It Is Important For Companies To Focus On Areas That Are Closer To Their Hearts: Patrik Antoni, Sustainability Head, IKEA India

IKEA, world’s largest furniture retail company operates its CSR activities globally through  IKEA Foundation. Patrik Antoni, Sustainability Head, IKEA India talks to The CSR Journal about CSR practices at the Sweden firm and his views on practices in India.

Q: What are the key challenges when it comes to sustainability practices in India, when compared globally?

IKEA has a very strong code of conduct –IWAY. All of our partners/suppliers have to follow it on both social and environmental side. One of the key challenges we have is that we in IWAY stipulate that our partners have to follow the local law in the country where they are operating. In India this becomes a challenge since many companies are not following the law and the law is not followed up by the authorities. An example is working hours, where the law is very strict, but praxis very different. We demand that our partners follow the law and only allow their co-workers to work accordingly hence they sometimes get difficulties in competing with others.

Q: IKEA Foundation which is the philanthropic arm of IKEA has been working on social initiatives around the globe. Does having social projects have any impact on the business?

The key program for the IKEA Foundation in India has been focused on eradicating child labour by working with the four factors supporting a positive spiral of prosperity: a place to call home, education, health and a good family income. This is not done directly in our supply chain but in areas where we have suppliers or where raw materials (like cotton) are sourced.  These programs have indirectly affected business in a way that we are today confident that we do not have child labour in our supply chain.

Q: India is the only country in the world which mandates 2% CSR spend for corporate firms. What is your opinion on this mandate as an organization?

IKEA is positive to working with CSR. IKEA Foundation is investing about 3% of our global profit in programmes supporting women and children around the world; not only in the markets where we operate but in the regions where the needs are high. The IKEA Foundation has been present in India for 15 years already and invested around 175 million Euros in projects in 18 states.

Q: What is your opinion about the CSR initiatives in India? What do you think the corporate firms should focus more on?

My opinion is that it is important for companies to focus on areas that are closer to their hearts (or strategies) and put efforts in few projects that make difference rather than spreading their efforts in many areas. Creating results takes time and I think that projects should create sustainable benefits to the recipients so I would like to see more strategic and long term work.

Q: What kind of projects will IKEA India plan to undertake for their CSR activities?

IKEA Retail will focus CSR initiatives on development of women and projects focusing on more sustainable use of Indian resources: from cotton and wood to waste.

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The CSR Journal Team