Ikea retailer to invest £840m in recycling companies

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Ikea retail giant Ingka Group has pledged to invest €1bn (£840m) into recycling.

The Dutch firm’s investment arm said it aimed to spend this money on companies in the sector to boost its sustainability.

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Ingka Group, which accounts for about nine-tenths of Ikea sales, established Circular Investments in 2017 to invest in companies “contributing to the transition to a circular economy”.

The division focuses on plastics, mattresses, textiles, wood and food waste and estimates that the businesses it has supported have recycled about 2.7 million tonnes of material in eight years.

Circular Investments portfolio manager Lukas Visser said: “To future proof our business we want to invest in financially and environmentally resilient companies.

“When a product’s life at home ends, Circular Investments begins. Ingka Investments is committed to transitioning towards a circular economy and retaining the value of materials. For us, that means investing in companies that are developing technology or growing capacity to prevent waste or supply recycled materials.”

Peter van der Poel, managing director at Ingka Investments, added: “Our €1 billion ambition to invest in growing recycling infrastructure is crucial to Ingka Group’s broader sustainability strategy to go beyond our own operations.

“Through investments, we are committed to doing our part to ensure that valuable materials are recycled and reused in the production of new products.”