Ingka, the investment division of IKEA, which accounts for 90% of its sales, has announced its intention to allocate one billion euros to business projects focused on optimizing and developing recycling infrastructure. Ingka stated that the initiative aims to drive the transition to a circular economy, highlighting that global consumption of natural resources exceeds the planet’s regenerative capacity by 75%, while less than 20% of waste is actually recycled. With this new goal, the company has expressed its commitment to supporting the development of businesses that promote large-scale circularity, increasing the supply of recycled materials and helping prevent the release of millions of tons of CO2 emissions.
Approximately 50% of IKEA’s environmental impact comes from the materials used in the production of its products. In light of this, the company has decided to focus on designing products with a circular footprint, aiming to exclusively use recycled and recyclable materials, with the goal of increasing the percentage of recycled content in all its creations. The division’s activities began in 2017 with the Circular Investments initiative, which supports IKEA’s circular strategies. This initiative invests in companies that develop technologies to reduce waste or increase the availability of recycled materials. The focus is particularly on materials with limited recycling capabilities, such as mattresses, plastics, textiles, wood, and food.
Currently, IKEA estimates that the companies in its portfolio have recycled approximately 2.7 million tons of material, thus preventing over 9.4 million tons of CO2 emissions. The investments include initiatives such as RetourMatras, a company focused on mattress recycling, Morssinkhof Rymoplast, specialized in post-consumer plastic recycling, and Next Generation, a group providing innovative solutions for plastic recycling.
