IKEA is the largest furniture retailer in the world, but the company also runs one of the largest restaurant chains as well. In 2016, the company sold $1.8 billion worth of food to 650 million customers. They're so popular that IKEA has even considered creating stand alone restaurants with their food.
However, because IKEA restaurants are so popular, those restaurants are also creating a lot of food waste. It is estimated that each IKEA store averages 300 kilograms of food waste a day which roughly translates to 43,000 tons of food waste per year.
Globally, food waste is a huge environmental issue. The production of wasted food consumes natural resources, like water, fertilizer, and land and fuel and energy sources are also required to process and refrigerate said foods. The production of wasted foods annually creates 3.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide. Food waste therefore is a contributor to climate change.
Luckily, there are ways to reduce food waste and its' environmental impact. IKEA has decided to begin implementing a new initiative, called "Food is Precious" to their stores with the goal of reducing IKEA's food waste by 50% by 2020. Essentially, a touch screen collects data about wasted food and the sources of it, which helps identity ways to reduce that waste. So far, around 20% of IKEA stores have implemented the program.
According to an IKEA news bulletin, they began this initiative because "with the global reach of IKEA, [they] have a great opportunity to inspire people to think differently about food waste and to incorporate sustainability into their everyday life" and helps reiterate IKEA's core commitment to resource conservation.
IKEA's plan to reduce food waste is just the first step in combating a much larger issue, but it is a step in the right direction to promote a healthier planet.