Ikea Canada continues green efforts with Web site launch
Retailer also switches to certified coffee
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, July 15, 2008
BURLINGTON, Ontario – Lifestyle specialty retailer IKEA has launched a Web site to more clearly articulate its environmental and corporate responsibility efforts.
IKEA launched the www.theikeaway.ca site in June as an umbrella site for social and environmental communication and partnerships and as a way to continue surveying users on those topics, said Agamemnon Spiridoulias, social and environmental responsibility manager.
The site includes information from past initiatives, like Ikea Canada’s Park Green efforts, through which stores dedicated at least two preferred parking spaces to hybrid and fuel-efficient vehicles.
The company said in a press release that the site is a continuation of last year’s plastic bag reduction efforts.
Last October, a customer survey yielding over 60,000 responses helped launch a “Bag the Bag” campaign to lower plastic bag use in stores. The retailer began charging 5 cents for plastic bags and donated the money to Tree Canada, raising more than $102,000 for the organization its first six months and reducing plastic bag use by 90% nationally.
The Tree Canada funds will be used to support tree planting projects across the country.
The results of a survey launched with the site asking 12 to 15 questions about retail shopping should be posted later this summer, Spiridoulias said.
The survey seeks input on customer buying decisions, local and ethical sourcing, impact of operational efforts by corporations and concerns about green washing.
In May, Ikea began selling and serving only UTZ certified coffee globally at its stores to help ensure socio- and eco-responsible production.
UTZ, formerly named the Utz Kapeh Foundation, sets responsible growing and sourcing standards for coffee, tracing the beans back to plantations with the aim of ensuring worker families have access to housing, health care and education for their children.
UTZ certified also requires that plantations have a low impact on the environment, minimize energy and water use and work to prevent soil erosion.
“It is more than trying to be green, it is about constantly striving to have a positive impact on people and the environment – with measurable goals,” said Kerri Molinaro, president of IKEA Canada in a press release.
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