There’s been a few news items that have caught the eye of the team at HSEQ-360 Limited in the past few days. Though the one from Sweden concerning IKEA was arguably the quirkiest.

Th developer OX2 has received regional permit for the Galatea-Galene wind farm off Sweden’s west coast, for a 1.7GW project with IKEA’s investment arm, Ingka.

This development is to be lauded as it ties in well with IKEA’s sustainability strategy for 2030:

We have big ambitions for 2030. We are committed to doing our part to tackle climate change, unsustainable consumption, and inequality. Our three major focus areas are Healthy & sustainable living, Circular & climate positive and Fair & equal.

IKEA already uses renewable energy in all its factories, packaging and distribution units globally. Of the materials it sourced in 2021, 55.8% were renewable and 17.3% were recycled. Its wood is sustainable too: 99.5% of the wood used for IKEA products is either Forest Stewardship Council®-certified (FSC®) or recycled.

Flippant title to one side, IKEA and Ingka are making a tangible difference with the Galatea-Galene wind farm>

“We look forward to realise Galatea-Galene together with OX2,” said Frederik de Jong, head of renewable energy investments at Ingka Investments. With a speedy permit process the wind farm could be producing electricity before 2030.”

This neatly ties in with the 2030 mission statement from IKEA on sustainability – proving words can be converted to actions.

“This is an important step to increase the generation of renewable energy in southern Sweden and to reduce the cost of electricity,” said Emelie Zakrisson, head of project development for offshore wind power Sweden at OX2. “The wind farm will furthermore contribute to the green transition and to secure a competitive industry in the region.”

Sweden produces 26.6 TWh from wind energy, which accounts for 21.5% of the country’s electricity consumption. It is actually the 10th largest producer of energy from offshore wind in the world we read – remarkable considering its geographical footprint.  We quote directly from Windeurope: 
Sweden is Europe’s biggest net exporter of electricity, largely due to the availability of onshore wind energy. The country now has the fifth most onshore wind capacity in Europe. By the end of the year they’ll have 14 GW.
So the next time you’re in IKEA, don’t just pause for meatballs, applaud their work on the environment and sustainability and raise a glass to Swedish innovation.

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