"How do we create things that people can afford, without sacrificing quality, functionality, aesthetics, and – increasingly important – sustainability? That's what we constantly need to keep an eye on. It's a challenge. For us and for the world. Because if we don't manage it, who will? Who else is supposed to do it? Sustainability, for instance; if it were only affordable for the wealthy, then we wouldn't make much progress." This is what CEO Jon Abrahamsson Ring of Ikea says in an interview with De Volkskrant.
As an example, the top boss of the furniture giant points to an LED bulb. "Such a bulb uses ten times less energy than an old-fashioned incandescent bulb. If you go back five, six, seven years, the average price of such a bulb was about 10 euros. Now it's 99 cents. How did that happen? The only reason is that we now produce them in much larger quantities. The volumes make this price possible. So now a much larger portion of the population can buy them. That's when you really make an impact."
In the interview with De Volkskrant, Jon Abrahamsson Ring is questioned about criticism of the company's wood use, working conditions, and tax morality. At the headquarters in Delft, he discusses the approach to sustainability and affordability. He emphasizes the ambition to be fully circular by 2030, acknowledges the challenges of growth with finite resources, and points to improvements in product design, such as recyclable LED bulbs.
Criticism of working conditions, such as the use of prisoners in Belarus, and tax morality is addressed. Ikea strives for transparency, acknowledges wrongdoings, but also advocates for improvement within existing structures. The company emphasizes its contribution to taxes worldwide and awaits the outcome of the ongoing investigation by the European Commission into fiscal arrangements with the Netherlands.
Read the complete interview here.