Why IKEA’s biggest retailer paused reporting for most emissions

The latest voluntary climate progress report for Ingka Group omits a high-level accounting of progress toward its 2030 emissions reduction goal because of changes its biggest supplier, Inter IKEA, is making to its data collection processes.

Both Ingka and IKEA are updating their greenhouse gas emissions reporting systems to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which includes phased disclosure requirements for large companies doing business in the European Union. The goal is to be fully compliant by 2028.

“I think all of us are trying to get more accurate, and especially the closer you get to 2030, the more tangible you need to be,” said Karen Pflug, chief sustainability officer at Ingka. “It’s not just about being ambitious and having bold statements but also knowing how you’re going to get there.” 

The transition will require an overhaul and automation of IKEA’s reporting systems, and the company withheld its 2025 data as a result. That omission forced Ingka to exclude the majority of its emissions data for Scope 3, which measures the impact of indirect upstream and downstream activities. The category accounted for 98 percent of Ingka’s total for 2024.

Ingka won’t report comprehensive Scope 3 information for the fiscal year ended August 2025 until its next sustainability report. “We said, ‘It’s better to be open and transparent in our report as to the reason we’ve got a gap, a temporary gap,’ ” Pflug said. 

The company did include limited spend-based estimates for some categories in its 2025 narrative, such as fuel and energy not directly related to its operations, business travel and employee commuting.  

On pace under new leaders

Ingka is IKEA’s largest retail franchise, with about $49 billion in 2025 revenue. The companies are separate legal entities and have validated science-based targets that call for greenhouse gas emissions reductions of 50 percent by 2030.

Ingka was on pace to meet its target as of fiscal 2024, the data that Trellis used in its July 2025 examination of the retailer for its Chasing Net Zero series. Both Ingka and IKEA have new CEOs; both were hired from within.

Ingka has reduced absolute emissions from its direct operations and electricity use by 70.6 percent since its 2016 baseline year. More than 60 percent of its home deliveries were made with zero-emissions vehicles. Ironically, related emissions continue to increase because of Ingka’s growing online business.

The retailer also acknowledged that it had failed to meet a goal to offer clean energy technologies and services to all of its customers — it reached nine countries by the end of 2025 and does business in 32 markets. Ingka uses its clout to offer green products and services, but affordability has been a challenge. 

Who has the Ingka CSO’s ear

Pflug’s reporting structure changed in recent months, when Ingka slimmed down its group management organization, which regularly monitors its sustainability performance. 

She’s no longer part of that group, although she’s consulted by new CEO Juvencio Maeztu and meets with her IKEA counterpart every two weeks. 

“We still have the full support, have the ear of our boards and fellow senior leaders to move the topics forward,” Pflug said. “That hasn’t changed.”