Analyzing IKEA's Triple Bottom Line and CSR Strategies: A Report

This report provides an analysis of IKEA's implementation of the triple bottom line framework, encompassing people, planet, and profit. IKEA's vision emphasizes creating a better life for many, incorporating sustainability into its core values. The company's initiatives include a strong supplier code of conduct, renewable energy production, waste reduction, and partnerships with organizations like UNICEF. IKEA aims to strengthen its business practices by ensuring sustainable financial policies and adhering to legislation. The report highlights IKEA's efforts in promoting sustainable living, with goals for recyclable materials and a focus on reducing environmental impact through various measures. The analysis draws upon the Werbach theory of the triple bottom line, considering the environmental and economic pressures faced by businesses. IKEA's commitment to safer chemicals, reduced formaldehyde, and energy-efficient solutions demonstrates its dedication to sustainability and ethical business practices. The report references academic sources to support its claims.

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Management

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The triple bottom line of Ikea Company
Triple Bottom Line concept plays an essential role in today’s time. In recent time, leaders are
required to think sustainable. It includes the 3P’s in it named people, planet, and profit.
People involve the employees that are involved in the work of corporation. As compare to
this, planet states that an organization always try its best to reduce the ecological footprint by
reducing the wastage, management of natural resources as well as by improving logistics.
Ikea is the best example of using triple bottom model. Ikea is always guided by its
vision:”creating the better life for various people.” It always stated that it would be
economise with the resources. It never wants to waste the resources and this included in the
core values of Ikea. Economic, social, and environmental well-being in present and future is
becoming the significant part of Ikea business. In addition, Ikea stated that it’s group
direction is to grow together (McWilliams, Parhankangas, Coupet, Welch and Barnum,
2016). Ikea sustainability direction has also launched in the year 2013 that led to set the
common framework for all the Ikea companies and its people as well as planet. Its supplier
code of conduct has also launched in the year 2000. It is also committed to the children’s
right throughout the Ikea. It is found in the report that Ikea is dedicated is dedicated toward
the code of conduct that is made for the prevention of child labour. In this way, it works in
the best interest of children including measures made for child labour. The data of year 2013
also states that it is able to produce the renewable energy that is equal to one third of the total
consumption of energy. Besides this around eighty per cent f the heat energy is also come
from the bio mass. It is also turning the waste into resources. In order to take care of the
environmental pollution, it make sure that about 15% of the waste goes into the landfill
(Laurin and Fantazy, 2017). Ikea does it in order to put the positive impact on the
environment and people. It also believes that by acquiring all the raw material from the
sustainable sources, it is easy to protect the environment. In addition, it also works with some
other industry for transforming the industries. It is also founding members of the better cotton
initiative, Forest Stewardship council as well as maintaining the successful partnership with
the UNICEF (Apte and Sheth, 2016).
In the future also, it will continue to strengthening the business practices by ensuring that all
the sustainable financial policies will be safeguarded as well as respecting all the applicable
legislation. It has complied the own operation with its code of conduct as well as with the
supplier code of conduct. Whenever it is possible, it adopts the strongest legislation as well as

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applies the same in all the market. Ikea is a value driven business with the culture that is
based on strong beliefs and values. Enthusiasm, togetherness, desire for renewal, accepting
responsibility, striving to meet reality is some elements from which IKEA comply properly.
It always does best in order to maintain the ethical standards and become the good partner in
society (University of Wisconsin, 2019).
Ikea has released the sustainability report that easily highlighted the efforts of the company in
promoting the sustainable living for its customer through planet and people sustainability
program. It has also announced the new £1 Billion support fund. The chief sustainability
officer of Ikea named Steve Howard has also made the essential progress toward the planet
and people target. Ikea Planet and People positive strategy also provide focus to make the life
of customers more sustainable (Larsson, 2016). By the year 2020, Ikea is hoping that 100 per
cent of all the material in its plastic product will be recyclable as well as renewable. In
addition to this, around 98 per cent of the entire home furnishing materials as well as
including packaging are already recyclable, and renewable. Ikea has also taken the Werbach
theory of the triple bottom line (Berger-Walliser, Shrivastava and Sulkowski, 2016).
When environment is considered, society is recently using resource at such rate that requires
around 1.5 planets. Recycling rate has also increased in the world, but some of valuable
processes material is still thrown away than being reused. Rise in the raw material cost and
energy is also putting the pressure in businesses all over the world. It is estimated that around
2030, almost half of the population will face the water scarcity. By considering Ikea, it acts
boldly but the increment in prices of food, energy, metals, textiles, and plastics will affects
the cost as well as increase the price for its customers. Ikea can also grow more opportunities
and can improve the live. Ikea has already taken various significant and essential measures in
taking the steps of making the business environment more sustainable. It has also taken the
stand for safer and fewer chemicals nu banning the PVC from its products. IT also reduced
the formaldehyde from the glues and liquor as well as do not sue the optical brighteners in the
IKEA textiles. It has also taken the measures for rolling out the LEDs at lower prices. It
believed that the hardworking team of Ikea has made all these measures to work better and in
positive manner. In this way, it is clear that Ikea is successful in using the triple bottom line
model in best manner (Du, Yalcinkaya and Bstieler, 2016).

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References
Apte, S. and Sheth, J.N. (2016) The Sustainability Edge: How to Drive Top-line Growth with
Triple-bottom-line Thinking. University of Toronto Press.
Berger-Walliser, G., Shrivastava, P. and Sulkowski, A. (2016) Using proactive legal
strategies for corporate environmental sustainability. Mich. J. Envtl. & Admin. L., 6, p.1.
Du, S., Yalcinkaya, G. and Bstieler, L. (2016) Sustainability, social media driven open
innovation, and new product development performance. Journal of Product Innovation
Management, 33, pp.55-71.
Larsson, R.G. (2016) Ikea's Almost Fabless Global Supply Chain—A Rightsourcing Strategy
for Profit, Planet, and People. In Lean Management Of Global Supply Chain (pp. 65-82).
Laurin, F. and Fantazy, K. (2017) Sustainable supply chain management: a case study at
IKEA. Transnational Corporations Review, 9(4), pp.309-318.
McWilliams, A., Parhankangas, A., Coupet, J., Welch, E. and Barnum, D.T. (2016) Strategic
decision making for the triple bottom line. Business Strategy and the Environment, 25(3),
pp.193-204.
University of Wisconsin. (2019) The triple bottom line.Retrieved from:
https://sustain.wisconsin.edu/sustainability/triple-bottom-line/