Ikea has brought ready-to-assemble furniture and Swedish meatballs into many people’s lives. Now, the company’s hoping to help shape another trend: deliveries by electric vehicles.

Hultberg: “A company like Ikea has the opportunity to really impact industries, and when you have the opportunity I think you also have the responsibility to do so.”

That’s Angela Hultberg, head of sustainable mobility at Ikea group. She says when paired with renewable energy generation, EV’s can greatly reduce the carbon pollution produced by transportation.

So Ikea has announced that within two years, it will shift to a zero-emissions delivery fleet in five of the major cities where it operates. By 2025, the company aims to complete the transition worldwide.

Hultberg says that Ikea’s demand for electric vehicles will put pressure on the third-party companies that provide their delivery services.

Hultberg: “We believe that by placing this requirement on transport companies across the world, they will see that this is a priority for companies like Ikea and others, and they will transform their fleets accordingly.”

Reporting credit: Rachel Gulbraa/ChavoBart Digital Media.