IKEA Australia announces first renewable energy positive store

IKEA Australia has announced the launch of Australia’s first store, which will generate more renewable energy than it consumes, by covering the roof and parking areas with solar panels and installing a storage solution which will support the South Australian power grid, in addition to powering its Adelaide store. This is the latest initiative on Ingka Group’s journey towards becoming climate positive* by 2030.

The IKEA Australia Clean Energy Transformation Project will transition IKEA Adelaide to operating with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025 and will generate low cost and clean energy for the Adelaide community.

The project is run in conjunction with Planet Ark Power, the South Australian Government, SA Power Networks and Epic Energy.

“IKEA Australia is excited to be working with such inspirational partners to help shift the dial on clean energy production in Australia and we are thrilled that this project will create new opportunities for job creation, innovation, economic growth and reduced energy costs,” says Jan Gardberg, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Australia.

“Our ambition is to be the first mover and inspire other IKEA stores to install larger solar installations, batteries and digital solutions. Planet Ark Power’s eleXsys energy management system will support the balancing of the electricity grid not just on stores in Australia, but across the IKEA network around the world,” he says.

The IKEA Australia Clean Energy Transformation Project will help achieve three goals in its sustainability agenda including:

• being powered by 100% clean energy
• transitioning our delivery fleet to 100% zero-emissions
• inspiring our customers in joining a clean energy movement.

As a first stage of the project, solar panels will be installed on the rooftop of IKEA Adelaide, together with an onsite battery. Surplus stored energy will be traded into the South Australian network when demand is at its highest. EV chargers will be installed on site for customers, co-workers and the IKEA delivery fleet servicing South Australia. In the second stage, sustainably sourced timber PV share structures will be set up across the car park, where additional solar panels will be hosted.

 “Collaborations like this have always been a cornerstone of the IKEA way – this is more important now than ever in order to tackle the climate crisis. Change will only come if we work together. We are convinced that climate action drives innovation and development. IKEA Australia is taking action together with our customers, partners and governments to do our part in creating society powered by 100% renewable energy,” says Karol Gobczyński, Global Head of Climate & Energy, Ingka Group.

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* 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 target 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. Ingka Group has committed to following science-based targets.:

• By 2030, reduce GHG emissions from across all Ingka Group operations (Scope 1 &2) by 80% in absolute terms, compared to 2016.
• Ingka Group also commits to reduce scope 3 GHG emissions from customer and co-worker travel and customer deliveries 50% per person by financial year 2030, compared to 2016.
• Inter IKEA Group, which is responsible for developing the IKEA range and supply chain, commits to reduce emissions relating to home furnishing products and food by at least 15% in absolute terms for the same period. This translates to a 70% reduced climate footprint on average per IKEA product.

We will contribute to further greenhouse emission reductions in society by going beyond IKEA, such as enabling customers to generate renewable energy at home. We will not use carbon offsetting.

For further information, journalists and media professionals can contact us at press.office@ingka.com or by calling +46 70 993 6376

Ingka Group (Ingka Holding B.V. and its controlled entities) is one of 12 different groups of companies that own and operate IKEA retail under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. Ingka Group has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Ingka Group is a strategic partner in the IKEA franchise system, operating 378 IKEA stores in 30 countries. These IKEA stores had 706 million visits during FY20 and 3.6 billion visits to IKEA.com. Ingka Group operates business under the IKEA vision - to create a better everyday life for the many people by offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible can afford it.

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