Piloting Furniture Industry in Sustainability
Study in relation to sustainability from IKEA Sustainability Report year 2023 in comparison to UN Shattered Climate Records in the same year 2023.
IKEA climate goals and action to align with the 1.5⁰C target trajectory, with halving the IKEA value chain greenhouse gas emissions by year 2030 (compared with 2016) this will be achieved without relying on carbon offsetting and reaching net zero by latest 2050, decreasing climate footprint, in absolute terms compared to 2016 baseline, by 6.9million tons of CO₂ eq a reduction of 22%. Goal 2030 reduces by at least 50% in absolute terms compared to baseline 2016. Previous goal for 2030 was a 15% reduction. New goals were submitted to SBTi in mid-November 2023 and are currently pending approval. The reduction in 2023 was attributed to the continued increase in renewable electricity use at both retail and production units, energy efficiency improvements in our lighting range and lower production volumes.
Highlighted sustainability achievement: Increasing the share of renewable electricity – from 75% to 77% for retail, 86% to 90% for logistics services, and 63% to 71% for production – compared to year 2022. Implementing the use of new bio-based glue, beginning with the IKEA industry board factory in Kazly Ruda, Lithuania, taking an important first step towards goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from glue by 30% by 2030. Rolling out an energy-saving awareness campaign across 21 IKEA markets globally, emphasizing small, cost-effective, at-home actions to reduce energy consumption. Reducing the amount of plastic packaging of consumer goods by approximately 47% and reducing total plastic packaging (including consumer packs, multi-packs, unit loads, and handling materials) by approximately 44% compared with the baseline year 2021.
Using, for the first time, ceramic production waste to make the new tableware range SILVERSIDA. Introducing the plant-base hot dog in 14 markets, adding more plant-based alternatives to food offer.
UN Reported on Shattered Climate Records in 2023
Despite these positive achievements, discouraging facts occurred as currently global climate change is alarming, also in contrast SDG report 2024 point 13. Climate action release by United Nations stated “Climate records were shattered in 2023 as the climate crisis accelerated in real time. Rising temperatures have not abated and global greenhouse gas emissions continue to climb.” It leads smaller furniture industry questioned the impact on sustainability act. There is should be initiative for bigger GHG producer industries with involvement into SDG 17. Partnerships for the goals by appealing and campaign to UN with Sweden’s climate achievement as benchmark for it is ahead compared to other country or by involving in SDG 17.16 Global partnership for sustainable development to gather initiative in accelerating/radical reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions.
It also can be formed as an act for an international ban on Coal usage – start with this industry as the biggest GHG producer, which is consumed for steel industry (estimated 3bn tons CO₂/year), latter follow for cement and chemical industry. These are the biggest ranks of industrial GHG producer.
In relation to the success of the fight to ban CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) that causing ozone depletion/hole with US, UK, Canada, Norway, Sweden and Finland led calls for an international ban on CFCs in 1987, representatives signed the Montreal Protocol requiring the rapid phasing out of CFCs and creating a fund to assist Global South countries in obtaining affordable, non-ozone depleting alternatives, it was later ratified by every country on earth (at UNEP) the only treaty in history to achieve this – as the use of CFCs declined the ozone hole began shrinking, and is predicted to disappear entirely by 2070, but there are still difficulties, while the ban was a win for the climates, as CFCs are potent greenhouse gases, the alternatives that replaced them – hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs – are too, while generally less potent than CFCs, HFCs still trap more heat than carbon dioxide and are contributing to climate change, to address this in 2016 the Kigali Amendment was added to the Montreal Protocol, calling for an 85% cut in global HFCs by 2047 with estimated could also avoid up to 0.5⁰C of global warming by the end of the century) – together with banning Coal usage, and replace by natural gas for blast furnace in steel industry will reduce CO₂ emissions – push research and development steel recycling and hydrogen plant also a potential solutions – push research and development of CO₂ recycle and storage as material to produce climate friendly methanol as fuel with other ingredient needed are hydrogen and oxygen potentially process in sustainable chemical industry globally and across the board.
Propose Action Plan
Continue and improve climate action with an info-graphic to measure and rank all Supply chains in line with reducing carbon emission focusing from the biggest percentage stage of Materials and Production for Supply chains.
Level up Supply chains manufacturers and industry partners to be able to achieve standard Industry 4.0 transformation with at least compliance to ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 50001, also have adopted and improved production from manual to automation then to be able to upgrade to digital operations. In order to achieve this goal, needs to scale up Production Standard Protocol to become bridge for Supply chains’ and industry partners’ stepping stone, as I learned from previous sourcing furniture in Surabaya, East Java, five factories reluctant to comply to the international standards and regulations require by customer as the reason mostly due to amount of investment needed and since there are also too many rules and regulations. The solution was by creating compiled standards that become a requirement to pass the production, for example table products need to comply with certain standards from ANSI and ISO, therefore need to be an update compiled version of Production Standard Protocol. With those updates to accommodate ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and 50001 necessary clauses, it will become audit tools for supply partners transitioning into having best practice accordingly while they prepare to transformed to become Industry 4.0 along the way they need to be convinced by reviewing Lighthouse factories approved by World Economic Forum that have been succeeded with ROI within 3 years after implementing this transformation.
Same spirit in making bio base glue, reducing amount of plastic, SILVERSIDA and plant-based hot dog, continue innovation and research reorientation to Low Carbon & Circular Economy Technology and Innovation – need to increase investment and operational budget for R&D focus on decarbonization & circular economy. Flash back decades ago when California Air Resource Board asked zero formaldehyde for particle board and MDF manufacturing then able to comply – when increasing demand on eco-friendly material back then now improve to become sustainability action and more holistic nowadays, manufacturing facility then adapt using for example solvent base switch to water base material for furniture finishing material – furthermore to promote circular economy plastic waste can be transformed into concrete outdoor table after mixed with cements.
More into Social impact, promote factory’s treatment of employees by launching Green Mortgage program for employees. Indonesian government banks have incentive programs for it as probably other Southeast Asia Supply Area countries in Vietnam and Malaysia have similar programs that can be beneficial for both company and community empowerment.
