Ikea may set new carbon policies

Global furniture retailer Ikea Group may set new internal policies to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions.

The company is considering adopting a carbon price for internal accounting purposes to drive down pollution.

{mosads}“We see sustainability as a driver of building a new and better Ikea,” Peter Agnefjall, Ikea’s chief executive officer, told the Reuters Global Climate Change Summit Monday, according to Reuters.

“It is a driver of a renewal of our business, renewal of our products and a driver of innovation of all kinds,” he said.

Sweden-based Ikea has strived to appear environmentally friendly, with a target of spending $1.5 billion on solar and wind power by 2015 and buying more sustainable materials.

An internal carbon price would push the company’s leaders away from fossil fuel and toward lower-carbon options, Agnefjall said.

Ikea started seriously considering the carbon price after last month’s United Nations climate summit in New York City.

About 150 major companies used internal carbon pricing last year in some form or another, usually for long-term planning, Reuters said, citing data from the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Prices ranged from $6 to $60 per metric ton.