Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, has announced its aim to invest €1 billion in increasing recycling infrastructure.
Ingka Group operates 574 IKEA stores, shops, and planning studios in 31 countries and generates 89% of all IKEA sales worldwide.
The investment arm of Ingka Group, Ingka Investments, is managing the aim to invest €1 billion in companies that are increasing recycling infrastructure.
In 2017, Ingka Group established Circular Investments to invest in companies contributing to the transition to a circular economy with a focus on plastics, mattresses, textiles, wood and food waste.
Since 2017, Ingka Group estimates that its portfolio companies have recycled around 2.7 million tonnes of materials overall, avoiding over 9.4 million tonnes of CO2e.
Ingka Investments is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy and retaining the value of materials.
Commenting on the announcement, Lukas Visser, Circular Investments Portfolio Manager, Ingka Investments, said: “To future-proof our business we want to invest in financially and environmentally resilient companies.
“When a product’s life at home ends, Circular Investments begins. Ingka Investments is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy and retaining the value of materials.
“For us, that means investing in companies that are developing technology or growing capacity to prevent waste or supply recycled materials.”
Ingka Investments invests in six areas: forestland, renewable energy, real estate, circular, financial markets, and business acquisitions and venture investments.
Ingka Group said its Circular Investments’ portfolio includes RetourMatras, which produces a circular alternative to fossil-based materials in new foam products used in 31 IKEA upholstery and mattress product lines.
