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A factory worker is moving pieces of fibreboard with his hand. He is wearing blue overalls.

From waste to renewable energy

We aim to become climate positive by reducing more greenhouse gas emissions than our value chain emits, while still growing our business, by 2030. In our commitment towards 100% renewable energy, we will phase out fossil fuels to save energy in both our operations and supply chain.

One of the first suppliers to support this ambition is our Lithuanian supplier Vilniaus Baldai AB. By turning wood waste from production into a source for renewable energy, Vilniaus Baldai is not only self-sufficient in renewable energy, but is also able to sell the excess heating to the city of Vilnius’ grid. This is estimated to reach 7,000 households with renewable heating.

A look at how Vilniaus Baldai AB works with renewable energy.

A sustainable partnership

It is typical for IKEA to have very long supplier collaborations. Vilniaus Baldai AB is a furniture producer who has been one of our business partners since 1997. “When we first started, we produced only one product, the RAKKE wardrobe, and today we produce over 80 articles,” says Jonas Krutinis, General Manager at Vilniaus Baldai.

A couple of fibreboard end cuts are covered with sawdust. They are placed against a bottle green wall.

Finding a recycling solution for sawdust waste

Production at Vilniaus Baldai consists mainly of board on frame (BoF) constructions, which produces large amounts of sawdust waste. Over the years, as the product range consisting of BoF constructions has expanded, the amount of sawdust waste has increased. To help transform this waste, the Heat Energy Renovation Project was initiated.

Sawdust from our production is not suitable for recycling as it contains high amounts of fibreboard that cannot be separated. That’s why we use the sawdust for heating in production and generate energy to produce our furniture.

Stanislovas Kezevicius, Head of Technical Services, Vilniaus Baldai
Apartment buildings surrounded by greenery in the city of Vilnius, Lithuania.

Providing the city with renewable heating

Previously, the sawdust waste was only really used for internal heating systems, but with the Heat Energy Renovation Project the total internal energy usage, relating to both heat and production use, now only equals 40% of the output. This means that the remaining 60% of generated heat can instead be made available to the city of Vilnius. All aspects of production by Vilniaus Baldai is now based on 100% renewable energy, significantly improving the efficient use of resources.

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