With 30 years at IKEA, Lena Julle steps into CSO Role
Inter IKEA Group has officially appointed Lena Julle as its new Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), effective May 1, 2025. Lena steps into the role after serving as Acting CSO since September 2024, in parallel with her responsibilities as Sustainability Manager at IKEA Range.
With over three decades of experience at IKEA, Lena has played a key role in shaping the company’s global sustainability efforts, driving forward its climate and circularity ambitions. She has contributed significantly to developing sustainable products and solutions that support IKEA customers in living healthier, more affordable, and environmentally conscious lifestyles.
“The IKEA goal – to be more affordable, accessible, and sustainable, especially for those with limited budgets – resonates deeply with me,” Lena shared. “Creating smart, well-designed, functional products for everyday life while making consistent progress on our sustainability agenda presents a tremendous opportunity.”
As CSO, Lena will oversee IKEA’s continued transformation into a circular and climate-resilient business, ensuring sustainability is embedded in the company’s entire offer – from product design to customer use and end-of-life. Her leadership comes at a pivotal time, as IKEA intensifies efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C, aligning with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) Net-Zero Standard.
In FY23, IKEA strengthened its climate targets, committing to:
- Halve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the entire value chain by FY30 (from a FY16 baseline).
- Achieve net-zero emissions by FY50 at the latest.
These targets encompass every aspect of the IKEA ecosystem, including raw material sourcing, food ingredients, manufacturing, logistics, retail operations, customer transportation, product usage, and disposal.
Jon Abrahamsson Ring, CEO of Inter IKEA Group, praised Lena’s impact:
“With her leadership and deep knowledge of IKEA, Lena has advanced our sustainability journey meaningfully. As Acting CSO, she has already made strong contributions toward our net-zero goals and helped evolve our broader sustainability agenda. I look forward to continuing this work together.”
Lena also brings in-depth insight into IKEA’s value chain, enabling crucial progress in material transformation. As CSO, she will ensure IKEA remains at the forefront of addressing environmental and societal challenges while enabling sustainable business growth.
She succeeds Pär Stenmark, who will take on a new role within the Inter IKEA Group.
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