Ikea and H&M

Ikea will switch to eco-friendly glue

Ikea’s 2030 climate goals require boosting renewable energy use and reducing the climate footprint of its materials. Also tucked among those challenges is the glue that holds some of the furniture giant’s most popular products together.

The glue Ikea uses to make its beds, sofas and everything in between makes up 5% of its total carbon impact, according to its 2022 Sustainability Report.

“Moving toward glues from renewable sources is a key enabler to achieving our overall climate goal,” Ikea said in the report. But “a big challenge with bio-based glues remains that not all are compatible with our current conventional glue and application technology.” Factories will have to switch to organic glues and update their machines and technology, Ikea said.

The company behind the Billy book case has a target to become climate-positive by the end of this decade. Ikea plans to reduce more emissions than it emits. Since 2016, Ikea reduced its emissions of carbon dioxide equivalents by 12%, including by 5% last year, per the report.