The LED lighting revolution takes another step through the doors to the mass market. Global retailer IKEA announced it would become the first major retailer operating in the U.S. to sell exclusively LED lighting products in its stores. Starting Sept. 1, when IKEA issues new catalogs and products, IKEA will only sell LED bulbs and lighting, “to enable customers to live a more sustainable life at home.” Originally announced back in 2012, the move has resulted in U.S. customers purchasing 7.6 million LED bulbs, the company said.
“LED is a light revolution. With household electricity bills continuing to rise rapidly and global energy consumption increasing, the LED lighting will have a big impact,” said Steve Howard, chief sustainability officer, IKEA Group. “Building on our belief that everyone should be able to afford to live more sustainably at home, we will make sure our LED prices are affordable for the many.”
IKEA is taking other steps as well to reduce its energy usage and to focus more on renewable energy. The company’s goal is to produce enough renewable energy to match the energy consumption of IKEA operations globally by 2020.
“At IKEA, we believe that everyone should be able to afford to live a more sustainable life at home and save money on their energy bills,” added Lars Petersson, IKEA U.S. President. “Also using less energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Changing a light bulb may seem like a small action but many small actions can lead to a big change. Note that if one million people changed one bulb each into an LED this would be equivalent to taking 6,700 cars off the road or planting 17 million trees per year. That’s significant.”