IKEA UK JOINS NET ZERO SCHOOLS CAMPAIGN

@IKEAUK yesterday (19 Oct) announced a new partnership with climate solutions charity, Ashden, on ‘Let’s Go Zero’, a coalition campaign which aims to support UK schools’ efforts to reduce their emissions and calls for government action on greening schools.

Through the new partnership, IKEA UK and ‘Let’s Go Zero’ are targeting zero carbon in all 32,000 schools across the United Kingdom by 2030, ahead of the UK Government’s 2050 target.

The announcement comes at a pivotal time for IKEA UK. The company was recently announced as a Partner for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), where it will bring businesses together and drive conversation on key issues including the race to net zero. While at COP26, IKEA UK and Ashden will be encouraging schools to sign up to the ‘Let’s Go Zero’ initiative.

IKEA UK will mobilise customers and its 12,000 employees to engage with local schools and young people, encouraging them to sign up to ‘Let’s Go Zero’ and to make the changes needed to reach net zero. This includes leveraging IKEA UK stores and expertise in life at home to promote its shared vision of a healthier, more sustainable society, and to inspire action on climate.

IKEA UK will also support Ashden in influencing the UK Government to get behind ‘Let’s Go Zero’ and create enabling policy and financial packages that will facilitate the decarbonisation of UK schools, and to support schools in developing their roadmaps to becoming zero carbon.

Marsha Smith, Deputy Country Retail Manager at IKEA UK & Ireland, said:

“The climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges that society faces. At IKEA, we’ve set ambitious goals to guide us on our journey to becoming climate positive by 2030. Radical collaboration is needed to assemble a better future and keep global warming at or below 1.5 degrees, whilst inspiring and enabling a healthy and sustainable life for all.

“In Ashden, we have found a partner that can help us accelerate our vision of creating a better, healthier and more sustainable life at home for many people – and when we say home, we mean it in its broader sense, to encompass neighbourhoods and communities.”

Harriet Lamb, Ashden CEO, said:

“Schools are key community hubs throughout the country. With 10 million people going through the school gate every day, their role in tackling the climate crisis is pivotal.

“There is massive untapped potential to accelerate decarbonisation in education, and we also hope to respond to those young people calling for change, and to inspire and educate the whole next generation to make sustainable, healthy choices in their lifestyle. Young people are a leading force in shaping public discourse around climate change, both leading up to COP26 and well into the future.

“We’re thrilled to join forces with IKEA UK, who is perfectly placed to bridge between action in schools and action in everyone’s communities and homes. IKEA UK has the scale and reach to take this campaign to the next level.”

The ‘Let’s Go Zero’ coalition campaign is led by Ashden and includes Global Action Plan, WWF, Sustrans, Soil Association, Fairtrade Foundation, EcoSchools, Carbon Trust and others. To date, more than 500 schools have signed up to the campaign, with numbers rising every day.

5 Key IKEA climate actions:

1. Renewable energy: Phasing out fossil fuels and striving towards 100% renewable energy (electricity, heating, cooling and fuels) across the IKEA value chain by 2030. By 2025 Ingka Group will switch to 100% zero-emission home deliveries in all markets.
2. will aim to secure 100% renewable electricity consumption across its own operations.
3. Low carbon transport and logistics: By 2030, IKEA aims to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions from product transport by 15% compared to 2017. Ingka Group will aim for 100% zero-emission home deliveries by 2025 across its 32 countries.
4. Sustainable sourcing and circular design: IKEA aims to become a circular business, using only renewable and recycled materials with lower climate footprint and designing products for circularity by 2030.
5. Enabling customers to live more healthy and sustainable lives: By 2030, we aim to inspire and enable more than 1 billion people to live better lives within the boundaries of the planet.

IKEA climate positive means to reduce more greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions than the IKEA value chain emits by 2030, while growing the IKEA business. IKEA is committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This includes a commitment to halve the absolute net GHG emissions from the total IKEA value chain by 2030. We will achieve this by drastically reducing GHG emissions through science-based targets and by removing carbon from the atmosphere through natural processes and storing it in land, plants and products through better forest and agriculture management within the IKEA value chain. We will contribute to further greenhouse emission reductions in society by going beyond IKEA, such as enabling customers to generate renewable energy at home.

‘Let’s Go Zero’ unites schools to be zero carbon by 2030. The ‘Let’s Go Zero’ campaign is run by Ashden (a UK-based climate solutions charity) in partnership with Global Action Plan and a coalition of sustainable schools organisations. The coalition includes IKEA, WWF, Fairtrade Foundation (Fairtrade Schools), Carbon Trust, EcoSchools, Sustrans (School Streets), and Soil Association (Food for Life) and supported by many others, including Race to Zero.