SWEDEN – Ikea is committed to becoming a circular business by 2030.

The strategic partnership announced by Inter Ikea Group and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation – a global thought leader on the circular economy – will focus on putting the home furnishing business on the global circular map and accelerating the transition to a circular economy within Ikea and beyond. The shared ambition is to create lasting impact on a global scale and drive transformation towards a circular society.

“To become circular is one of our big ambitions and challenges for the future. It is a transformational shift for our entire business. Our goal is to give products and materials a longer life through reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and, as a last option, recycling. We believe this requires leadership and collaboration. We are very happy to work with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation to both advance our own transition and to make the circular economy a central part of the home furnishing industry. One of our first projects together will be to develop a global common dictionary on circular economy that can support an industry-wide transition”, says Lena Pripp-Kovac, Chief Sustainability Officer, Inter Ikea Group.

IKEA already has made progress towards becoming a circular business; the first refurbishment tests took place in FY19. Sofas were refurbished and resold, providing knowledge for future scaling potential. IKEA is also exploring services enabling customers to acquire, care for and pass on products in circular ways. IKEA has developed circular product design principles for the development of all products, with the ambition to only use renewable and recycled materials by 2030. Today, more than 60% of the IKEA product range is based on renewable materials, like wood and cotton, and more than 10% contains recycled materials. By the end of FY19, the overall share of polyester in textile products being recycled reached 59%.