IKEA Canada celebrates 10 consecutive years as one of Canada's Greenest Employers

Retailer to launch Sustainable Living Challenge in time for Earth Day, inspiring Canadians to live a more sustainable life at home with mobile app

BURLINGTON, ON, April 19, 2018 /CNW/ - IKEA Canada has been named as one of Canada's Greenest Employers for the 10^th consecutive year for its commitment to sustainability practices. The designation from Mediacorp Canada Inc. recognizes employers who lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness in their organizations and incorporate sustainable business practices across their operations.

"Our co-workers are our best ambassadors. They make sustainability a part of their everyday work and it's thanks to them that we've achieved this milestone," said Marsha Smith, President, IKEA Canada. "We are committed to having a positive impact on people and the planet and we know it is our co-workers who will lead the way to a more sustainable future."  

For the past two years, IKEA Canada co-workers have shown their passion for living more sustainably through participation in an internally-driven Sustainable Living Challenge, where daily actions such as turning out the lights or carpooling are logged on a mobile app. This year's 10-day challenge showed how small actions can yield big results, with approximately 412,300 kg of CO2 emissions avoided, 26,500 kg of waste diverted, and 3.1 million litres of water conserved. As a result of the high co-worker engagement, IKEA has now made the Sustainable Living Challenge app available to all Canadians, and will run the challenge from April 22 (Earth Day) through April 30 with prizes to be awarded to the top 40 participants across the country.

"We see a great opportunity to reach the many Canadians by showing how small steps can create a significant positive impact on our natural environment ? and can help to save money," said Brendan Seale, Sustainability Manager, IKEA Canada. "It's about taking simple actions in our daily lives that can help save energy and water, reduce waste, and live a healthier lifestyle."

The following are just a few of the many initiatives that make IKEA one of Canada's Greenest Employers:

• IKEA Canada generates renewable energy equivalent to approximately four times the energy it consumes across the country, through its ownership of two wind farms in Alberta and rooftop solar PV systems in Halifax and all Ontario stores.
• IKEA offers a take-back and recycling service for household batteries, lightbulbs, and mattresses.
• All IKEA stores across Canada offer electric vehicle charging stations enabling low carbon mobility.
• Co-workers supported in diverting 85 percent of waste from landfills last year.
• Since 2015, IKEA Canada has partnered with Breakfast Club of Canada to support childhood development in each of the communities in which it operates.
• IKEA offers a unique program called IWitness Global Citizens program where co-workers are selected to be ambassadors to visit projects funded by the IKEA Foundation through annual Good Cause campaigns. Ambassadors have visited Malawi, Kosovo, Jordan, South Africa, and Indonesia.
• In September 2017, IKEA Canada opened its Halifax store as the most sustainable IKEA store in Canada, and it will be the first LEED certified IKEA store in Canada.

From April 22-30, customers can participate in the IKEA Sustainable Living Challenge through a mobile app, where they can record sustainable actions for a chance to win one of 40 prizes, including a $2000 IKEA gift card.  The app can be downloaded at http://qrly.me/IKEA-slc-app.

ABOUT IKEA CANADA
IKEA Group is a leading home furnishing retailer with 357 stores in more than 29 countries worldwide, which are visited by 817 million people every year. IKEA Canada has 13 stores, an eCommerce virtual store, six Pick-up and order points and 13 Collection Points. The company also announced plans to open new stores in Quebec City and London, Ontario. Last year, IKEA Canada welcomed 28 million visitors to its stores and 88 million visitors to the IKEA.ca website. Founded in 1943, IKEA's business philosophy is to offer a wide range of products of good design and function at prices so low, the majority of people can afford them. For more information on IKEA Canada, please visit: www.IKEA.ca.

SOURCE IKEA Canada