Founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA is a Swedish-founded, multinational group that designs, manufactures, and distributes ready-to-assemble furniture; in addition to kitchen appliances and other household goods. Widely known for its sleek and always modern designs, IKEA is also high-regarded for the emphasis they place upon their environmental efforts.

IKEA has always attempted to do more with less, which has resulted in less usage of raw materials, which leads to less waste. Whatever waste is created is converted into usable resources. Additionally, they source any food and materials responsibly and they go above and beyond to preserve natural resources at every turn. Moreover, IKEA has a well-coordinated plan to become energy independent by 2020 by taking advantage of renewable sources like the wind and sun. Furthermore, in shipping their products, they attempt to fill their trucks to their max capacity in order to have fewer trucks, trains, and boats – leading to less carbon emissions.

IKEA uses and extensive amount of wood in their products. As it is, the company is among the largest users of wood in the world. They feel it’s the perfect material from an environmental point-of-view, so long as its sourced from well-managed forests. In 2017, IKEA achieved their goal of having 100% of their wood sourced from countries with a history of challenges related to forest management. They work with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), to combat illegal logging and to promote responsible timber trade. It should also be noted that 100% of the cotton used in IKEA’s products comes from sustainable, organic sources – free of chemical fertilizer and pesticides.