April 4th, 2011

When it comes to rating its products with regard to sustainability issues, IKEA is about to start keeping score – literally.

The Sweden-based retailer plans to start rating its merchandise with a scorecard, part of an emphasis on marketing more sustainable products. The IKEA Sustainability Product Score Card rates items based on 11 criteria, including use of less material, energy efficiency in the production phase, use of recycled content and improvements in transportation efficiency.

The goal: IKEA wants 90 percent of its sales of home items to be classified as “more sustainable” by 2015, according to its own standards. To receive that distinction, products have to have more sustainability aspects than previous versions or comparable goods.

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December 7th, 2010

IKEA’s American employees are getting an early Christmas present. The Sweden-based home furnishings company is providing a new all-terrain bicycle to about 12,400 employees at its 37 U.S. stores.

About 12,400 IKEA U.S. workers are receiving new bicycles this holiday season. Photo: IKEA

“It’s been a good year for IKEA, so what better way to celebrate our success than to thank our IKEA co-workers who made this happen,” said Mike Ward, IKEA U.S. President. “This is our way of saying ‘Thanks IKEA co-workers for being strongly committed to working together.’ We hope this bike will be taken in the spirit of the season while supporting a healthy lifestyle and everyday sustainable transport.”

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August 26th, 2010

OK, so you’ve done the environmentally correct thing and replaced most of your incandescent bulbs with CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs).
CFLs use less electricity and as a result, reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In an average home, lighting accounts for about a fifth of the electric bill. Because CFLs use about 75 percent less electricity than incandescent light bulbs — and last about 10 times longer, it just makes sense to switch.

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April 13th, 2010

Families turn out for a recycling event in Frisco, Texas. (Photo: Frisco Green Living)

Most everyone is familiar with IKEA, home of affordable, assemble-it-yourself furnishings. But did you know that the company has a code of conduct known as the IWAY? The familiar blue-and-yellow stores began in Sweden in 1943. As USA Corporate spokeperson Mona Liss likes to say, they “own the whole pipeline,” meaning IKEA controls everything from start to finish, from sourcing to the end product.

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June 5th, 2009

By Sommer Saadi
Green Right Now

As I unloaded my groceries onto the conveyor belt, I realized I was buying more than could fit in my reusable bags.

“Can you try to fit everything in these?” I asked, handing over my assortment of canvas totes.

“I can try,” the cashier answered. “But it’s no big deal, I can just use plastic bags for whatever we can’t fit into the ones you brought.”

“Oh no,” I said. “No plastic bags. Please.”

She stared back at me. She had already stretched out a plastic bag and was ready to load.

“I have this thing,” I told her. “I just really hate plastic bags.”

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April 20th, 2009

By Laura Elizabeth May
Green Right Now

The Ethisphere Institute announced its annual selection of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2009. The companies selected must promote ethical business standards and practices by going beyond legal minimums, introducing innovative ideas benefiting the public and forcing their competitors to follow suit.

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