Not only are these audits motivating to our co-workers, they also help our stores stay up-to-date on new technology, services and programs that could help them with their social and environmental projects.

All IKEA stores recycle large quantities of material, including cardboard, paper, plastic, wood, metal and glass.

In 2008, the total waste recycled, reclaimed or used in energy production in our stores was 85%, with a 2009 goal of 90%.

Hybrid/fuel-efficient parking

IKEA appreciates customers who consider the environment when purchasing a vehicle. To show our appreciation, we've created preferred Green Parking spaces to reward customers who drive hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles, which the Canadian government defines as using less than 6.5 litres of gas per 100 kilometres.

There's a minimum of two of these spots in every IKEA across Canada. They're located directly after the handicapped and family parking spaces near the entrance of our stores. As the trend towards hybrid vehicles grows, we're hoping to add even more green spaces in the future.

Shuttle bus service

IKEA now offers shuttle bus service to customers shopping our two locations in Toronto. Our shuttle buses provide pick up and drop off service at particular public transit hubs, making it easier for you to leave the car home to come to IKEA. Taking the shuttle can also cut down the number of bus connections you'd have to take.

“Be green” reminders

While all IKEA stores are equipped with ample customer parking, and many people choose to drive to our stores to accommodate their purchases on the way home, IKEA asks its customers not to idle their cars: it pollutes, can harm the health of customers, particularly children, and it wastes fuel. We've posted "Be Green" signs at all loading areas to remind everyone to turn their engines off while they wait.

The annual Soft Toys Campaign, ‘One dollar is a Fortune,’ runs every year in all IKEA stores, and donates one dollar for each soft toy sold to UNICEF and Save the Children educational projects. Together with IKEA customers, we contribute to improved education for children.

Since the start in 2003, $26.5 million CAD have helped improve the lives of millions of children in more than 30 countries in Asia, Africa and Central and Eastern Europe.

The funds raised during the 2008 Soft Toy Campaign benefited eight Save the Children projects in Albania, Bangladesh, China, India, Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Russia and Vietnam and eight UNICEF projects in Macedonia, Moldova, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
That’s why we say $1 is a fortune. And, we say thanks for your help!

For every bulb you change to low energy, your electric bill will drop, which means fewer emissions from your power company too.

Imagine how much lower emissions would be if everyone changed a light bulb. Or three. Or all your light bulbs. Now, there’s a thought.

Since 1998, we have partnered with Tree Canada (the largest nation-wide not-for-profit tree-planting organization in Canada), to plant over 14,500 trees through the “Pick a Tree, Plant a Tree” program.

Every holiday season, when you buy a tree from an IKEA store in Canada, IKEA Canada donates a portion of their Christmas tree sales to Tree Canada. In the spring, IKEA coworkers take part in a tree planting event in their local communities. Not only is the tree planting a fun event, it is great for the environment!

Through our "Pick a Tree, Plant a Tree" program, our co-workers have personally planted more than 14,500 trees.

A lot more than just trees

Think about the benefits of trees — they decrease CO₂ in the environment, help air quality, moderate temperature, create privacy and stop noise and wind — next holiday season when you pick up a Christmas tree from IKEA. You're supporting this program and the greening of Canada.

So what kind of impact will 14,500 trees have? These trees and shrubs will offset a total of 1774.4 tonnes of CO₂ in a 20 year period. This equals someone driving a mid-sized car for more than 290,000 kilometres or 50 times from Vancouver to Halifax.

Just bring it to your nearest IKEA store. If the bulb is broken, you should put it in a sealed container. You can be sure it will be recycled correctly - and you’ll be doing your share for the environment.

And in a recent survey, an overwhelming number of IKEA customers said they supported our move to bag the bag. So thanks!

Back in 2007 our customers really got on board - within six months IKEA Canada saw plastic bag use drop by 90 percent in all our stores. Now we're targeting 100 percent.

We know (because we asked) our customers will keep doing their part to make do without plastic bags by bringing their own bags or buying a reusable IKEA Blue Bag for only 75 cents or $1. The IKEA Blue Bags are made of recyclable polypropylene plastic. The smaller one hefts up to 36kg, while the larger one can carry up to 60kg and is big enough to hold two loads of laundry. Both bags are durable enough to be used over and over.

Canadian IKEA stores have played a major role in helping UNICEF do its work. Over the last decade, we've helped raise more than $4 million dollars for the organization. We've led the way in annual UNICEF card and gift sales records, generating the highest sales of all IKEA units worldwide year after year, followed by France and the Netherlands. Hey — a little competition never hurts, especially if it's all about raising as much money as possible for a good cause.

