Ingka Group, responsible for around 90 percent of IKEA‘s retail sales, is dedicated to achieving a fully emission-free fleet by September 2025. This objective includes all company-owned, leased and shared vehicles.
By fiscal year 2024, the company aspires to enhance its electric vehicle charging infrastructure by adding 5,000 new charging points. It plans to install 1,000 charging points in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
Global Category Leader – Fleet, Mobility and Travel at Ingka Group Procurement, Zoltan Sziller, divided the group’s transportation decarbonization strategies into three categories.
The first includes co-workers, company car drivers and private individuals commuting to IKEA stores and Ingka Group offices.
The second category is commercial vehicles responsible for transporting products to customers and meeting points. The third category focuses on customers visiting IKEA stores.
In 2021, the company announced that it had accomplished its goal of installing EV charging stations in all stores with parking, ensuring convenient access to EV charging for its customers.
IKEA has changed its business travel policy to reduce its carbon footprint further. The updated policy discourages single-day meetings and aims to minimize the number of team members traveling to the same meeting.
The company highlights the importance of conducting routine internal meetings digitally, comprising at least 40 percent of the total meetings. This proactive approach helps limit unnecessary travel and encourages using more sustainable alternatives.
However, the plans to electrify Ingka’s medium-duty and larger commercial vehicle operations are currently still under exploration. According to Sziller, the company is collaborating with its transport providers and original equipment manufacturers to evaluate the feasibility of this initiative.
Bringing Together Key Stakeholders
Sziller offered valuable guidance to fleets embarking on electrification journeys. He underscored the importance of bringing together key stakeholders and fostering open discussions. These discussions address the policy’s essential aspects while assigning clear responsibilities.
He stressed that transparent discussions about the requirements and implications of electrification were vital for successfully navigating the path toward the ultimate goal. Without such transparency, the process of fleet electrification could unnecessarily become challenging.
Sziller further highlighted that the cost was just one aspect among many to consider in these discussions. Electrification required additional resources and a shift in mindset and work approach. A well-developed long-term plan is paramount as the company plans to integrate this technology into its operations.