To Go Climate-Positive, Ikea Needs to Fix Its Furniture Glue
The Swedish company has ambitious climate goals, but its emissions from materials increased by an estimated 11% in the past six years.
Ikea has an ambitious target to become climate-positive by the end of this decade.
Photographer: Jeoffrey Guillemard/BloombergIkea’s path to achieving its 2030 climate goals is paved with the usual tactics, including boosting renewable energy use and reducing the climate footprint of its materials. But tucked among those challenges is a rather unexpected carbon culprit: the glue that holds some of the flat-pack furniture giant’s most popular products together.
The adhesive Ikea uses to make its beds, sofas and everything in between currently makes up 5% of the company’s total carbon footprint, according to its 2022 Sustainability Report, published Wednesday.