Interview: Ingka Group’s Connor Hill on Becoming Circular
For Ingka Group’s Circular & Sustainable Living Manager Connor Hill, technology, innovation and collaboration are key to becoming a circular business
The latest Global Circularity Gap Report shows that just 7.2% of the world is circular. This has remained steady from last year, and there is slow progress in closing this gap.
“The business sector is uniquely positioned to provide more solutions that are more circular, but critically, ensuring these are accessible, affordable, and desirable for people,” Connor tells Sustainability Magazine.
As IKEA’s People & Planet Consumer Insights and Trends 2023 study proves.
Surveying 33,000 people across 30 countries, it turns out people expect businesses to lead by example, with 66% expecting businesses to reduce climate change and 83% expecting businesses to protect and restore nature.
As Ingka Group’s Circular & Sustainable Living Manager Connor Hill explains, there is still a major shift needed in society and businesses to make the circular economy a reality.
The largest IKEA retailer in 31 countries – and the world’s largest furniture retailer – Ingka Group believes taking concrete action is both a responsibility and opportunity.
“Our planet has finite resources, and nature and human health is under threat from the climate crisis, pollution, biodiversity loss, and excessive and unsustainable extraction,” says Connor.
“We know that given our size and reach, we can have a positive impact and we want to help customers to be able to take part in more circular behaviours.”
Innovative Solutions to Prolong Life of Products
Democratic design sits at the heart of the company’s circular approach, with every IKEA product following a balanced formula of form, function, low price, sustainability, and quality. Products are designed to be assembled and disassembled and reassembled again.
Proving popular, more than 211,600 customers used the service in 2023, a 50% increase on the year before – resulting in the repurposing of 430,000 items, up from 230,000.
“An additional benefit here is that we can enable positive behaviour to change by making it easier for customers to maintain and upgrade, as well as give products another home when they no longer need them.
“Ingka Group is more determined than ever to show that more healthy and sustainable living can be affordable, attractive, and accessible for everyone.”
SOURCE SUSTAINABILITY MAGAZINE (Searched by Lola Bellot)
