WWF’s long-standing partnership with IKEA, built on more than 20 years of legacy and shared ambition, is an example of how businesses can be a powerful force for transformation. Together, our combined expertise and influence can create effective solutions that positively shape business practices and drive meaningful change,” says Daudi Sumba, WWF Global Chief Conservation Officer

The partnership will continue its efforts in countries both within and outside of the IKEA value chain, ensuring that activities are relevant to local contexts and aligned with WWF priorities and the IKEA sustainability agenda.

“Visiting our joint projects in different countries has shown me first-hand how impactful our partnership with WWF is – from the health of forests, agricultural lands and ecosystems to the livelihoods of local communities. This collaboration is truly about creating a lasting impact for both people and nature. That’s why I’m proud we are now entering the next phase, stronger as partners and with a clear course set for 2030,” says Christina Niemela Ström, Head of Sustainability for Supply, Inter IKEA Group.

The next phase will expand on its long-term work in cotton to include more agricultural commodities. This reflects the partnership’s shared focus on driving systemic change in global agricultural practices. Central to this expanded programme is the integration of regenerative agriculture, soil health, ecosystem restoration, deforestation and conversion-free supply chains as well as sustainable livelihoods. While cotton remains a key focus, the programme will include a broader range of agricultural commodities such as beef, leather, palm oil and soy.

Another development for the next phase is to further strengthen the integration of climate and biodiversity across the forest, agriculture and freshwater initiatives. This reflects the partnership’s holistic approach, working to address the interconnected challenges of climate change and nature loss, while supporting livelihoods and communities.

With the renewed partnership, WWF and IKEA officially enter the eighth phase of our collaboration, aiming for impactful outcomes to be reviewed in 2030.

Examples of how the partnership has driven positive outcomes:

• Strengthening forest policy, improving forest management practices and increasing FSC-certified forests to drive market transformation towards responsibly sourced wood in Europe and Asia.
• Mapping nearly all known (>90%) virgin and old-growth forests in the Carpathian region of Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine with   >75% of them protected (30,000 ha of which are UNESCO designated).
• Planting more than 2 million trees across cotton landscapes in India and Pakistan.
• Supporting the adoption of climate-smart and regenerative agricultural practices in partnership cotton projects, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from cotton production was observed (30% in India and 23% in Pakistan) in 2024.
• Collectively training more than 400,000 farming families in climate-smart agriculture and regenerative agriculture practices through WWF and IKEA cotton projects across Pakistan and India
• Supported a global level water risk assessment of 2,168 of production units in IKEA supply chain, using WWF's Water Risk Filter, and the results have informed the IKEA water agenda.
• Working to improve freshwater management by advancing water conservation both within and beyond the IKEA value chain, advancing projects and initiating pilots connected to river basin projects in India and Türkiye.
• Contributed to the development of the Beyond Net Zero guidance for businesses, offering a clear, science-based guide for meaningful corporate climate leadership.

About the WWF and IKEA partnership

WWF and IKEA are working together to safeguard and manage natural resources and transform business for the benefit of people and planet. The partnership is working to protect and enhance biodiversity by supporting a transition towards more sustainable business practices. Find out more here.