Second in a series: IKEA and Barack Obama: Is EmbraceChange09 More Than a Shallow Marketing Ploy? 

President Obama has issued strong statements on the subject of responsibility.    

We need to be mindful of how the decisions we make at work affect our surroundings, our communities and our country.  But responsibility begins at home, in how we spend time with our family, with focus on fostering the education and empowerment of our children rather than leaving that in the hands of others.

Companies need to bear responsibility for their impact on the environment, need to practice responsible manufacturing where waste is minimized rather than ignored where inconvenient.  We need to be focusing on building sustainable facilities that minimize energy usage and impact on the environment through good design and green building practices.  Companies need to consider the long term welfare of not only their finances but their workers and their community.

So how do IKEA’s internal practices measure up to those standards?

IKEA has always been very family focused, it’s consistently ranked as one of the best places to work, and one of the most family friendly both for co-workers and customers. Their bathrooms are clean and they have stools for toddlers. There is wholesome food in the restaurant, and a well run, free daycare facility in the store so parents can make important decisions without having to chose between leaving children at home or trying to juggle choices and children’s attention spans at the same time. IKEA has been focused on the home and family from the beginning, and making life more comfortable and fun for the regular public by providing style and options often unavailable elsewhere except in exclusive furniture stores that charge exorbitant prices.

IKEA engineers their products to minimize the waste produced, and reuse as much as possible in other ways. Engineered lumber (short lengths joined to make larger surfaces) is used where possible, low VOC precisely engineered particle and fiber board is used where appropriate to re-purpose what would otherwise be waste from other products. All IKEA US stores aim to recycle 90% of store waste by the end of this year and are phasing in organic foods in the restaurant ( See Environmental Responsibility – Is IKEA green? and IKEA CEO Dahlvig Disappointed Yet Optimistic About Progress Made for more details). They work out partnerships to encourage upwards of 10% of their customers to come to the store via Public transport. IKEA co-workers are encouraged to use public transit and bicycles where feasible.  IKEA was the first major retail chain to take strong steps to encourage the use of reusabe bags by charging a fee for each disposable bag used (donated to Forestry projects), while making very low cost, highly durable reusable bags readily available.  And since October 2008 they no longer provide plastic bags at all.

IKEA Suppliers and factories are required to maintain high standards in the sustainability of the materials they use, their manufacturing practices, and especially the treatment and conditions of their workers.

Sounds like IKEA’s been taking their responsibilities pretty seriously for awhile now, so why haven’t they said much about it? Well, it’s a funny thing about IKEA’s corporate culture, they don’t like to talk about things that they are planning to do, preferring to focus on what they are doing now. And, Swedes are notoriously humble.  As for responsibility to the environment, co-workers and their communities, it’s kind of assumed that we should all be able to see what they do, so why talk about it instead of doing it? :)

IKEA and Barack Obama: Is EmbraceChange09 More Than a Shallow Marketing Ploy? 

IKEA and Barack Obama: Environment

Read the entire series: IKEA and Barack Obama

Tags: embracechange09.com, IKEA Advertising, IKEA Environment, IKEA Green, Obama

This entry was posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 6:41 AM by Tigratrus and is filed under IKEA Advertising, IKEA Green, IKEA Philosophy, IKEA Restaurant, Why IKEA?, family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.