Ingka group, the largest of the Ikea franchisees, plans to invest a total of €1bn in "companies that are increasing recycling infrastructure", according to a Wednesday announcement. "We aim to grow profitable businesses that avoid millions of tonnes of CO2e and increase the availability of recycled material on the market," Ingka explained.
The group said that it aimed to support the transition towards a circular economy through a dedicated portfolio of its investment arm, Ingka Investments. However, it did not specify the timeframe or indicate how much of the total had already been spent.
Alongside with the announcement of the investment target, the Swedish home furnishings giant noted the need for greater policy support. "What would help us go further is if legislation was stronger at prioritising recycling over incineration and landfilling, for example by ensuring that extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes were resulting in higher recycling rates," said Peter van der Poel, managing director, Ingka Investments. "We also welcome eco-design regulations to encourage the demand for these recycled materials and we are actively collaborating with relevant authorities and other stakeholders to address these issues," he added.
Targeted recycling investment since 2017
Ingka established its Circular Investments portfolio in 2017 to back companies contributing to the circular economy, focussing on plastics, mattresses, textiles, wood and food waste. That same year, the company acquired a 15 per cent stake in plastics recycler Morssinkhof Rymoplast. In 2018, it acquired a minority share in the Austrian plastic recycling technology company Next Generation Group, parent company of NGR.
However, not all of its plastic recycling ventures have been successful. Ingka Investments had also backed the Dutch company Umincorp. The plastic sorting specialist, a Delft University of Technology spin-off, which entered bankruptcy in 2024.
In this week's announcement, Ingka also highlighted its involvement with the Dutch mattress recycling company Retourmatras; the group initially purchased a minority stake in the business in 2019. The recycler now has facilities in the Netherlands, England and France and a total annual treatment capacity of 2.5 million mattresses.
Ikea is one of the companies selling foam products made with the company's repoliol product, which can be used as an alternative to fossil raw materials. Retourmatras's other shareholders are the Dutch waste management company Renewi and the mattress manufacturer Ikano Industry, which was started by Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad.
