As part of the IKEA ambition to advocate for urgent and ambitious climate action, Ingka Group is bringing hope and action to Climate Week in New York between 18-24 September and will host the Action Speaks Summit. The summit will take place alongside the UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC, and will bring together businesses, NGO organisations and the general public, with the aim to spark urgent climate action.
“1.5°C must remain a limit, not a target. The climate crisis is a common challenge for us as humanity, it can only be solved when we work together, across companies, sectors, industries and borders. With the Action Speaks summit we want to be a platform and catalyzer for change. If there’s ever a moment in time where our actions need to spark big change, it’s now. But for the many people tackling the climate crisis can feel overwhelming and out of their hands, but it’s important to remember that solutions are out there – across all sectors. We want to bring people together in New York and our aim with the Summit is to inspire hope, optimism, and accelerate climate action. By bringing together other businesses, partners, and the public, we will showcase scalable solutions to tackling the climate crisis”
– Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka Group
Climate Week NYC will be an important milestone and temperature check before COP28 in November and has considerable attention. It will bring together the most influential leaders in climate action from business, governments, and the climate community. As a multinational business committed to 1.5°C, Ingka Group believes that, together with partners, it can use its size and reach to play a role in accelerating climate action even further.
The Action Speaks Summit will open its doors to offer an exhibition and dialogues throughout the week on climate solutions and actions. Visitors will be welcome to explore the scientific reality of climate change, a positive vision for the future and get inspired from impactful climate solutions already out there. The exhibition features actions from over 30 companies* and will cover areas including food, transport, energy, and nature. At the Summit there will be a series of dialogues around key enablers to accelerate climate action. From debunking myths to financing and Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG).
As part of the exhibition people can explore an immersive exhibition of what a positive vision of the future can look like in New York 2050.
“As a global community, we are facing critical and progressively more extreme environmental, health, and societal challenges. These are increasingly intertwined and impacting all of us – as individuals, families, communities, leaders, and businesses”, says Karen Pflug, Chief Sustainability Officer, Ingka Group.
“IKEA is committed to playing our part and taking action to limit global warming to 1.5°C. We know we are at a critical juncture for our planet, and we are choosing to be optimistic that we can create a better future together. There are pockets of positive action and progress, but we must accelerate climate action now, and scale solutions such as renewable energy, plant-based food options, the circular transition, and zero-emission transport; solutions that are proven to make a difference”, Karen continues.
During the week Ingka Group will be represented by CEO, Jesper Brodin, CSO, Karen Pflug, Simon Henzell-Thomas, Climate & Nature Manager, Himanshu Raj, Sustainable Mobility Leader and Lorena Lourido Gomez, Food Manager. They will engage in policy conversations, panel discussions and engagements related to areas including renewable energy, sustainable mobility and harmonized reporting standards.
As a business, IKEA is committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. IKEA aims to become climate positive by 2030*, by reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than the IKEA value chain emits, while growing the IKEA business. In February 2023, Ingka Group, the biggest retailer in the IKEA franchisee system, announced it had reduced its total climate footprint across their value chain (scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions) by 13.6% from the baseline financial year 2016.
The Action Speaks Summit will take place at the former IKEA US store in lower Manhattan. Ingka Group will be posting updates of the filmed sessions during the week. For more information plus an overview of the summit to view the sessions please visit Ingka.com here: Action Speaks Summit 2023 | Ingka Group
Why we advocate for a net zero world – To read more information on Ingka Group’s climate advocacy and policy asks, please go to the climate advocacy page on Ingka.com here: Climate change advocacy | Ingka Group
*Companies include: Winnow · Revo foods · Too Good to Go · Terviva · Eon · Hitachi Energy · Sunpower · Seneca Solar · Minesto · Harley Davidson · Cake · Vässla · Allbirds · Retour Matras · SSAB · Volvo Cars · Notpla · AMP Robotics · Fairphone · Tradewater · Rheaply · Restor · IKEA · Afforestt · AFR100 · Mast Reforestation · VGrid · Conservation International.
**IKEA is committed to the Paris Agreement and to contribute to limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. IKEA is committed to become climate positive by 2030 by taking action across the IKEA value chain and beyond. This includes a commitment to halving greenhouse gas (GHS) emissions in absolute terms from the total IKEA value chain by 2030, including emissions reduction, carbon removal and storage. Read more about the IKEA commitment here.
About Ingka Group
With IKEA retail operations on 31 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents about 90% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on www.Ingka.com.
Media enquiries
For further information, journalists and media professionals can contact us at press.office@ingka.com or by calling +46 70 993 6376.