This highly recognized and reliable symbol of energy efficiency identifies products that are among the top energy performers on the market. Depending on the type of product, choosing an ENERGY STAR® qualified model can help reduce energy consumption and costs by 10% to 65% compared with a conventional product.

In 2009, IKEA Canada entered a new partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation.  IKEA stores and their 4,500 co-workers will help Make-A-Wish grant room makeover wishes to children across Canada living with life-threatening medical conditions.

• By aligning our expertise in home furnishings with Make-A-Wish’s experience in making dreams come true, our organizations can make a huge difference in the lives of children and their families across Canada
• The partnership will be supported by Make-A-Wish and its eight chapters coast-to-coast
• Make-A-Wish will help identify wish families and work directly with each IKEA store to grant room makeovers

This special designation recognizes employers that lead the nation in making environmental values part of their organizational culture.
IKEA Canada was recognized for its earth-friendly initiatives, including:

• Regular environmental store audits
• The Pick a Tree, Plant a Tree program in partnership with Tree Canada
• The “Bag the Bag” program, which reduced plastic bag usage in IKEA stores by 90%
• Free Compact Fluorescent (CFL) bulb and battery recycling depots at Canadian store locations
• Preferred green parking spaces for customers who drive fuel-efficient and electric vehicles

To mark this accomplishment and to show support for our valued global partner, all IKEA stores in Canada participated in World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Earth Hour on Saturday, March 28, 2009. WWF’s Earth Hour is a global event created to mobilize people around the world to turn their lights off for one hour, to show support for action on climate change.

We’ll be participating again on March 27, 2010 from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., and continue to reduce our energy consumption with a global long-term goal of using 100% renewable energy.

That’s better. And that was just the start.

Today, all kinds of IKEA products are cleverly-packaged, from flat-packed tables and chairs to vacuum-packed pillows. Each year that saves untold barrels of oil, reduces carbon emissions, and makes it easier for you to take things home yourself.

And it all started by taking the legs off this table in 1956.

We call it IWAY - A code of conduct detailing the minimum requirements we expect from our suppliers as well as what they can expect from us in return. That includes: zero tolerance for child or forced labour; safe, healthy working conditions; compliance with all local laws; care with chemicals – and more. It’s a two-way street, and so IKEA coworkers are often on-site to support suppliers, motivate them to take increased responsibility, and to make sure our requirements are met.

The work is ongoing, but since IWAY began in the year 2000, we’ve seen continuous positive progress – already over 100,000 improvements at various suppliers worldwide.

Low price. But not at any price. As we see it, there’s no other way.

We don’t accept illegally-felled wood, or wood harvested from intact natural forests. We’re working with all our suppliers of solid wood to improve their ability to trace the origin of the wood they use.

Our long-term goal is to source all wood for IKEA products from forests certified as responsibly managed. Forest Stewardship Council is so far the only forest certification standard supported by IKEA. We also have our own forest specialists working in the field who inform, share knowledge and trace timber back to its origins at suppliers.

That's how we're working to have good wood – for today, and generations to come.

It states that all actions must be in the best interests of the child. Rules and monitoring must be complemented with addressing the root causes behind child labour. That's why IKEA Social Initiative invests in child rights projects with UNICEF and Save the Children.

In 2001, we funded a scholarship for students from Russia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to study sustainable forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science. The scholarship is available for students every year.

For instance, at a store in Milan, 304 geoprobes penetrate the ground to a depth of 87 to 125 metres (30 kilometres of drilling in total). This geothermal system has no lasting impact on the landscape, since it’s completely underground. Thanks to three heat pumps, the system supplies 1,600 kW thermal power and 1,400 kW of refrigerating power. That’s a savings of 300 tons of petroleum per year, or 800 tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

In addition, 10 IKEA France stores have solar panels supplying between 60 to 80% of warm water needs; six stores have heat pump systems covering all their heat and air conditioning needs. The store at Tourville-la-Riviére (Seine-Maritime) uses half the electricity of the average IKEA store using renewable energy, like a geothermal pump, and energy-saving techniques.

They were great support to the school enrollment drives and are now used in schools.

They embroidered cushion covers, IKEA PS GRINDTORP, which are sold in IKEA stores. The women had previously been part of self-help groups during the IKEA and UNICEF partnership to prevent child labour in 500 villages in northern India from 2000- 2007. They were also trained in children’s rights, health and nutrition.

