Transitioning IKEA Towards a Circular Economy: A Backcasting Approach

Abstract

As population and affluence are set to increase, so will the impacts on the environment. The Circular Economy is seen by businesses as a potential solution to decouple these impacts from profits, but many companies are left asking what and how to start the transition, including the multinational home furnishing retailer IKEA. This thesis combines several tools from the areas of Organizational Change Management and Industrial Ecology in order to provide a vision of what a circular business model could look like for IKEA, as well as a pathway to transition towards it. These tools include the backcasting, Kotter’s stepwise model for organizational change, and Osterwalder’s business model canvas. Based on this study, in order to transition to circular business models, companies would need to create collaborations, promote experimentation and innovation mindsets within the company, redesign products and processes to fit reverse logistics, and lobby for pro-circular economy waste legislation. However, a longitudinal study is required to confirm these findings, and more case studies are needed.