Furniture retailer and supplier IKEA has announced a commitment towards greater transparency in the wood supply chain, whereby they will share where all the wood material in their products come from and more information about why it plays such an essential role in the range.
To exemplify this commitment, IKEA released a map of the 45 markets where they sourced their wood from in FY2022, which was from 1 Sep 2021 to 31 Aug 2022.
By sharing this new information, IKEA aims to build greater awareness for consumers on the approach to ensuring responsible wood-sourcing practices.
“People are curious to know more about how we work. Alongside this, the world increasingly recognises the importance forests play for people and the planet,” said Ulf Johansson, global wood supply and forestry manager at Inter IKEA Group.
“We believe greater transparency will help support the development of responsible forest management globally.”
For instance, in the map, Poland, Lithuania and Sweden are the top three markets IKEA has sourced their wood from. Russia and Belarus occupied a 6% and 5% share respectively, but IKEA reported that they have dropped these markets as their wood supplier.
The map also includes new information about wood species, regions where it comes from, volumes and how IKEA works to improve forest management across markets.
According to IKEA, 99.9% of the wood used by them was FSC-certified or recycled in FY2022. The top wood species that IKEA uses is pine.
As a key part of IKEA’s Scandinavian design heritage, wood has always played an essential role in the range. New information about how IKEA designs and innovates with wood-based materials is also available, together with examples of finding new ways of using wood more efficiently.
“Wood is a fantastic material that is durable, renewable and recyclable and essential for our transformation towards becoming a circular business by 2030,” said Fredrika Inger, managing director of IKEA Sweden.
“It is very appreciated by our customers as it often allows for your own creativity, for example, with our untreated offer. Wood is also important for our IKEA design identity and strongly delivers the five dimensions of our Democratic Design.”
