The IKEA Australia Podcast Series

In this episode we speak to Karol Gobczynski, Head of Climate and Energy at Ingka Group about how IKEA is entering into the energy market and doing its part to help secure a renewable future for the many people.Find out more about IKEA Australia’s sustainability commitments and initiatives in the Leap Year Of Sustainability Report. 

In this episode, we speak to Jon Dee, social entrepreneur and issues campaigner about the role that businesses, like IKEA, can play in influencing government policy around sustainability and climate change. Jon is the Australian representative for RE100, a global initiative that brings together the world’s most influential businesses committed to 100% renewable energy. Find out more about IKEA Australia’s sustainability commitments and initiatives in the Leap Year Of Sustainability Report.  

Join Kent from IKEA as we explore the kid's toys and the wonderful Swedish language.

Join Kent from IKEA as we explore the pantry and the wonderful Swedish language.

Join Kent from IKEA as we explore the bathroom and the wonderful Swedish language.

At IKEA we want to create a better everyday life for as many people as possible – including the millions who are vulnerable and marginalised – enabling a more equal and inclusive society where a decent job is a natural right. IKEA Social Entrepreneurship is one way of making this a reality. By backing and working with social entrepreneurs, whose business ideas are based on making societies and people thrive, IKEA contributes to creating jobs and better everyday lives around the world. In this episode we speak to Partner Development Leader Ann-Sofie Gunnarsson who works with artisans from some of the most remote parts of the planet to give IKEA customers the chance to purchase unique homewares with a greater purpose. We talk to Ann-Sofie about the IKEA Social Entrepreneurship programme, the importance of ensuring consistent and sustainable jobs and how the programme is still thriving during times of change and uncertainty.  

Avoiding waste and using resources efficiently, is part of the IKEA way of working. With the ambition to find methods to create more sustainable interior design, one of our product development teams asked themselves a question: “Would it be possible to use recycled waste instead of new materials, in our kitchen range? The answer was yes and IKEA created KUNGSBACKA, kitchen fronts made from recycled wood and recycled PET bottles.Sara Åberg and Anna Granath talk about both the challenges faced, as well as the opportunities yet to come from using sustainable materials in IKEA kitchens.

The issue of water scarcity and the need to save water is always front of mind for a hot and dry country like Australia.  With an average annual rainfall of only 470mm per year, Australia is the driest continent inhabited by humans, with very limited freshwater sources.  Now more than ever, we need to enable not just Australians, but consumers around the world to act in their own homes to preserve this precious and threatened resource. At IKEA, we believe that climate action starts at home. And on this topic, we know that the home is the starting point for big changes in society. In this episode we talk to Tobias Svanberg and Antony Smith from IKEA of Sweden – who have been doing some pretty amazing things to support us all saving more water at home.

This episode features Courtney Rea, Unit P&C Administrator at the IKEA Distribution Centre. Courtney has been with IKEA for about 3 years, having recently accepted a new role at the Distribution Centre that had never been done before. She has welcomed this new challenge and enjoys the ownership of work and responsibility it has given her. Outside work, Courtney likes to give back to the community; over the Christmas period she spent her time off supporting the bushfire relief by donating leftover Christmas hampers, and spending time on the ground handing out food to the affected communities.