4 May 2010 | Lindsay Clark

Retail giant Ikea has increased the use of environmental criteria in its transport procurement, according to the group’s sustainability report.

The firm has helped develop an environmental performance survey with other members of the European Retail Round Table (ERRT). The firm says it will now procure transport services only from suppliers that achieve a minimum score in the ranking. The scoring takes into account the impact from sub-contractors to give a better overview of a carrier’s total situation. Ikea has 278 suppliers of transport services, according to the report.

Elsewhere in the document, Ikea says it has implemented a revised code of conduct for suppliers, dubbed Iway, and joined an industry collaboration exploring the possibility of developing global supply chain standards.

Only 7 per cent of Ikea’s Chinese suppliers are fully Iway-approved, compared with 79 per cent in Europe and 65 per cent in southeast Asia. However, code of conduct compliance in China improved significantly in 2009. “We have seen progress related to overall working conditions and environment, such as chemical and waste management, fire prevention and workers’ health and safety. There are still major challenges related to wages, working hours, overtime compensation, lack of unions and social insurance,” the report says.

Ikea has 1,220 furnishing suppliers, 97 food suppliers and 18 catalogue paper suppliers.