Global furniture giant IKEA will soon begin selling renewable energy directly to homes.

Part of the organisation-wide drive to tackle climate change, this latest initiative will see IKEA offer energy from wind and solar to Swedish households through the STRÖMMA electricity subscription service.

IKEA already sells solar panels to the residential sector in 11 markets through a partnership with SVEA Solar. Electricity will be purchased by SVEA Solar on the Nordic power exchange Nord Pool and resold to customers.

Ingka Group, which owns most of the IKEA stores worldwide, says that customers can buy affordable, certified electricity generated from solar and wind parks, and use an app to track their electricity usage. Customers who have already bought solar panels from IKEA can also track their own production in the app and sell back surplus electricity.

“IKEA wants to build the biggest renewable energy movement together with co-workers, customers and partners around the world, to help tackle climate change together,” Ingka said in a statement. “By 2030 the ambition is to inspire and enable more than 1 billion people to live a better, healthier and more sustainable everyday life within the limits of the planet.”

“At IKEA, we want to become fully circular and climate positive by 2030, built on renewable energy and resources. We believe the future of energy is renewable and we want to make electricity from sustainable sources more accessible and affordable for all,” said Jan Gardberg, new retail business manager, Ingka Group.

“IKEA is a home furnishing company, and we want to make it easier for more people to live a more sustainable life at home. Today we offer smart and energy efficient products and services that contribute to prolonging the life of products, reducing waste, saving water, and eating more healthily, as well as reducing electricity usage. Providing solar and wind power at a low price to more people feels like the natural next step on our sustainability journey,” said Bojan Stupar, sales manager, IKEA Sweden.

The company aims to extend the renewable energy offer to all markets by 2025.

Image: IKEA installing solar panels © Inter IKEA Systems B.V. 2019.