Ingka Group, the owner of the IKEA business, will invest $700 million over the next 12 months in companies and solutions that have a direct impact on the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Ingka Group has confirmed that it will implement a "zero fossil fuel approachThe "Spending and Procurement" program, as part of a renewed focus on the environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) standards. The group will also be responsible for reviewing the alignment of local pensions in 31 countries to ensure that they are aligned with the new ESG standards.
Positive for the climate
The multinational company aims to achieve a 80% reduction in the climate footprint of stores and operations in absolute terms by 2030compared to a 2016 baseline, which aligns with a 2C° target and points toward the 1.5C° trajectory by the end of the century.
It also states that reducing emissions by 15% of the value chain by 2030 translates into a 70% reduction in climate footprint on average per product and, therefore, is working to decarbonize key materials, food ingredients and transportation, while setting more ambitious reduction targets for suppliers.
The investment announcement was made during a virtual sustainability event that also featured speeches from the likes of Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, who said:
"This highlights the role that business can play in addressing the challenges of climate change. We must direct investments toward green technologies and solutions that are clean. Businesses large and small have an important role to play and the opportunity to turn the challenges we face into solutions as we build back better.
