PIA HEIDEMARK COOK

Pia Heidenmark Cook is the former Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA, where she spent nearly five years reducing the furniture company’s carbon footprint by 14%. Today, she is a sustainability advisor for several international companies and one of the top sustainability speakers available to book for conferences and events worldwide. In our latest interview, we sat down with Pia to discuss her role at IKEA and hear her hopes for a sustainable future.

What can businesses learn from IKEA’s approach to corporate sustainability?

“I think every company needs to go on their journey because every company is different. Sustainability is not a side business, it’s not a side activity, it’s not a ‘do good and feel good’ activity. Those are the potential outcomes but should not be the reason why you do it.

“It’s because you understand the impact you’re having on the planet and its people, on society. You also see everything going on with climate change, inequality, biodiversity loss, you name it, how that will affect you as your company and the future [profit and loss] of the company.

“Use that understanding to really plan and dare to set daunting targets, because I think you must set targets that are reachable, but still reachable with huge effort because that’s what’s needed.

“So, I think setting those 100% goals shows your organisation that you cannot opt out, you cannot choose to be the business that’s not involved. We all need to engage leaders and co-workers at every level.”

As the Chief Sustainability Officer at IKEA, what was your proudest achievement in this position?

“I worked at IKEA for 13 years and the last five as CSO [Chief Sustainability Officer], so there were lots of moments - it’s really difficult to point to just one, it’s really difficult. But I think the main achievement, if I don’t choose things like the milestones we achieved or some of the goals we set, I would say it is the people.

“It is working with people and meeting people, co-workers in the stores, out in the different countries, and just feeling the energy and enthusiasm and the pride. “So, I think that’s my proudest moment. When it kind of clicks and people get it and they see how this is good for the business, it’s good for people, it’s good for the planet. When people really want to engage and come up with their own ideas, I think those are my proudest moments, every time I meet people who are proud to share something they’ve done.”

Do you have hope for a sustainable future?

“I think the honest answer is... it depends on the day. The more politically correct answer is I made it my job, I made it my passion, my profession. It would be hard to do this for 25 years with no hope! I believe in humankind; I’ve chosen to believe that we can fix this.

“This is a human made problem, despite what some people think, it is a human made problem. I think the way we have built up society with businesses, organisational structures, hierarchy, tax system, you name it, pension, all that is a human construct. It’s different with the laws of ecology.

“With all the things that have been created by us, we also have it within our reach to change it. I do have days when I feel a bit more worried than other days, but I do believe we have it within our reach. We have the ingenuity; we have the money, and we must use our money to do something good.

“I think we need to change the narrative and I mean... I’ve been in this for so long, but when we talk about saving the planet and saving animals, all these cute bears and polar bears, fundamentally it’s about our life on this planet. The planet will survive in one way or another. It’s about our life and our here and now, our kids and our grandkids. It’s about, ‘do we want to stay on this planet,’ so I hope that people realise that.”

Which small changes have you made in your personal life to become more sustainable? “I have made a lot [of changes], but not enough. There’s quite a lot of reports right now going around on social media about the rich world of the developing countries, about how we stand for a large proportion of the environmental footprint. I do belong to that group so yes... my lifestyle has a big footprint.

“I mean, I’m not travelling so much anymore. I drive an electric car, I bike locally. I try to eat much less meat and we have shifted to lighter meat like chicken. We eat much more fish than before, but I wish I could faze out meat completely.

“I invest my pension and my savings in what I believe to be future-proof companies, companies and sectors I believe in. I also think about who I vote for, I try to really reflect on how I shop, where I put my money.

“I also try and talk to friends and family; I don’t really do that all the time because everyone knows what I do for a living! But trying to share examples of, ‘did you know that by making that choice you have ten times the impact compared to making that choice?’ It’s coming up with some of those examples, trying to influence people a little bit every day.”

This exclusive interview with Pia Heidenmark Cook was conducted by Jack Hayes.