The catalogue will be available in 67 printed editions, 32 languages and 46 countries/territories, and will be landing on many of our doorsteps soon. If placed in a line, the printed catalogues amount to about 46,000 kilometers, more than enough to completely encircle the world!
IKEA has worked steadily to increase the sustainability performance of its catalogue. In the area of responsible raw materials, full FSC certification was planned for 2016 and therefore reached ahead of schedule. Substantial progress was made in the years leading up to this release: of the paper used in the 2014 catalogue, 68 percent was FSC certified, which was already nearly triple that used in the 2013 catalogue (23 percent).
Such an achievement requires substantial effort behind the scenes. To reach this target, IKEA worked intensively with its suppliers and trained its purchasers. Before negotiating contracts with suppliers, IKEA requests information on their sustainability performance. This information is used by IKEA purchasers to select suppliers that can contribute to IKEA’s own sustainability goals. Learning from past experience, IKEA also organizes workshops with suppliers to find ways to further enhance environmental performance. The entire IKEA catalogue production chain, from forest to printer, is now FSC certified to ensure that the raw materials for the paper originate from responsibly managed forests.
“The FSC certified catalogues show IKEA’s commitment to preserve the worlds’ forests,” says Marcelle Peuckert, Business Development Director at FSC International. “Publications such as catalogues account for a considerable amount of the paper volume used worldwide. Besides the efforts to increase the amount of FSC-certified wooden materials of IKEA’s in-store product portfolio, such as furniture or kitchen utensils, this achievement demonstrates IKEA looks into all areas where the company has an impact.“
Read more about IKEA’s sustainability policy regarding wood at:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_IE/about-the-ikea-group/people-and-planet/energy-and-resources/#wood
(Sources: IKEA press release, IKEA Sustainability Report 2013, IKEA Sustainability Report 2012)