- Ikea is investing in becoming the largest in the world in solar cells for private customers.
- But Ikea can not rule out that the raw material comes from the Xinjiang region in China, where reports warn of forced labor within a government work program.
- “We need to continue working to ensure traceability”, says Ikea’s sustainability manager Jonas Carlehed to Ekot, and opens up for the possibility of moving production.
Ikea is currently investing in becoming a leader in the photovoltaic industry for private customers globally. At the same time, there are reports of links between solar cell production and forced labor in Xinjiang.
Ikea does not rule out that their solar cells are connected to Xinjiang, according to sustainability manager Jonas Carlehed.
– What is the problem is the raw materials.
Last year, China accounted for about 80 percent of the world’s silicon raw material for solar cells. The largest production took place in Xinjiang.
Among Ikea’s subcontractors is the leading Chinese solar cell manufacturer Jinko, which among other things owns a factory in Xinjiang. The factory is located in Xinyuan County, or Kunes in Uighur, where there are designated retraining camps and testimonies of systematic abuses.
– It is new information for me, that that supplier has a factory in Xinjiang, says Jonas Carlehed at Ikea.
Ikea states that it is another Chinese company that delivers the panels to the Swedish market, but Jinko is included as a supplier for Ikea globally, where Ikea is located in about thirty countries and hopes to become a leading supplier of solar cells to private customers.
According to public Chinese documents, Ikea’s subcontractor last year received workers within the state work program in Xinjiang. Exactly the program that was singled out as part of the controversial retraining of Muslims.
Ikea says that it has received answers from all suppliers, including Jinko, that there should be no facts or evidence of forced labor.
With that said, we now see that we need to continue working with the suppliers to really ensure the long-term traceability of the raw materials. We do not have it fully today, says Jonas Carlehed to Ekot.
Sustainability Manager Jonas Carlehed is careful to point out that Ikea cannot guarantee that the silicon raw material for solar cells does not come from Xinjiang, or the conditions under which it is produced.
He says that Ikea needs to act on the new tasks.
– Should it turn out that we can not secure human rights, of course we will have to buy raw materials from other parts of the world, says Jonas Carlehed at Ikea to Ekot.
Source: ICELAND NEWS