one world essay
ONE WORLD ESSAY
Naud Veldhoen
Ikea sell an estimated 3 million inedible items in 41 countries everyday. Almost all of these items include wood, plastic and metal, which means that they all contribute to global warming1. This makes Ikea a major culprit when it comes to climate change. Yet, Ikea are taking the necessary steps to eradicate further climate change. Ikea aim to increase energy efficiency by twenty five percent by 2015, and by 2020 Ikea aim to make more energy than it uses. In addition, Ikea cooperates with WWF, a non-governmental organization that is currently one of the biggest wildlife conservation organizations.
Coming up with a solution to this problem is a top priority to Ikea. Despite the fact that, even though Ikea have done a lot to prevent further climate change through investing in wind turbines, LED light bulbs and solar panels, Ikea still feels that they have not done everything in their power to prevent further climate change. By 2015, Ikea will install an additional 200,000 solar panels in 150 Ikea stores all over the world, to make all stores 40% more energy efficient than they already are. This solution will have a large impact on economics, politics and the environment.
First I will look at the economic aspect of this solution. For solar panels to provide sufficient energy for all the stores that Ikea owns, almost all stores will need an extra1,300 90-watt solar panels. Yet, here we already encounter the first problem. Solar panels cost $7.00/watt, which is quite expensive. If Ikea were to buy all of the solar panels needed, the total cost would be equal to $122,850,000 (€89,000,000). This is a large amount of money and could have a vast affect on Ikea’s profit and net worth. Ikea is a privately owned company, thus, they are more focused on net profit and sales profit instead of stocks and private equity firms. CEO and founder of Ikea Ingvar Kamprand has insisted that “staying private has been one of the key reasons behind Ikea’s
Naud Veldhoen
Ikea sell an estimated 3 million inedible items in 41 countries everyday. Almost all of these items include wood, plastic and metal, which means that they all contribute to global warming1. This makes Ikea a major culprit when it comes to climate change. Yet, Ikea are taking the necessary steps to eradicate further climate change. Ikea aim to increase energy efficiency by twenty five percent by 2015, and by 2020 Ikea aim to make more energy than it uses. In addition, Ikea cooperates with WWF, a non-governmental organization that is currently one of the biggest wildlife conservation organizations.
Coming up with a solution to this problem is a top priority to Ikea. Despite the fact that, even though Ikea have done a lot to prevent further climate change through investing in wind turbines, LED light bulbs and solar panels, Ikea still feels that they have not done everything in their power to prevent further climate change. By 2015, Ikea will install an additional 200,000 solar panels in 150 Ikea stores all over the world, to make all stores 40% more energy efficient than they already are. This solution will have a large impact on economics, politics and the environment.
First I will look at the economic aspect of this solution. For solar panels to provide sufficient energy for all the stores that Ikea owns, almost all stores will need an extra1,300 90-watt solar panels. Yet, here we already encounter the first problem. Solar panels cost $7.00/watt, which is quite expensive. If Ikea were to buy all of the solar panels needed, the total cost would be equal to $122,850,000 (€89,000,000). This is a large amount of money and could have a vast affect on Ikea’s profit and net worth. Ikea is a privately owned company, thus, they are more focused on net profit and sales profit instead of stocks and private equity firms. CEO and founder of Ikea Ingvar Kamprand has insisted that “staying private has been one of the key reasons behind Ikea’s