IKEA, the world’s biggest furniture retailer, plans to spend 1 billion euros (US$1.13 billion) on renewable energy and steps to help poor nations cope with climate change, the latest example of firms upstaging governments in efforts to slow warming.
IKEA chief executive officer Peter Agnefjall said the measures would “absolutely not” push up prices at the Swedish group’s stores. The investments would be “good for customers, good for the climate and good for IKEA too,” he told reporters.
He said the plan was motivated by a desire to tackle climate change, rather than to court favorable publicity.
An internal review last year showed only 41 percent of its customers see IKEA as a company that “takes social and environmental responsibility,” well below its goal of 70 percent by this year.
IKEA, which had sales of 30 billion euros last year, wants to generate all the energy used in its shops and factories from clean sources by 2020.
To that end, it is set to invest 600 million euros on wind and solar power installations, adding to 1.5 billion invested since 2009. It has already signed up to own and operate 314 wind turbines and has 700,000 solar panels on its roofs.
The IKEA Foundation, the charitable arm of the family-owned group, would invest 400 million euros by 2020 in supporting families and communities in nations vulnerable to impacts of climate change such as floods, droughts and desertification.
Senior officials from almost 200 nations are meeting in the German city of Bonn this week to prepare for a summit in Paris scheduled for late this year at which governments aim to agree on a deal to slow global warming.
There are signs that companies are taking a more active approach, keen to show their awareness of consumer concerns.
Last month, top European companies urged governments to commit to slashing carbon emissions.
This week, six European oil and gas companies — BG Group PLC, BP PLC, Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell Group, Statoil ASA and Total SA — added their voices to calls for a pricing system for carbon emissions. The firms have often been accused of inaction.
Mindful of environmental concerns, IKEA said it plans to get more of its wood and cotton from sustainable sources.
It said it would ensure it grows as many trees as it fells by 2020. The top national suppliers of pine and other wood used in its familiar self-assembly furniture were Poland, Lithuania, Sweden, Germany and Russia last year.
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