Our climate journey towards Net Zero and Beyond
The IKEA vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people. Climate change threatens this, for people today and for generations to come. We are committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
For many years the IKEA business has been working towards drastically reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removing and storing carbon through forestry, agriculture and products. We’ve also been actively driving several initiatives beyond our value chain to create broader societal impact. As climate science advances and industry standards become more harmonised, IKEA continues to take action. Reflecting both external developments and our own ambitions, we have updated the IKEA climate approach from “Climate Positive” to “Net Zero and Beyond".
Our climate agenda includes:
Drastically reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: We commit to halve absolute GHG across the entire IKEA value chain (scopes 1, 2 and 3) by FY30 (vs FY16) and reaching net-zero emissions by FY50, without relying on carbon offsets to meet this absolute reduction target.*
Removing and storing carbon through forestry, agriculture and products: It’s not enough to only reduce emissions; we also need to remove and store the carbon in the atmosphere. Through nature-based solutions in our own value chain, we will address the root causes of our climate footprint, improve resilience toward impacts of climate change and bring co-benefits to nature and people. We will decide on the mechanism to set goals for our value chain once the Land Sector and Removals Guidance is published in FY25.
Going beyond IKEA: We will go beyond the IKEA value chain by contributing to additional reductions of greenhouse gas emissions in society and advocating for climate policies in line with the science.
* The Science Based Target initiative validated this Inter IKEA Group target in June 2024. In accordance with the Net-Zero Standard, by FY50 we will reduce the absolute GHG emissions from the IKEA value chain by at least 90% compared to FY16, with residual emissions neutralized by removing and storing carbon within our own value chain.
Drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions
The main priority is to reduce our absolute greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain in line with the 1.5°C limit. This will be achieved by:
- Increasing use of materials and food ingredients with a lower climate footprint
- Transitioning towards a circular business
- Striving towards electrification, 100% renewable energy and continually improving efficiency
- Promoting sustainable choices
- Tackling climate change, nature loss, air pollution, inequalities and human rights in a holistic and integrated way
Materials make up the largest part of our climate footprint
IKEA uses many types of materials in its products. Materials represent the largest part of of the total IKEA value chain climate footprint. Reducing the material climate footprint is a long-term development agenda. That's why we have an ambition to halve emissions from materials by FY30 compared to our FY16 baseline.
Product use at home
Almost all the footprint is due to the electricity consumption needed to power products such as lighting and home appliances. A smaller portion also comes from gas-driven hobs, refrigerants used for refrigerators and freezers, and the burning of candles at home. IKEA has a goal to reduce emissions from product use at home by 70% compared to baseline FY16. In FY23, the climate footprint decreased by 13% compared to FY22 and 52% compared to baseline FY16. In FY24, the climate footprint decreased by 4% compared to FY23, and 54% compared to the baseline FY16.
Baseline
Climate footprint (Million tonnes CO₂ equivalent).
Enabling our suppliers to reach 100% renewable energy
It’s critical to switch to 100% renewable energy and phase out fossil fuels – the root cause of climate change. While we’re committed to reaching the goal of 100% renewable energy for all IKEA operations by FY30, we want to enable our supply partners to achieve this goal as well. We’re providing two ways for them to convert to 100% renewable energy: by financing on-site investments and enabling the purchasing of renewable electricity – especially in countries where access is difficult. In FY24, we saw an increase in the overall renewable electricity share in production from 71% in FY23 to 75% in FY24. The share of on-site coal- and fossil oil-based fuels in production decreased from 9% in FY23 to 7% in FY24.
Towards 100% renewable energy for IKEA retail
In FY24, we saw an increase in both the share of renewable electricity, moving from 77% to 81% between FY23 and FY24, and the overall renewable energy share, which progressed from 69% to 71% between FY23 and FY24. Renewable energy includes renewable electricity in addition to renewable sources heating, cooling, and fuels for transport.
More plant-based food
In FY24, we continued to expand our plant-rich food offer through new dishes and investments in innovative ingredients.
Read about more actions we are taking
Removing and storing carbon through forestry, agriculture and products
Trees and agricultural crops – which are used for materials, food and fuels – absorb and store carbon as they grow, in the plant itself and in the soil. Through responsible forest and agriculture management within the IKEA value chain and the circular economy, we will additionally remove and store carbon within the IKEA value chain. We’ll also invest in reforestation and regeneration projects to restore ecosystems and plant more trees.
- Improving responsible management practices within forestry and agriculture
- Prolonging the life of products and the carbon storage in renewable materials
100M EUR
investment in removing and storing carbon
97%
of the wood used by IKEA in FY24 was FSC-certified or recycled
Our Forest Agenda 2030
The Forest Agenda 2030 lays out the roadmap to further enhance biodiversity, support the livelihoods of people who depend on forests, and mitigate climate change.
Going beyond IKEA
We will take an extended responsibility for the climate footprint of our customers, suppliers and sourcing, and contribute with additional reductions in society. We will achieve this by enabling customers to generate renewable energy at home, as well as by transforming our suppliers’ entire factories or operations to renewable energy – not just the part used for IKEA production.
Ways we are going beyond IKEA:
- By driving emissions reductions beyond the IKEA value chain.
- By enabling investments towards a resilient net-zero society.
- Through partnerships and advocacy supporting a fair and resilient net-zero society.
Our reductions in GHG emissions to date are the result of a lot of hard work by co-workers, suppliers and partners across the IKEA business who are committed to addressing every part of the IKEA footprint. Together, we will take the remaining actions needed to contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5°C.