Two women stand in a field of crops. They are smiling, One is holding seeds, the other is holding beans picked from the fields.

IKEA Foundation Week 2024 Can you spot the link?

The IKEA Foundation is fighting poverty and climate change with surprising solutions. In celebration of IKEA Foundation week from 21-25 October, discover how the IKEA Foundation and its partners are working to enable better food and energy initiatives where they’re needed most.

Being a charitable foundation that works independently from the IKEA retail business, the IKEA Foundation is dedicated to tackling poverty and climate change. As we pass the halfway point to the deadline for the UN Sustainable Development Goals and commitments laid out in the 2015 Paris Agreement, in its Annual Review of 2023, the Foundation asked, “Is it still possible to change the future of our planet?” Well, singularly the answer is no. No organisation is solely capable of changing our trajectory, but by working together to inspire, create and implement changes for the good of people and the planet, there remains a real sense of optimism.

Since the IKEA Foundation was established, it has provided more than two billion euros in funding in areas where it believes it can have the biggest impact for change. With a focus on food and energy, in this year's IKEA Foundation Week, we look at six initiatives supported by the IKEA Foundation who are working to bring positive changes that not only impact local communities, but beyond.

Can you spot the links between...

A woman crouches down and holds the stalk of a growing plant. She is outside and is surrounded by plants and trees. There is also a sticker of a tomato and an insect on top of the image.

A fly and a tomato?

Black soldier flies can be used to create nature-friendly fertiliser for crops, like tomatoes.

That’s why the IKEA Foundation has teamed up with icipe to help farmers use sustainable farming practices that can improve their livelihoods while protecting nature.

A pair of hands hold grain over a white bucket. A sticker of a chicken and a sticker of three nuts are overlaid over the image.

Nuts and a chicken?

Waste from macadamia nut processing can be used to make chicken feed.

That’s why the IKEA Foundation has teamed up with Bopinc O-Farms to support entrepreneurs who turn food waste into new products. This is just one way we're working with partners to transform how food is produced and used for the benefit of people and the planet.

A person stoops down in a field to pick plants. She is holding a bowl. There is another person next to her. A sticker of jigsaw pieces and a trowel are overlaid on the image.

Soil and communities?

Healthy soil increases crop growth, which strengthens local communities.

That’s why the IKEA Foundation has teamed up with Agroecology Fund to promote a sustainable approach to farming and food that nourishes nature and communities.

icipe 

icipe (International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology) is the only research institution in Africa working primarily on science related to insects and other arthropods. With support from the IKEA Foundation, icipe applies its knowledge to create innovative, affordable, accessible solutions to insect-related diseases and crop destruction.

Vegetable push-pull cropping (repelling and distracting insects from crops through the use of plants) and black soldier fly farming are two insect-based farming methods that are helping smallholder farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Black Soldier flies not only recycle agro-industrial waste into high-quality organic fertiliser, but the larvae or proteins derived from them can be used safely in human and animal food. By working together with natural ecosystems, farmers can replace fertilisers and pesticides that harm the planet with systems that improve health and livelihoods.

Learn more about the work of icipe

Two men stand in a large greenhouse type industrial facility. They are holding packets of products as they smile at the camera.
Three people work with yellow boxes in a tent. They are rearing black soldier flies.

Rearing black soldier flies.

Bopinc O-Farms

Around 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted annually and up to a third of global emissions come from the food system, yet there are nearly 800 million people facing chronic hunger worldwide. Working with partners such as Bopinc O-Farms, the Foundation hopes to reduce waste, hunger and emissions at the same time.

In Africa, 80% of food losses occur on farm or during processing. Bopinc O-Farms supports 40 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in Kenya and Ethiopia who are working with food products that would otherwise go to waste, to create a more circular approach to food production. Entrepreneurs benefit from an array of support services including training and coaching, technical assistance and links to financial, investment and network opportunities to accelerate their circular agribusinesses.

Learn more about the work of Bopinc O-Farms

Two workers in a food production facility work at their station. They wear protective clothing. Behind them is a blue metal staircase and the rest of the facility.
A worker sorts through nuts and nut shells. She is wearing a mask and protective clothing.

Waste from nut processing is used for chicken feed.

Agroecology Fund

Agroecology – sustainable farming practices that enhance soil health and the natural environment – is, in essence, working with nature to build climate resilient agricultural livelihoods and food systems. As well as its benefits to nature and the climate, there’s also a focus on the rights of women, youth and indigenous peoples.

