IKEA has made efforts to transition to a greener business model with disassembly and moving instructions for furniture, forest protection, and buy-back programs. They even published a zero-waste cookbook! Now, the Swedish company is looking to expand its environmental reach even further with the announcement that it will start selling renewable energy to households, starting with its domestic Swedish market in September.
The program is possible thanks to a partnership with Svea Solar. The solar company will buy the renewable energy from wind and solar facilities on the Nordic power exchange and sell it to IKEA customers without a surcharge. Customers will pay a fixed monthly fee and can track their energy usage through a corresponding app.
IKEA already sells solar panels in some of its markets. Those customers will be able to continue tracking their energy generation and usage through the app and even sell excess energy back to IKEA for redistribution.
This newest initiative is part of IKEA’s goal to become carbon negative一reducing emissions by more than it produces一by 2030. “We want to make electricity from sustainable sources more accessible and affordable for all,” said the company in a statement.