Building results with social and environmental audits

Continued conservation is not just part of our plan, it’s our mission. We challenged ourselves to reduce energy usage by 25%. As of April 2009, IKEA Canada has done it.

We spent seven months auditing the integration of more efficient technologies and environmentally minded practices. The end result is a 25% reduction in our in-store energy consumption. It was a rewarding transformation worth every kilowatt-hour.

So what are those auditors looking for anyway?

Our social and environmental auditors can get pretty nosy. Here are some of the things they assess when visiting our stores:

• Do all co-workers and managers know and support IKEA's local and international environmental goals. And does the store have a clear structure and action plan for organizing and achieving its environmental work?
• Is the store well aware of current environmental and legal issues that affect our business? Is it complying with all the social and environmental legislations and rules?
• Does the store provide up-to-date social and environmental responsibility training to its co-workers?
• Is the store tracking its waste generation, energy consumption, and their social and environmental impact? Does the store have a plan to reduce waste and energy use?
• Is the store active in its local community, especially when it comes to improving and enriching the lives of children in the community?