The co-operation, started in 2002, has contributed to doubling the certified forest areas in China. It has helped increase the certified forest areas in Russia from 3.3 million to 20 million hectares – making it the world’s second largest country by certified forest areas.

We expect more than 80 million children and 10 million women to benefit from a variety of health and nutrition programs. We´re also supporting programs that empower women. For example, 50,000 women in 500 villages of India’s ‘carpet belt’ of Uttar Pradesh are on their way to becoming entrepreneurs, contributing substantially to their household incomes, and participating in their local political process.

Helping women become independent lets their little ones concentrate on school and just being children – while learning from their mothers’ example of how to create a better everyday life.

We also cooperate by doing pilot studies in the UK, China and the United States that aim to promote sustainable modes of transport in partnership with local authorities, businesses and organizations. The learnings can then be spread to other markets.

Eighty geo wells underneath the store’s parking spaces make this the third biggest geothermal installation in Scandinavia.

That will not only reduce environmental impact, but could improve the work-life balance for IKEA co-workers. In 2008, travel costs were reduced by 20 percent compared to the previous year...which also reduces our CO₂ emissions.

This project will enhance the social, economic and political empowerment of women in 500 villages in Uttar Pradesh, India where the IKEA Social Initiative and UNICEF have been present since 2000. At least 50,000 women will be encouraged to become entrepreneurs, contribute substantially to their household income, strengthen legal awareness and participate in local political decision making processes.

Part of the "Give a Hug" program was that every dollar from the sale of heart-shaped FAMNIG cushions at all IKEA stores in the US would be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

After the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, the IKEA Social Initiative donated 200,000 Soft Toys through Save the Children.

The initiative covers 18 states and is expected to benefit 80 million children and adolescents, and 10 million women. The focus is on improving the health and nutrition of children providing vitamin supplements, advocating breastfeeding, providing safe water and creating a healthy environment for children and their families.

For example, many stores globally are using waterless urinals and others are being retrofitted with grey water systems so roof water can be used for toilet flushing.

More than a million trees planted today

Working with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the forestry organization Yayasan Sabah and the Malaysian forestry company RBJ, we've planted over one million native trees of various species across more than 8,400 hectares of forest. This reforested area is now protected from logging for 50 years.

Housing, clean water, and medical care for our workers

Sow a Seed has helped build homes with clean water and electricity, meeting places for social gatherings, a school, and field accommodations for the roughly 150 Sow a Seed workers, who also get free medical care. IKEA has also helped fund a study a research centre to encourage more studies into rainforests.

Two different packs were developed: a “Responsible Energy pack” and a “Responsible Forestry pack” (2006) - both distributed for free to schools near the stores.

Each wall decoration is a one-off piece, with the Hindi name of its maker embroidered on the back. The initiative builds on joint IKEA and UNICEF project, started in 2000. The project has helped to economically and socially empower more than 20,000 women through self-help groups, as part of a broad program to prevent and eliminate child labour in Uttar Pradesh, northern India.

WASTE NOT. Words to live by for designers who do more with less.

And even here we’ve got an eye on the environment – at least one organic dish is offered in all IKEA restaurants and 15% of all products in the Swedish Food Market are certified organic.

Introduced in 1998, it was probably the first time anyone had thought of making furniture also from the knotty top part of the birch tree instead of burning it as firewood or grinding it for chipboard production.

• NORDEN series

With this new material, the use of raw material was reduced by 85,816 tons. Annually, this resulted in 2,800 less trucks for transportation due to lower cargo weight, easier customer merchandise handling, and reduced costs and prices.

Whenever practicable, the strictest health and safety requirements found in one of our markets are applied to the product for all markets.

• BARNSLIG RAND quilt cover and pillowcase

Just a few years ago we made KLIPPAN a knockdown piece – which means the arm-rests and back slip into slots in the seating base and suddenly each pallet could fit twice as many sofas. The number of transports dropped sharply, and costs and carbon dioxide emissions decreased.

• KLIPPAN series

LACK is lightweight and therefore every transport load can be maximized.

• LACK series

Just like LACK, it has a honeycombed paper filling, but the production technique is more efficient. Long strips of particle board or MDF are laid out on fibreboard sheets of up to 250 by 500 cm, the paper filling is placed between the strips and then topped with another thin layer of fibreboard. The construction is then cut to the product’s final shape and dimensions before being lacquered or veneered.

