STOCKHOLM, Jan 26 (Reuters) – (This Jan. 26 story has been up to date to appropriate the identify of the subsidiary to Ingka (not IKEA) Investments in paragraph 13.)
IKEA is utilizing extra wooden from Sweden and the Baltics to make up for not sourcing it from Russia and Belarus which the corporate has shunned because of Moscow's struggle in Ukraine, its wooden provide boss mentioned in an interview.
The world's largest furnishings model – one of many world's prime wooden customers – used 20 million cubic metres of wooden in its merchandise, packaging and communication materials within the 12 months by August 2022.
“Now we have managed to interchange these (Russia and Belarus) volumes in different international locations on a extremely popular wooden market,” Ulf Johansson, International Wooden Provide and Forestry Supervisor at model proprietor Inter IKEA, informed Reuters.
Sweden, the Baltics, Poland and Germany are amongst international locations the place IKEA's wooden sourcing has elevated because of the struggle in Ukraine, he mentioned, including that a number of the options may be long-term and others short-term.
Russia and Belarus have been IKEA's fifth and sixth largest wooden suppliers earlier than the struggle, accounting for six% and 5% respectively of its provides, the corporate's web site mentioned.
The corporate on Thursday launched a map on its web site exhibiting the origin of all its wooden to satisfy clients' calls for for extra transparency.
Poland, adopted by Lithuania and Sweden have been the three largest suppliers within the 12 months by August 2022.
IKEA says it makes use of solely Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) licensed or recycled wooden. It banned suppliers from utilizing Russian and Belarusian wooden after FSC suspended its certification within the two international locations as a result of invasion.
IKEA shops in Russia have been closed since March, whereas IKEA owned buying malls stay open. Inter IKEA's 4 factories within the nation are closed and up on the market.
Johansson mentioned IKEA is now the midst of a assessment of its long-term wooden provide technique, when it comes to options to Russia but additionally in gentle of enlargement plans for South America the place it opened its first retailer in 2022.
“Now it additionally appears just like the uncooked materials market goes down a bit so it's perhaps somewhat simpler scenario proper now,” he mentioned.
Wooden costs are easing after surging up to now few years, partly in response to elevated demand for packaging through the pandemic as folks shopped on-line.
IKEA has in recent times been shopping for and managing forests in plenty of international locations by its funding automobile Ingka Investments, from which it would use wooden and wooden merchandise sooner or later.
Whereas IKEA says managing forests responsibly will assist mitigate local weather change, it doesn't but embody that enterprise in its general goal to be local weather constructive by 2030 because of difficulties measuring carbon seize and storage.
Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Marie Mannes; Enhancing by Jane Merriman and Kevin Liffey
: .