IKEA green product sales hit £1bn

Furniture giant IKEA revealed on Monday that demand for its most sustainable products increased 58 per cent in 2014 to over €1 billion with consumers embracing clean technologies including solar panels and LED lighting.

The company published an update on its sustainability performance alongside annual results showing total sales rose 5.9 per cent to €28.7bn.

The results show that three quarters of all the lighting products the firm sold last year were LEDs and the company is aiming for its entire lighting range to be LEDs by of September.

The company also confirmed that it is making progress towards its goal of sourcing 100 per cent of its energy from renewable sources and revealed that it purchased a further 87 wind turbines and installed 150,000 solar panels at its stores in 2014.

IKEA now owns and operates 700,000 solar panels and 224 wind turbines, and is aiming to have invested €1.5bn in clean energy projects by the end of the year.

Energy efficiency upgrades at the company’s stores and warehouses have also contributed to €66m of savings since 2010.

Progress is being made with a green procurement strategy and the company also confirmed that 41 per cent of the wood it used was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or recycled in 2014.

The share of cotton from more sustainable sources also reached 76 per cent, and the company target of 100 per cent could be reached in 2015.

Peter Agnefjäll, president and chief executive of IKEA Group, in a statement: "Sustainability is a key driver of innovation and an integral part of our business strategy. We see it as a great opportunity to improve our business. That's why we've set ambitious 100 per cent targets, for example for our LED lighting range, important raw materials and renewable energy. We are determined to grow IKEA while also having a positive impact on people and the planet."