• BESTÅ

The Loading Ledges are made from polypropylene plastic that is continuously recycled and made into new ledges. Their size and shape are optimized for containers, so load units are easily handled with forklifts. Thanks to ledges’ low weight, containers can be loaded with two tons more goods than if wooden pallets were used.

Because so many IKEA products are made with cotton, we partner with the WWF to run Farmer Field Schools in Pakistan and India where cotton farmers learn new and better ways. After just two years, the cotton farms in Pakistan alone used 30% less water, 60% fewer pesticides and 40% less fertilizer.

That's better for water, air, plants, bugs, birds, fish and mammals – including people.

By using hard woods such as beech and birch without knots and cracks, the toys are built for many years of play. IKEA ensures that wood, paints and lacquer are safe for both children and grown-ups.

• MULA

At some of our stores in Sweden, Norway and Denmark we grind up food leftovers in a mill and store them in a special tank. The food waste finds its way to a special treatment centre where it gets reused, as biogas to run buses on.

TEPPAS drawer unit is made from 100% recycled PET plastic. It is stackable and can be combined with a handy trolley for mobility – perfect for any home office or child’s room.

• TEPPAS

VERKSAM swivel chair is one of the first to be re-launched with a new assembly system where the five legs in the base snap together at the centre. It’s quick and easy for the customer, and the chair is just as stable and sturdy. But, the number of VERKSAM chairs transported per container has nearly doubled!

• VERKSAM

The trains run on electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Today one train with 15-20 fully loaded wagons leaves Älmhult for Stockholm every day.

The new version means that each pallet now holds five times as many KASSETT and CO₂ emissions from transport have decreased by 75 percent.

• KASSETT

Just charge the panel for 9-12 hours in the sun and get four hours of full lamp light! For every SUNNAN sold in IKEA stores worldwide, UNICEF receives a donation of one SUNNAN to enable children in developing countries living in homes without electricity to do their homework even after dusk.

• SUNNAN work lamp, solar cell powered

Most IKEA taps are equipped to reduce water use by 30 percent.

• RINGSKÄR

For example, ahead of many others, IKEA banned the use of Freon (CFCs) and HCFCs. These substances are man made and are found to have a severe impact on the ozone layer.

It comes in a variety of sizes and is designed for different types of household waste - from glass bottles and newspapers to food scraps and batteries helping you live a sustainable life at home.

• RATIONELL waste recycling

For every bulb you change to low energy, your electric bill will drop, which means fewer emissions from your power company too.

Imagine how much lower emissions would be if everyone changed a light bulb. Or three. Or all your light bulbs. Now, there’s a thought.

Although Health Canada allows trace amounts, IKEA has none.

Once the tree has produced its golden fruit, the trunk slowly dies. Instead of being thrown away, the trunk is cut into strips and left in the sun to dry. Once woven, water based lacquer makes NÄSUM more durable.

• NÄSUM basket series

Organic agriculture excludes the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and strives to maintain biodiversity and ecological balances.

So, first we cut formaldehyde-based lacquers (1993) from our products. Next, we removed formaldehyde from glue systems used to glue veneer surfaces on furniture. DAVE laptop table, for example, has a fibreboard top that has contributed to cutting formaldehyde emissions by nearly 40% in recent years. The levels are now significantly below EU requirements.

LUSY BLOM cushion is one good example. It is filled with leftovers from IKEA quilt production.

• LUSY BLOM cushion

The inflatable cell is made from polyolefin plastic; a smooth and durable plastic without the chlorine and other harmful substances found in the more commonly used PVC. IKEA permits the use of PVC only in electric leads.

• SAGOSTEN air element with cover

Lyocell is a renewable cellulose-based material derived from wood fibres from tree farms – which use less water than cotton farms - also, the necessary chemicals used in the production process are recycled in a closed system to minimize environmental impact and waste.

• IKEA 365+ RISP bed linens

IKEA food savers help take better care of fresh food and leftovers. For example, some sizes in the IKEA 365+ food storage series come with a removable plastic bottom grid to allow excess moisture to drain off and help food last longer. And, in the RARITET series the jar for dry storage has a measuring cup to make things even easier for you.

• IKEA 365+ food storage series

So, Lee tipped off IKEA packaging technicians in Sweden who, in turn, conferred with suppliers. Now, thanks to a great initiative and teamwork, each pallet holds 24 ALÄNG lamps compared to only 18 before.

Go to utzcertified.org/IKEA and enter the ‘best before’ date from your IKEA coffee bag to see the plantations where your beans were harvested!

