Our view on decarbonising transport and logistics
All IKEA products go through a journey – from the supplier to a distribution centre and/or a store before they reach the homes of millions of people who love our products. This journey has an impact on people and our planet, which gives us a big responsibility, a strong sense of purpose, and the opportunity to do great things. We are rethinking everything – the materials we use, energy consumption in our operations, and how we can prolong our products' lives – and not the least, how our products are moved through our supply chain.
The Decarb Catalogue from IKEA Supply Chain Operations
We are excited to share concrete examples from across the IKEA transport and logistics supply chain in our annual catalogue. Let these good examples instill confidence and inspire us to accelerate our common climate journey!
For transport and logistics, our goals are to reduce the carbon footprint from every transport we do by an average of 70% and by 80% in absolute terms from our logistics operations. By 2040 we aim to transport our goods on zero emissions trucks and vessels.
Our ambitious decarbonise agenda guides us throughout this journey. We are committed to reducing, replacing, and rethinking the ways we supply our products to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We work with a diversified portfolio of initiatives and solutions, short- and long-term simultaneously with the same sense of urgency.
Reduce is about increasing efficiencies in everything we do. We work together with our service providers to reduce fuel and energy consumption, increase equipment utilisation, and optimise our transport network.
Replace is about replacing fossil fuels. We are switching to intermodal solutions, increasing the use of more sustainable/zero emission fuels and renewable energy, and striving for electrification of freight fleets.
Rethink is about integrating innovations and new technologies into our value chain. We are rethinking everything by being open to new ideas, thinking outside the box, and collaborating with others to drive innovation.
“Since we started our decarbonise journey, we have achieved a lot. However, the world is in a countdown mode to limit climate change effects, and there is a need to speed up. We need to do even more to reach our goals. But we cannot achieve these goals alone. Nor do we have all the answers. We invite our partners and other companies to join us on the journey to reduce, replace and rethink. Together we can create a positive change and build a more sustainable future”, says Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld Sustainability Manager Supply Chain Operations at Inter IKEA Group. “We must gear up for the journey ahead of us. By working even closer together, thinking outside the box and accelerate the sustainable pathways to the future.”
The book and claim system for ocean shipping
Sustainable ocean shipping must become the default option for everyone, everywhere, all the time. Achieving zero emission shipping requires collaboration across the supply chain to deploy and scale solutions with speed. The book and claim system is an important piece of the puzzle to accelerate this transition in the ocean shipping industry.
The system enables cargo owners to generate demand signals for low or zero-emission fuels. It helps solve the initial logistical challenges carriers face in matching demand with routes that have fuel bunkering available. In IKEA, we view the system as a temporary solution until zero-emission fuels become widely accessible for global shipping. This will enable us to ship our home-furnishing goods on zero-emission vessels only.
While we are finalising the accounting criteria for book and claim setups within our business, we see this as a critical movement to support broader, faster decarbonisation across the shipping industry.