Ikea is now producing enough sustainable energy to supply a third of its global energy use and they will continue to produce more until they reach their
impressive commitment of being carbon neutral by 2020.
To put their commitment into perspective; per wiki, as of October 2011, IKEA owns and operates 332 stores in 38 countries. If you're planning a visit to one of their stores, wear your walking shoes because, yes, they are that huge. In fiscal year 2010, US$23.1 billion worth of goods were sold, a total that represented a 7.7 percent increase over 2009.
Swedish retailer IKEA announced the purchase of a 46-megawatt wind farm in Alberta, Canada. The 20-turbine farm is expected to generate 161 gigawatt-hours of power each year, or more than double the total energy consumption of IKEA Canada. The output is equivalent to the consumption of 32 IKEA stores or the average power consumption of 13,500 Canadian homes, the company said.
Globally, IKEA has committed to 157 wind turbines and has installed around 550,000 solar panels on its buildings, and in fiscal year 2013, IKEA produced enough renewable energy to match 37 percent of its consumption.
All is not perfect with Ikea as it has been connected with
questionable deforestation practices in the past, though it does seems to
retract when necessary (bad for business).
In addition to the Alberta wind farm, last week IKEA announced it would be installing South Florida’s largest solar array — 4,620 panels in its Miami store. The project is the company’s fourth in Florida and makes it the state’s largest non-utility solar owner. According to IKEA, the massive solar project will produce the amount of electricity equivalent to that used by 169 homes cut the equivalent of 1,227 tons of carbon dioxide emissions yearly, about the amount of 256 cars. As far as harnessing the power of the sun is concerned, the retail giant has no intention of stopping any time soon. The company is working to install solar panels on 90 percent of its U.S. stores.
And Ikea has announced that it will begin selling solar panels in its UK stores. Any Ikea
sales of solar panels in the U.S. will depend on the success of its UK release.
I don't see how they can continue selling their famous swedish meatballs if they expect to be carbon neutral by 2020. Meatless meatballs anyone?