Ikea actually got a decent grade for its sustainable shipping goals

Report cards are out for retailers’ climate goals, specifically when it comes to tackling the pollution from their shipping. Compared to other retail giants, Ikea managed to achieve surprisingly high scores.

With an overall grade of B+, Ikea stands out among the 17 other rated companies, all of which received D or F grades. According to the coalition of environmental groups called Ship It Zero that rated the companies, the Swedish company has been more ambitious in its push for cleaner ships and ports.

Today, the ships responsible for transporting the furniture, gadgets, and consumer goods we buy contribute significantly to pollution. Maritime shipping emits greenhouse gases and air pollutants, which have been linked to an estimated 60,000 premature deaths in a year.

“This has a really terrible public health impact on poor communities,” says Eric Leveridge, corporate climate campaign manager at Pacific Environment, one of the groups in the Ship It Zero coalition. “That’s something that we really feel that everyone both on the retail side and the shipping carrier side needs to start addressing immediately.”

Most big container ships run on heavy fuel oil, and one of the biggest problems is when they keep their engines running while idling offshore. The Ship It Zero campaign is urging companies to switch to cleaner energy sources for their ships and other vehicles. They also emphasize the importance of pushing ports to electrify, allowing ships to plug into the grid instead of running their engines at berth.

Ikea received high marks for its transparency regarding pollution and its collaboration with ports to reduce emissions. Despite its growth, Ikea has managed to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions from upstream transportation by utilizing vessels powered by biofuels. While biofuels are considered a short-term alternative until even cleaner fuels are widely available, Ship It Zero recognizes Ikea’s efforts.

The Ship It Zero coalition evaluated 18 different retailers, including Amazon, The Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, and Walmart. The companies were rated based on their emissions disclosures and efforts to reduce shipping pollution. Few retailers were found to be actively monitoring emissions from maritime shipping.

Ikea and Lowe’s were the only two companies that responded to inquiries from the coalition. The coalition relied heavily on publicly shared data from each brand. A previous report by the coalition indicated that Ikea was among the 15 companies responsible for significant maritime import pollution in 2019. Together, these brands contributed to almost the same level of climate pollution as 1.5 million American homes in a year. In 2021, Ikea committed to only using ships powered by zero-carbon fuels by 2040, joining other companies like Amazon.

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