​IKEA reduces its climate impact by 4,476 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year with Green Cargo

In the beginning of March, the first shuttle for Årsta left from Älmhult and Torsvik under the new contract with IKEA Transport & Logistics Services. The shuttle runs six days per week and supplies goods to department stores and warehouses in the greater Stockholm and Uppsala areas. On arrival at the Årsta terminal, our partner Road Cargo Stockholm takes over to transport the containers to their final destination by truck.

In previous agreements, we transported around 2,000 containers annually – in our new agreement the volume will be around 12,500 containers annually, just for department stores and customer orders in Sweden. The new traffic plan means that IKEA Transport & Logistics Services reduces its climate impact by 4,476 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, which strengthens the brand’s sustainability.

“For many years, we’ve had contracts and a very good relationship with IKEA as a strategic partner. When IKEA started the procurement process for their shipping within Sweden, they contacted us to participate together with other logistics companies. We were the only railway company to proceed in partnership with a handful of other logistics companies,” says Jan Elgström, Strategic Key Account Manager at Green Cargo.

The new shuttle, together with other volumes to Gävle, Sundsvall, Umeå and Haparanda, means that around 12,500 shipments will be taken off the roads in the agreement with IKEA Transport & Logistics Services, which extends until 2021. Green Cargo is leasing 100 new containers for the assignment to ensure delivery. The containers are specially built according to a design developed with IKEA Transport & Logistics Services to best meet its loading and unloading needs.

“Our long-term goal at IKEA Transport & Logistics Services is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions per shipment 70 percent by 2030. Shipping more by rail is an important method for reaching this goal,” says Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld, Global Sustainability Manager at IKEA Transport & Logistics Services.

“There are many positive and important aspects in our partnership with IKEA. Our containers are better suited for their goods than truck trailers. IKEA sets high demands on quality and delivery, and according to them we meet 98–99% of them. We have clear communication with each other and we have developed a contingency plan for unexpected incidents that can occur during delivery. Together, we’ve created a long-term, rewarding and profitable business relationship,” says Jan Elgström.

IKEA Transport & Logistics Services organization is approximately 400 persons globally, working in the category dimension of Land, Ocean and Logistics Services in five Transport & Logistics Services Areas: Americas, Central Europe, North Europe, South Europe, Middle East and Africa-Asia-Pacific.