Ikea has announced it has achieved zero waste to landfill in the UK for the first time and now even turns a profit from waste, with recycled materials forming parts of its best-selling products.
The Swedish flatpack giant, which had sales of Β£1.72 billion in Britain last year, no longer sends any rubbish from its 25 UK stores for burial.
Launching its 2016 Sustainability Report, Joanna Yarrow, head of sustainability for the UK and Ireland, told The Huffington Post UK that waste is now a revenue stream.
βA few years ago when we had something like half the number of stores we had today, waste cost us around Β£1 million a year,β she said. βWe now have 20 stores and five pickup points and we actually make a small profit on waste. Weβve turned waste from a cost to a resource. The next step is not just about recycling, but itβs about using waste in our own operations.β
βWe donβt do this just because weβre tree huggers, we do this because itβs very cost effective,β she said.
Yarrow also revealed that cardboard is being recycled by Ikea to feature in one of its most symbolic products - the Billy bookcase.
βTake cardboard, big, big for us. Because of the cellulose fibres, you can actually only recycle it about seven times. They just get shorter and shorter and then you just end up with pulp. So recycling is good but itβs not the panacea,β she said. βWhat weβre looking at now is to take this cardboard and then we are reusing it. We are incorporating it into the backboards of Billy bookcases.β
And other recycled materials are forming new product lines for the firm.
βAnother waste that is a bit unavoidable is that on our pallets, to protect them some of our products need to be wrapped in big ream of cling film and that is difficult to recycle,β she said. βWe are now keeping that ourselves and turning it into products.β
Yarrow pointed out that large retail businesses like Ikea are realising sustainability is crucial to securing trust with consumers - and their bottom lines.
βH&M are being quite audacious about the fact they are taking on that whole fast fashion idea,β Yarrow said. βIf you go into their stores now you will see opportunities to bring back clothes - even incentivised bring back schemes. I think thatβs great what theyβre doing.β
βAnother example would be Interface, the floor coverings company which takes back used floor tiles, and Nike with its 100 percent recycled shoes.β
In the coming years, Ikea will work with customers to help inspire them to think differently about sustainability.
βWe can do a huge amount in our own operations to get things rights and to make business sense,β Yarrow said. βBut our biggest opportunity is with our customers.β
And figures suggest green living is big with British consumers.
Sales of sustainable products at Ikea rose 13 percent last year, according to its new sustainability report, totalling sales of Β£76.8 million.
βWe want to create a better everyday life for the many people. Sustainability should not be something thatβs exclusive, it shouldnβt be something thatβs expensive or something for the fortunate few,β Yarrow said. βIt should be easy, affordable and attractive for everyone. Thatβs where weβll have the biggest impact.β