IKEA has expanded their mission to take on urban farming. Sarah Segergren, sustainable innovation leader, comments that “at IKEA, we are truly committed to creating a people and planet positive future. We want to have a positive impact on people, society and the planet. For us, it’s about balancing economic growth and positive social impact with environmental protection and regeneration”.
Following their greater philosophies of inspiring one billion people to live more sustainable lives that work within the limitations of our planet, IKEA is constantly broadening their horizons. A big part of this mission is food.
While one may not think of IKEA as a food-based business, they have over 440 restaurants in their stores internationally, allowing them to serve over 680 million people annually. According to founder Ingvar Kamprad, “it is hard to business on a hungry stomach”. In fact, IKEA is one of the world’s largest plated restaurants, so their potential to impact sustainability through food is very significant.
In furthering sustainability in the food they produce and serve, IKEA conducted “initial tests with vertical farming using a hydroponic technology (that) have shown that there are clear sustainability benefits in growing our own leafy greens, such as 90% less water usage, no pesticides needed and very little land use, to name a few”. Sara and her team firmly believe that vertical farming solutions will contribute to enabling them to achieve their goals of becoming circular and climate positive by 2030.
In looking to gain a better understanding of the market and the industry’s key players, IKEA searched for a company that could help guide them in their mission. What they found was not only a company that met their objectives, “but also our values and our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people. Being a global leader within urban agriculture, Agritecture was a natural partner for us to work with to gain that understanding”.
Read the complete article at www.agritecture.com.