IKEA plans to be energy and resource independent by 2020 under...

IKEA plans to be energy and resource independent by 2020 under an ambitious new sustainability strategy backed by €1.5bn in clean energy investment and unveiled today by the global furniture retailer.

The People and Planet Positive plan is designed to protect the company from price shocks and tap into customers' desire for a greener lifestyle, the firm said in a webcast this morning.

Steve Howard, chief sustainability officer at IKEA Group, told reporters that the company aims to meet 70 per cent of its energy demand "from renewable energy [installations] we own and operate" within three years, adding that "we'll expand that from 2015 to 2020 to 100 per cent".

The company has already installed more than 342,000 solar panels on stores and other buildings and has committed to own and operate 180MW of wind energy capacity across five countries, including its purchase of a 12.3MW wind farm in Scotland last year.

Howard said up to €1.5bn is set to be invested in solar and wind energy projects through to 2015, up from an initial €590m, in order to help meet the new targets.

He added the move should protect the company from both spikes in global and regional energy prices and the introduction of carbon legislation around the world.

"We know we're going to be using energy in 20 years' time," he said. "If we can own our own renewable energy plants ... it gives us complete price certainty."

He also indicated the company could become a net energy exporter, potentially selling the surplus to suppliers or customers, and stressed that the planned green investments offered attractive financial returns for the company.

"All our solar [installations] pay back in 10 years or less and will last for 20 years," he explained. "It's a really good use for the money we've saved for a rainy day."

In addition, IKEA aims to improve its energy efficiency by 20 per cent and is encouraging its supplier to do the same.

Meanwhile, it has committed to ensuring delivery trucks are at least 60 to 70 per cent full, and will replace 1.2 million light sources in stores with low energy consumption LEDs, following on from its announcement earlier this month it would only sell LED lights in stores from 2016.

Howard said simply replacing in-store lighting with LEDs would cut the company's global energy bill by about 10 per cent and save around €15m a year, while also freeing up staff from having to more frequently replace halogen spotlights.

The energy efficiency and renewable energy targets combined should ensure IKEA's carbon footprint is halved by 2015, Howard added.

In terms of resources, IKEA has committed to recycling 90 per cent of store waste and making its 10,000 strong product line more sustainable by ensuring all main home furnishing materials, including packaging, are renewable, recyclable or recycled.

For example, it now plans to use 100 per cent cotton certified by the Better Cotton Initiative, which uses half the water and pesticides of most cotton production, and buy 10 million cubic metres of certified sustainable wood.

The strategy was welcomed by environmental groups including Greenpeace UK, WWF, and UNICEF.

Mark Kenber, chief executive of The Climate Group, encouraged other companies to follow suit.

"To accelerate the scale up of clean energy and move to a low carbon economy we need businesses to take decisive and proactive leadership that translates into transformative change," he said. "We urge other businesses to follow IKEA's lead and place sustainability at the heart of business planning."