IKEA Joins 'Korea-Sweden Green Transition Alliance'... Supporting Korea's Early Carbon Neutrality Achievement

Ambassador Halgren: "Efforts by Many Companies and the Korea-Sweden Governments to Accelerate Carbon Neutrality Are Encouraging"
CEO Johansson: "Expecting More People to Join Climate Action"

Frederik Johansson, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer of IKEA Korea, signing the pledge.
[Photo by IKEA Korea]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] For the first time in Korea, foreign companies gathered in one place to support Korea's ambitious implementation plans and goals to transition to a carbon-neutral society.

At the pledge declaration ceremony held on the 13th at the Swedish Ambassador's residence, the Embassy of Sweden in Korea, the Swedish Trade and Investment Council in Korea, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and 13 Swedish companies participating in the "Korea-Sweden Green Transition Alliance" jointly announced their mission, which summarizes the implementation pledge for Korea's early achievement of carbon neutrality.

Jacob Hallgren, Ambassador of Sweden to Korea, declared that the Swedish companies participating in the Green Transition Alliance will support Korea's future green competitiveness through three actions: "Take Action," "Co-create value through collaboration," and "Raise Ambition."

Ambassador Hallgren said, "It is encouraging that the majority of companies in the Green Transition Alliance have ambitious goals to achieve the carbon neutrality targets set by both the Swedish and Korean governments even earlier," adding, "I hope this will help advance the agendas of both countries."

At this event, 13 Swedish companies participating in the Green Transition Alliance, actively operating in various fields such as construction, energy, shipbuilding and marine, manufacturing, retail, transportation, and waste management ? including △ABB △Atlas Copco △Envac △IKEA △KraftPowercon △Ocla △Scandinavian Biogas △Scania △SF Marina △Tetra Pak △Volvo Cars △Volvo Construction Equipment △Volvo Trucks ? announced their specific activity plans to achieve green transition and carbon neutrality domestically by 2050, along with the pledge below (see photo).

Specific activity plans and goals of each company for achieving green transition and carbon neutrality announced by the Korea-Sweden Green Transition Alliance.
[Photo by IKEA Korea]

Sweden is one of the leading countries in creating a sustainable industrial environment, proving that actual green transition helps strengthen corporate competitiveness. The 13 partner companies participating in this pledge are highly engaged and dedicated to environmental issues, to the extent that they are cited as representative best practices of Sweden.

Ambassador Hallgren stated, "Green transition is one of the ways to create broad business opportunities and enhance competitiveness," adding, "Korea's Green New Deal project and the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 will be a turning point for Korea to develop into an eco-friendly carbon-neutral society."

Fredrik Johansson, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) of IKEA Korea, said, "I am very pleased to contribute to the collective effort to create a more sustainable Korea together with Swedish partners in Korea through the Korea-Sweden Green Transition Alliance," adding, "Based on this, I hope more people in Korea will deeply understand the importance of climate response and participate in timely actions, and IKEA Korea will continue to make efforts to support this."

Meanwhile, Sweden, positioned at the forefront of green transition through technology leadership, is a representative country that has demonstrated that economic growth and carbon emission reduction can be achieved simultaneously. Between 1990 and 2017, Sweden's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 71%, while carbon emissions decreased by 26%.

IKEA Korea is expanding various activities and investments to become a climate-safe company by 2030 to protect the Earth from the climate change crisis. By 2030, it plans to use 100% recycled or renewable materials for its entire product range and aims to convert 100% of its furniture delivery vehicles to electric trucks by 2025 to achieve zero carbon dioxide emissions from furniture delivery.