Transforming Business for People and Planet
WWF and IKEA are working together to safeguard and manage precious natural resources and transform business for the benefit of people and planet. Through engagement, innovation and advocacy, the partnership is driving the development of more sustainable cotton and timber markets.
Since 2002, we have worked to improve forest management and fight illegal logging, as well as reduce water and pesticide use and improve livelihoods in cotton farming. And today we are collaborating with other companies and networks to shape progressive regulations and stimulate sector-wide innovation.
Working with WWF’s Forests and Markets Practices, our combined expertise and market power give us the ability to influence entire markets and inspire sustainable business practices, delivering conservation and resource stewardship that would not otherwise be possible. Find out more in the partnership factsheet.
The WWF and IKEA partnership has contributed to the development of regulations aimed at protecting biodiversity in one of Russia’s biodiversity-rich regions, Caucasus. Currently IKEA does not source wood from the region, however, they are committed to contributing to a greater good that goes beyond the company’s own needs. Regulation is a critical element for responsible forest management and the FSC certification in turn makes the wood sourced from Caucasus more competitive and attractive to buyers, similar to IKEA.
Thanks to the Cotton Doctor app, with a simple click of a phone, farmers can feed in the time and duration they wants their cotton saplings to be watered, automatically activating water pumps via a SIM card fixed to an automatic irrigation switch in the fields.
WWF welcomes the decision of the Ukrainian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources to approve a methodology for the identification and conservation of primeval, old-growth, and natural forests. In recent years, WWF in Ukraine with the support of IKEA, DEG and the Succow Foundation — have completed extensive work for the preliminary identification of virgin and old growth forests in the Ukrainian Carpathians.
Ikea sharpens focus on renewable and recyclable materials that will contribute to a circular society. New design ideas will make it possible to repair, reuse and reassemble IKEA products – giving them a longer life and endowing them with an elevated emotional value for customers.
Vietnam is one of the world’s largest exporters of wood and wood products. Overall exports in 2016 were valued at nearly $7 billion. Yet its forests, ravaged by war and degraded by logging and land clearance, contain almost no untouched primary forest and the country imports a significant amount of timber, some still from unsustainable sources that drive deforestation in neighbouring countries. A joint venture with home furnishing giant and WWF corporate partner, IKEA, SBARP promotes responsible production by small-scale producers across Vietnam, Lao PDR and Cambodia, supports government forest restoration plans and helps the private sector meet legal requirements.
In Europe, we often look to the great tropical rainforests of the world for beauty, inspiration and diversity. Yet on our doorstep there is still natural heritage beyond compare. Forest Stewardship Council certification (FSC) and World Heritage recognition are both critical in the fight for Europe’s ancient beech forests. Protecting this heritage is as much a socio-economic and cultural endeavour as it is a scientific one, requiring a marriage of commerce and conservation. And this is precisely the approach that WWF has pursued for more than a decade in partnership with local communities, business and government, IKEA included.
The majority of international companies using most cotton globally are failing to deliver on cotton sustainability according to new independent research by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) UK, Solidaridad and WWF.
WWF and IKEA are starting a new project in Thailand to identify opportunities for smallholders to manage responsible rubber plantations and harvest wood from rubber trees. Once successful approaches are established, the partnership will support stronger legislation and improved certification criteria that help smallholders.
In a new project, WWF and IKEA will analyse and compare the environmental impact producing cotton in different ways. The project will examine impacts on soil, water and cotton farm surroundings, as well as considering socio-economic impacts in the Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Punjab areas in India.
WWF and IKEA are running a pilot project in India with the aim of delivering more environmental benefits from joint cotton projects. A total of 6,000 project farmers will be trained by a specialist team in ”Better Management Practices” in line with the Better Cotton Initiative standard system. This will include training for drip irrigation system installation in cotton fields for more efficient water use. The project will be implemented in nine of the largest cotton-growing districts in the state of Gujarat.
WWF and IKEA are using the ”Cool farm tool” developed in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen to measure carbon and water footprints from selected cotton projects in India. The aim is to compare conventionally grown cotton with ”Better Cotton” and to highlight the potential for reducing the footprint of cotton production systems. The study will be conducted in Punjab, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
In 2005, WWF and IKEA set out to transform cotton production and secure a sustainable future for the industry by helping farmers earn a better living and improving working conditions, as well as reducing impacts from pesticide use and saving precious water resources.
By managing and protecting forests, tackling threats such as forest degradation, supporting laws that combat illegal trade in timber, and helping people buy and use wood wisely, our aim is to ensure forests and the people that depend on them, have a healthy future.
Corporate Relations
WWF-SE
T: +46 8 6247400
info@wwf.se
Manager Corporate Partnerships
Marcus Albers, marcus.albers@wwf.se
Communications manager
Elisabeth Brisum, elisabeth.brisum@wwf.se