UTZ certification makes all IKEA coffee 100% traceable. UTZ ensures standards for the housing, healthcare, and schooling for plantation workers and their families. And UTZ also trains farmers to minimize use of pesticides, water and fertilizer.

It’s made from wool – a renewable material – which has been sorted in color shades instead of being dyed or bleached.

• IKEA PS VADMAL

Each wall decoration is a one-off piece, with the Hindi name of its maker embroidered on the back. The initiative builds on joint IKEA and UNICEF project, started in 2000. The project has helped to economically and socially empower more than 20,000 women through self-help groups, as part of a broad program to prevent and eliminate child labour in Uttar Pradesh, northern India.

This IKEA PS BRUSE coffee table features real wood veneer over box construction to reduce weight, relieve warping worry, and spare a lot of trees.

• IKEA PS BRUSE

It’s important because the bulb contains a very small amount of mercury. Just bring it to your nearest IKEA store. If the bulb is broken, you should put it in a sealed container. You can be sure it will be recycled correctly - and you’ll be doing your share for the environment.

And did we mention our slipcovers come in a variety of designs, making it easier for you to change the look of your home without trading in your sofa?

For every bulb you change to low energy, your electric bill will drop, which means fewer emissions from your power company too.

Imagine how much lower emissions would be if everyone changed a light bulb. Or three. Or all your light bulbs. Now, there’s a thought.

It contains 6 IKEA low energy bulbs and when the bulbs are at their end of life, IKEA will replace them free of charge and recycle the returned ones. The box contains information about IKEA and what the coworker can do to save energy at home and at work.

It’s important because the bulb contains a very small amount of mercury. Just bring it to your nearest IKEA store. If the bulb is broken, you should put it in a sealed container. You can be sure it will be recycled correctly - and you’ll be doing your share for the environment.

Remember, when you boil, steam or reheat, cover your pots to save fuel and money, and get dinner on the table much faster.

Paper towels have their place if a kitchen mess is germy (like raw chicken), but to dry dishes or sop up a spill, dish towels work better, make glasses gleam, and are easy to wash so you can use them over and over and over – and over. If everyone used just a few less paper towels each week, think of how many trees we could spare every year.

This will help food stay fresher on the ride home and your fridge won’t work so hard to chill it again. This can save energy and your time!

Unplug what you’re not using and you can save up to 10 percent in energy and on your electric bill.

To reduce wear and tear on cords, plug lots of gear into one power strip - such as TV, DVD, and game consoles in your wall unit – and shut it all off with the flip of one switch.

For each degree you adjust the thermostat, you can save 3-5 percent on your energy bill and reduce carbon emissions too.

You’ll save litres of water every time you rinse a head of lettuce this way. Then, just pour the bowl of water into thirsty houseplants or out into your garden.

Put leftovers in smart storage containers that keep food fresh longer so you’ll be able to enjoy every bite and never have ‘bad’ food to throw away again.

So, portion big batches of soup, pasta sauce or chili into freezer-safe containers. You’ll always have quick meals handy, you can defrost them in the fridge and reheat to save energy, time, and money.

For each degree you adjust your thermostat seasonally, you could reduce your energy use and utility bill from 3-5 percent.

All those paper cups – and heat sleeves, stirrers, sugar packets and napkins – make a lot of trash.

If we all used just one less paper cup per week, we could save thousands of trees a year and much less trash would need to be hauled by trucks and dumped into landfills. That means a lot less air pollution too.

If we all used just one less packet like that per week, we’d save so many barrels of oil each year that are used to make the plastic and to transport the herbs to supermarkets.

Instead, just drape wet laundry on a line or drying rack. To help soften clothes after air drying, toss them in the dryer with no heat for a few minutes and you might not have to iron either!

By saving energy every time you skip a dryer load, you’ll save money too.

You can also put a second wastebasket for recyclables in other rooms, like one in the den for cans and bottles and another in your home office for paper.

Recycle and you help save trees, and keep kilos of trash out of landfills each year.

Even better - with today’s dishwashers you don’t have to rinse your dishes anymore. Really! To max out your energy savings, purchase an ENERGY STAR dishwasher or stop your dishwasher before the dry cycle and let them air dry. Isn’t it fun when what feels like a lazy luxury is also the best thing all around?

Why? Uncovered food releases moisture into the air and that makes your refrigerator work harder during the defrost cycle. That uses extra electricity and costs you money. Plus, a lid keeps food fresher and your fridge doesn’t get so smelly.

Want to save even more energy? If you haven’t been opening the oven you can turn off the heat 10 minutes before food is done and let it finish on retained heat.