Sweden's Ingka Group — the primary retailer for the IKEA brand — has begun using boats on the Seine in Paris to transport goods to distribution points where they are picked up by EVs and delivered to end customers. The company's strategy is to prioritize work in regions where the regulatory backdrop for the transition to zero-emissions vehicles is more supportive. The approach is part of the two companies' shared goal of cutting carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) emissions by 50% by 2030 and reaching net zero by mid-century.
According to a Trellis.com (formerly GreenBiz) report, the company faces a daunting Scope 3 challenge. Value-chain emissions accounted for 98% of the 30 million tons of tCO2e the company emitted in 2016, the baseline year for its net-zero target. To meet that goal, Ingka is investing in electric and alternative-fuel vehicles to lift the share of home deliveries it fulfills with zero-emissions vehicles from 40% to 90% by 2028. The retailer is also expanding the number of pick-up locations close to customers' homes.
Ingka's third-largest Scope 3 component covers transport-related emissions from delivery services, as well as customer, co-worker and business travel. The retailer has reduced this footprint by just 13% to 2.3 million tCO2e since the 2016 baseline. What's more, emissions actually rose slightly between 2023 and 2024. Ingka's transition plan calls for an additional 40% reduction by 2030 to 1.6 million tCO2e.
From a supply chain perspective, IKEA's multi-modal last-mile approach offers a particularly relevant template for Europe's dense urban centers. Trellis reports in its "Chasing Net Zero" series that at least half of the world's biggest retailers don't have a formal net-zero target at all. Walmart, often cited as a pioneer in supply chain decarbonization, is itself struggling to deliver on its own short-term emissions goals. IKEA's ability to scale a river-transport-plus-EV combination represents a critical reference point for the broader retail sector.
