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A few months ago, IKEA began phasing out incandescent light bulbs in all of their stores across the U.S. That alone makes a great statement for their millions of customers, and their website encourages the same: “If every IKEA customer replaced one ordinary 60-watt bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb, the energy savings would be as much as the greenhouse gas emissions from 750,000 cars.”
Not only are they stocking CFL light bulbs on their shelves, but LED lamps as well. They are touting the fact that these initiatives will save their customers money by saving energy – something everyone is looking for these days.
So it doesn’t come to us as a surprise that IKEA is now claiming to be the first retailer to completely eliminate incandescents from their stores. A huge part of the switch is due to a U.S. ban on the sale of incandescents that will start with 100-watt bulbs on Jan. 1, 2012, followed by 75-watt bulbs in 2013, then 40-watt and 60-watt bulbs in 2014. But the initiative is also part of the responsibility that IKEA is taking to building a better environment.
“We know this continuous improvement is a never-ending job, and that we are sometimes part of the problem. But we work hard to be part of the solution,” their website states.
Kara is 3p's writer from New England. In her Newport, RI community, Kara is the organizer of Green Drinks Newport, is a member of Newport's Energy & Environment Commission, is a volunteer for the Neighborhood Energy Challenge, Norman Bird Sanctuary, and has also volunteered as a panelist for Rhode Island Farmways, speaking to farmers from around the state about how they can better market and promote their businesses. Beyond the moat that surrounds her island home, Kara has backpacked Mt. Washington in New Hampshire too many times to count and she hopes her next adventure will be to ski the gnarly Tuckerman's Ravine. Kara is a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club, a graduate of the Colorado Outward Bound School and in real life, she is a public relations director who'd just plain like to see the world a greener place. Kara has been writing for TreeHugger.com since January 2005 and began writing for 3p in January 2010.
