By Glenn Meyers
Clean Technica
IKEA, the planet’s largest furniture retailer, has announced it will shift to 100% renewable energy by 2020. By that time, it will also grow more trees than it uses under a broad-based plan to safeguard nature that has won strong support from environmentalists.
The Swedish retailer is oriented to addressing many of its customers’ desire for a greener lifestyle. As such, on Tuesday, officials stated the company by 2020 would limit sales to only energy-efficient products, including induction cookers and LED light bulbs.
“This will be a great driver of innovation,” said Mikael Ohlsson, chief executive of the firm, told Reuters in an interview.
IKEA will invest €1.5 billion ($1.95 billion) from 2009-2015 in solar and wind power to produce at least 70 percent of the group’s energy. By 2020, it expects to produce as much renewable energy as it consumes.
The company’s commitment to renewable energy is stunning. IKEA presently owns wind farms in six European nations and has already installed 342,000 solar panels on its stores, warehouses, and factories. In total, these generate 27% of the group’s electricity.
