Post by John Neven

What we mean when we state "it's good business to do good business" at IKEA 🔵🟡🌱 This is not a "what if", nor an "or" story but an "AND" story. Creating impact on climate is one thing, creating both social AND climate impact is a next step. How can parcel delivery, logistics, and kitchen installation also drive social impact? 📦🌱 Last week at IKEA Belgium’s Antwerp - Wilrijk store, three local social enterprises showed us how. As part of our Social Entrepreneurship Programme with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship and Ingka Group, they pitched solutions that combine business needs with social inclusion and sustainability 🇧🇪 👇 👉 Groep INTRO Maatwerk vzw creates pathways into employment for people distanced from the labour market through training and coaching. 👉 Rayon9 - cyclo-logistique à Liège reduces the footprint of urban deliveries with a fleet of electric cargo bikes while opening up new opportunities for young couriers. 👉 And Rising You empowers refugees through tailored training and coaching that helps them build independent futures. Together, their pitches demonstrated how local innovation can help make IKEA’s services more inclusive, sustainable, and impactful. As IKEA Belgium’s Nathalie Berkein shared: “I was deeply moved by the impact these organisations are making in their communities. We're now exploring how we might collaborate with some of them as service providers, and I’m excited about the possibilities. It’s also a testament to our company’s values that we create space for initiatives like this, showing our commitment to both innovation and social responsibility.” A huge thank you to outline the path together with us Yunus Social Innovation and Sociale InnovatieFabriek for the local coordination, to our IKEA Belgium team for hosting this in Wilrijk, and to the social entrepreneurs for their inspiring ideas 💡✨: Sanne Torfs, Jeroen Hennion, Frank Coenen, Benjamin Gérard, Serge Mignonsin, Caroline Godts, Ravi Bellardi, Caroline Gastaud, Laura De Boeck, Nathalie Berkein, Carolien De Smit, Frederico Abrantes Siqueira, Elisabetta Marengo #SocialEntrepreneurship #BusinessForGood #IKEASocialEntrepreneurship #SocialBusiness #IKEA #IKEABelgium #IngkaGroup #goodbusiness #socialimpact