With support from the IKEA Foundation, the Agroecology Fund works to provide financial support and knowledge to advance agro-ecology and transform food systems and communities around the globe.

Learn more about the work of the Agroecology Fund

Four people walk in a field in Uganda. One of them walks in front of the oxes, while three people walk behind a group of oxes. Part of the field has been ploughed.
A woman standing in front of a filing shelf and behind a laptop smiles at the camera. She is the Secretary of the Kenya Peasants League.

Susan Owiti – Secretary, Women Collective of the Kenya Peasants League.

Solutions for big food changes

Can you spot the links between...

A man turns a large vessel on a potters wheel. Overlaid on the image is a sticker of a vessel and a sticker of a solar panel.

Solar panels and pottery?

Solar panels can power small businesses like tailors and potteries.

That’s why the IKEA Foundation has teamed up with Sustain Plus to improve livelihoods through access to renewable energy. This is just one way we’re working with partners to transform how energy is produced and used for the benefit of people and planet.

 

A man in a short sleeve shirt smiles at the camera. Overlaid are stickers of a pile of coins and a refrigerator.

A refrigerator and money?

Solar-powered refrigerators can help small stores generate income.

That’s why the IKEA Foundation has teamed up with the Efficiency for Access Coalition to bring off-grid appliances to communities without reliable access to electricity.

A workman in a helmet stoops down on a roof. He is drilling. Overlaid is a sticker of a burning planet and a stethoscope.

The sun and a doctor?

Solar energy can power critical facilities like hospitals.

That's why the IKEA Foundation has teamed up with Health Care Without Harm to bring renewable energy to the healthcare sector and reduce emissions.

Sustain Plus

The farming sector is the largest provider of livelihoods in rural india, with two-thirds of the country’s population living in rural areas. Although India is the third largest energy market globally, in some parts of the country reliable and affordable energy is scarce or unavailable and remains a major hindrance for development and sustainable agriculture within the sector. 

Sustain Plus Energy Foundation is a multi-stakeholder collaborative platform that works to bring together organisations in India to provide scalable community-centric energy solutions that can enhance rural productivity, with the aim of improving the income, health and development of rural communities. With support from the IKEA Foundation, by sharing knowledge and developing renewable-energy solutions and providing access to renewable energy, Sustain Plus hopes to bring power and improve livelihoods among India’s farming communities.

Learn more about the work of Sustain Plus

A woman wearing an orange floral sari turns a potters wheel as she makes a clay vessel. She smiles as she works.
Three men tip water from a bucket onto a solar panel. There are palm trees in the background..

Efficiency for Access Coalition 

Globally, 733 million people are without electricity, while many more live without reliable connections or appliances. The lack of access affects how they live and earn a living. As one of the founding members of the Efficiency for Access Coalition, since 2020 the IKEA Foundation has worked in partnership with the global coalition to accelerate clean energy by promoting affordable, low energy, inclusive appliances such as solar fridges and water pumps in off- and weak-grid areas. The coalition aims to reduce carbon emissions and make renewable energy more accessible to families to improve the quality of life in some of the poorest communities in India and East Africa.

Learn more about the work of the Efficiency for Access Coalition

Two women wearing COVID masks prepare food in a food truck.
Women work with plants on a production line. They are wearing overals and headware.

Health Care Without Harm

According to Josh Karliner of the international organisation Health Care Without Harm, healthcare systems contribute to almost 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. With so many people relying on healthcare around the globe, creating a zero-emissions sector is no mean feat, but working in partnership with the IKEA Foundation, Health Care Without Harm provides resources and knowledge to help reduce the environmental impact of the healthcare sector.

In support of the annual global event #PlasticFreeJuly, the IKEA Foundation pledged its support for Health Care Without Harm in its goal to reduce plastic production and pollution and speed up the development of innovative plastic alternatives in the healthcare sector. One such initiative is the Born Green Generation, which aims to make prenatal and postnatal care toxic-free and protect babies from harmful plastic exposure.

Learn more about the work of Health Care Without Harm

The roofs of a healthcare facility. In the foreground the roof is covered in solar panels. In the background they are covered in tiles.

A big impact on energy

The journey continues

To learn more about the work of the IKEA Foundation and its partners, and to discover some of the surprising solutions that already exist to create a better everyday life for the many people, visit the IKEA Foundation website.

Visit the IKEA Foundation