TOP 10 – BRANDS LEADING THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY

CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER: KAREN PFLUG HEADQUARTERS: LEIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS FOUNDED: 1943 EMPLOYEES: 160,000

Ingka Group, the largest IKEA franchisee, aims to invest € 1bn( US $ 1.1bn) in companies that are increasing recycling infrastructure. The company estimates that since 2017, companies in its Circular Investments portfolio have recycled around 1.9 million tonnes of materials. It is scaling as-is and buyback programmes across its stores and provided more than 25 million free assembly parts to 2.2 million customers in 2024 to support repairs and keep products in use for longer. Its IT recycling partnership in 16 countries has resulted in 29.7 % of its end-of-life equipment being refurbished and resold and 70.3 % being recycled. In Canada, Ingka ran a campaign advocating removal of sales tax on second-hand goods, offering 13 % discounts to IKEA Family members to offset the tax on As-Is items.

IKEA’ s EU manifesto calls to reframe waste policy into a“ Resource Framework Regulation”, harmonise Extended Producer Responsibility and invest in pan-European recycling infrastructure to accelerate reuse, repair, recycling and remanufacturing.

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