IKEA CSR Case Study - srlkgn lsr. ;lisrjfglirjg ;sorjf;lasrjg ;oerjg;aoerg PDF

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What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? It’s a movement aimed at encouraging companies to be more aware of the impact of their business on the rest of society, especially including their own stakeholders. Company CSR strategies can be divided into 4 broad areas: environmental i.e. use solar energy, social/humanitarian i.e. promote breast cancer awareness, and economic i.e. provide job training. A company’s CSR strategy can impact one or more of these areas. Read the case study below on IKEA to learn about some of their current CSR strategies. Then complete the comprehension questions at the end of the text. ___________________________________________________________________________________

IKEA aims to take 200,000 people out of poverty in massive social sustainability drive Marcus Fairs | 18 April 2017 IKEA is to employ refugees at production centers in Jordan starting this summer. The centers in Jordan, which should be open by August, will hire a mixture of Syrian refugees and Jordanian women in the production of woven products including rugs, cushions and bedspreads. IKEA will build and provide equipment in the production centers so the employees can work on creating handmade items. IKEA is purchasing yarn from Jordan as part of its entrepreneurship initiative, which aims to create an income for Syrian refugees and locals.

The Swedish furniture giant is partnering with Jordan River Foundation, a non-governmental organization established by Jordan's Queen Rania, which will manage the facilities and employ 100 people to start with, rising to 400 people within two years. "As we have a long-term partnership with the social enterprise Jordan River Foundation, the production will be where they already have facilities/centers. These are based in Amman city and the outskirts of Amman, close to refugee camps along the border with Syria, from where an estimated 1.3 million refugees have relocated since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011. "It is important to remember that most of these refugees, nearly 75%, live outside of the actual refugee camps. That's where the biggest pressure on basic facilities are and where we have decided to focus together with Jordan River Foundation. The setup is still under progress but the working routines will be flexible, meaning they will both go to work in the centers, and in some cases work from home e.g. producing embroidery.” “The brand's long-term ambition is to employ 200,000 disadvantaged people around the world.” said Jesper Borodin, IKEA's head of range and supply. "It may take 10-15 years. We want these people to be our future suppliers." IKEA will work with local organizations that use business techniques to deal with social problems, which will provide employment while making sure standards for both working conditions and production quality are met. This route allows organizations that are too small to meet IKEA's strict supplier guidelines to become part of its value chain. "We offer a business model, learning opportunities, simple skills around how to plan production and export," said Brodin. "Those things are part of the package." IKEA feels this is a better strategy in the long run than aid-based approaches – simply handing out money. 1

 BWiE CSR Case Study

“If you want to be able to change the world to create good, you need to have the big companies with you. I think today there is a broad understanding that that needs to happen,” Brodin told Dezeen. Speaking to Dezeen at the IKEA Festival in Milan earlier this month, Brodin added: "It's about using local techniques and knowledge, not to necessarily create traditional handicraft, but try to create new products based on their skills and traditions so we can leave them with pride but also an opportunity to begin their own business. They have no money, no machines, no (IKEA, 2017) means, but they have the skills. "What we'll probably do is bring in some simple machines and set them up, and then find a way where they're not IKEA owned. We will just start it and keep it moving forward." The products will be launched at IKEA's store in Jordan's capital Amman before being introduced into stores around the world. The move is part of an exciting plan by IKEA, which directly or indirectly employs around a million people. The project follows a range of similar social CSR initiatives in disadvantaged communities around the world, which already employ 2,000 people. CSR strategies that are already up and running include projects with female entrepreneurs in India and a programmer employing immigrant women in Sweden. Brodin said that the culture within IKEA has changed dramatically over the last few years as the giant company – which has annual revenues of almost €30 billion (£25.5 billion) – moves away from the cautious approach of Ingvar Kamprad, who founded the company in 1947 and stepped down from the board in 2013 at the age of 87. "He was a master of innovation, and I think maybe IKEA was a bit dependent on his leadership and innovation." IKEA set out its vision for social and environmental sustainability in its 2012 People and Planet Positive report, stating: "We are committed to having a positive impact on people and planet". Its latest annual sustainability report outlines progress in 2016, including stopping the use of environmentally unfriendly product packaging and having 48% of management positions occupied by women, compared to its target of 50 per cent by 2020. In 2016 in the UK and Ireland it reduced waste sent to landfill to zero. IKEA revealed earlier in 2017 that it was discontinuing difficult self-assembly methods and starting to use a ‘wedge dowel’. This allows customers to fit furniture together in minutes as well as (Vimeo, n.d) reducing waste. IKEA is becoming increasingly active in the humanitarian sector, establishing the IKEA Foundation to help children in poor communities and creating a refugee shelter that won the Design of the Year award in 2016. Brodin said that large corporations had a responsibility to be active in helping to solve the problems the world faces. He said, "Jordan doesn't make any sense from a financial perspective, at least not in the short term, but it’s part of resolving something long term. We do good with the jobs we provide and we help people in need with the IKEA Foundation," Brodin said. "We not only help refugees and other people with severe needs, but also actually help to accelerate these other people into society." Reference: Fairs, M. (2017, April 18). IKEA aims to take 200,000 people out of poverty in massive social sustainability drive. Retrieved April 20, 2017, from https://www.dezeen.com 2

 BWiE CSR Case Study

Comprehension Questions: 1. In your own words, describe corporate social responsibility (CSR): corporate social responsibility means from my understand is how companies can effect environment, society or social community how they do things to brevet thins to not happen or help to happen like pollution they can solar energy for example to reduce burning fusel fuel.

2. Briefly summarize IKEA’s Jordanian CSR strategy: They bought equipment from Jordan to people can get benefit from it, in addition they offer first year 100 jobs and it will increase to 400 in 2 years, Also they try to help people by given them jobs and make for them facilities in the work environment.

3. Why are they partnering with the Jordan River Foundation? To manage the facilities and make available job for people, also they can help Syrian refugee.

4. Why do you think IKEA does not like an aid-based approach? They think if they offer jobs for people instead of giving them money will help them more. I think it’s good way to give people jobs than just give them money.

5. List 8 other CSR strategies mentioned in this article: 1. IKEA Foundation to support children in deprived communities. 2. See 48 per cent of women in management roles. 3. Create projects in Sweden with programmer who hires immigrant women. 4. Start using environmentally friendly product. 5. Shift organization culture and behavior. 6. Involve female in their project like India entrepreneurs. 7. HDiscontinue difficult methods of self-assembly and begin using a 'wedge dowel'. 8. Develop new goods focused on the conventional competencies of refugees.

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 BWiE CSR Case Study

6. Match the piece of vocabulary from the IKEA case study with its meaning:

Key Vocabulary

(answer)

a. refugees b. initiative(s)

(b) (e)

c. foundation

(f)

d. business model e. entrepreneurs f. sustainability

(a) (d) (c)

Meaning business activities started and run for the first time people who set up and run a business that can involve financial risk avoidance of a reduction in natural resources to maintain an environmental balance people who escape to another country a design for the successful operation of a business An organization providing money for charity

Follow up activity: Choose any multi-national company that you know i.e. Coca Cola, Toyota, Apple etc. and type into Google the company’s name and ‘CSR’. Choose one of the company’s current CSR initiatives and be ready to discuss it in the next class.

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 BWiE CSR Case Study...