Hege Sæbjørnsen

Hege Sæbjørnsen is the Country Sustainability Manager for IKEA UK & Ireland, responsible for all aspects of the retailer’s sustainability strategy across both countries. Hege joined IKEA in May 2015 as Sustainability Expansion Manager, leading the integration of sustainability into the expansion agenda at a time of rapid growth for the business. She was a key member of the team behind the Greenwich sustainable store project, and has been instrumental in co-developing IKEA’s Role in Society strategic initiative.

Prior to joining IKEA, after an initial career as a photographer, Hege set up several creative projects for social and economic change such as the Affluenza exhibition and Platforma Arts & Refugee Network. This led her to co-founding Mindapples, a mental wellbeing social enterprise. Subsequently she spent five years developing values-led start-ups and social entrepreneurship programmes, including three years establishing a networks and engagement direction for UnLtd, the foundation for social entrepreneurs.