IKEA - A lesson in sustainable supply chain leadership

 IKEA -A lesson in sustainable supply chain leadership

I ,Gayathri Nair pursuing MBA at Amrita school of business, find it distressing to see the lack of environmental awareness and concern business houses show towards our planet . So sustainability as a concern was on top of my yardstick for assessing the culture of businesses.  It's here that IKEA stands as a beacon of hope

Introduction : 

The awareness that we are not the owner of the earth ,water ,air and sky but mere custodians for the gen next has seen the birth of "sustainability " in all walks of life .sustainability reads as avoiding the depletion or rape of natural resources so that the fragile ecological apple cart is not overturned 

Sustainability as a way of life has permeated most businesses and the global furniture giant IKEA is the best example of sustainable supply chain management .

IKEA : An introduction 

With a vision " to create a better everyday life for the many people " IKEA ,the Swedish multinational company with its parent company in the Netherlands has firmly entrenched itself in the market for ready to assemble furniture ,kitchen accessory and home accessories . Born in the creative mind of a 17 year old, Ingvar kampard in 1943 , IKEA has grown into a global brand name to be reckoned with in the field of furniture retailing 

Modernist furniture which requires minimalistic effort in assembling and adhering to environmental friendly guidelines is the USP of IKEA 

 

There are around 433 IKEA stores in 52 countries making them undoubtedly the king .

 

 

The ownership Hierarchy : 

IKEA ownership is a maze of intricate web of not for profit and for profit corporations .the corporate structure is bi bifurcated into operations and franchising 

Commitment to environment : A legacy 

 minimizing the use of formaldehyde ,replacing polyvinyl chloride in wall papers ,home textiles ,furniture etc , do away with acid curing lacquers, reducing the use of chromium for metal surfaces are some of the epic changes put in place 

Sustainable supply chain leadership : Commitment for life

Leading the sustainability way and being a shining beacon of hope for sustainability ,IKEA has pulled out all their stops while drafting their sustainable supply chain planning . They have been the flag bearers in the arena of investing in renewable and efficiency and have addressed the elephant in the room by making all their 12,000 deliverables from renewable ,recycled and environment friendly resources 

IKEA has an IWay code of conduct in place . This is the yardstick that has to be met while sourcing and distributing their resources .they have pumped in 1.1 billion dollars in sustainable supply chain that covers companies developing renewable energy , re-forestry and bio materials . A small step for a business but a giant leap for the safety of the planet 

Sustainable sourcing : Foundation of green living 

The main resources that IKEA makes use of is cotton and wood . They have been trying to use organic , those which limit the use of pesticides , fertilizers and minimize the wastage of water .

IKEA is pumping in sizeable investment in sustainable forestry and works in association with organizations like the Global Forest Watch . They aim to make 100 percent of their wood from sustainable sources 

This is a promise to keep the forests intact as well as finding a continuous and inexhaustible flow of raw materials to keep their operations intact 

Reforestation : Ensuring replenishing of the forest cover 

Depleted forest cover is not just an environmental concern but also a hazardous business bottleneck 

IKEA will not source wood from diminishing tropical forests , sensitive mangroves and ecologically fragile areas as it will sound the death-knell for the planet .IKEA is an active participation in a whole lot of viable reforestation drives . IKEA is the leader in the wood furniture scorecard ,an assessment body on wood sourcing policies determined by the National Wildlife Federation and the Sustainable Furnishings Council 

Reduce ,recycle and reuse .... The three R's of packaging 

Single use plastics are no longer welcome in IKEA and it's in-house restaurants . Continuous research aimed at developing alternative forms of fully biodegradable packaging from mushrooms is in place .the " fungi packaging " is funky and Eco friendly . This will stop the reels of Styrofoam , polystyrene from slowly choking earth to death .

IKEA has put in place a strong policy to measure and mitigate risk . They are constantly innovating measures to reduce the carbon footprints .

IKEA is a beacon in the arena of sustainable retail space .