The 2nd ANA Future Promise Forum was held!

In February 2024, the 2nd ANA Future Promise Forum*1 was held, attended by approximately 100 ANA Group employees both on-site and online.

Ms. Eri Hirayama (Country Sustainability Manager, IKEA Japan K.K.) was the featured speaker this time.

Ms. Hirayama joined IKEA Japan K.K. as a mid-career employee, and after working in marketing management and as an assistant retail manager, she is now in charge of sustainability promotion.

In this event, the theme of the talk was "Let's think about sustainable living together" based on IKEA's sustainability strategy "People and Planet Positive" and the results of its own consumer insights.

IKEA is a home furnishing company with 471 stores in 63 countries (as of January 2024).

Originating in 1943 in the Småland region of southern Sweden, the company celebrated its 80th anniversary last year.

At that time, the land in Småland was thin and resources were scarce, so it was commonplace to be mindful of limited resources and to cooperate with the people around them.

Based on this DNA, from product development to manufacturing, sales, and delivery, the company aims to operate in a way that is friendly to both the earth and people, and is also working on the cost side to deliver a sustainable living to as many customers as possible.

IKEA's sustainability strategy consists of the following three pillars.

1. Circular & climate positive
2. Healthy & sustainable living
3. fair & equal

In this session, she focused on 1. and 2.

The main items IKEA is focusing on to realize a recycling society are reductions in CO2 emissions, resource disposal, and food waste.

Some of the specific initiatives are listed below.

• CO2 emissions reduction: Switch to renewable energy. Introduced EV vehicles for deliveries.
• Reduction of resource waste: Discontinued disposable products. Implemented furniture purchase service.
• Reduction of food waste: Demand forecasting with digital solutions. Convert residues into compost and charcoal.

In addition, products are often certified by FSC*2 and Rainforest Alliance*3, and IKEA is committed to using raw materials with a low environmental impact.

These are similar in many ways to the medium- and long-term goals set forth by the ANA Group, and we learned hints for solving problems by comparing them with our own solutions and progress.

After the lecture, a Swedish coffee break "Fika" was held.

Every day during the workday, IKEA has a Fika time to promote communication and brainstorming among employees while relaxing their minds with coffee and sweet treats.

In this forum, the atmosphere was one in which people could freely express their opinions by adopting this Fika, and a lively exchange of views took place. Those who shared the same goal of realizing a sustainable society had a very meaningful time working toward a brighter future.

ANA Group employees who participated in the forum gave the following comments.

• The company's perspective that is not limited to Japan, which is unique to a company that originated in Sweden, was very informative.
• I was very impressed with the scheme that each department is putting thoughts into action and structuring them. I felt a great deal of sympathy for the company, including its founding thoughts.
• I was in a hurry to find out what I could do as an individual, but now I have a renewed sense of what I can do, starting with what I can do in my immediate surroundings.

"We are stubborn optimists", Ms. Hirayama says.

Facing environmental issues and climate change is not an easy task, but everyone at IKEA says it is important to always stay positive.

At this forum, we reaffirmed what the ANA Group should aim for, and at the same time, we learned the importance of small actions by each and every one of us.

The ANA Group will continue to promote the ANA Future Promise initiative positively.