Ikea is expanding its sustainability programs in the US by turning food waste from its restaurants and Swedish food markets into renewable energy.

Ingka Investments, the investment arm of Ingka Group (Ikea’s largest retailer), has taken a minority stake in Vanguard Renewables, a company that converts food scraps into renewable natural gas and low-carbon fertilizer.

The program is being piloted in five stores across Wisconsin, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois.

Unsellable packaged food and restaurant leftovers are collected in-store and sent to Vanguard facilities, where they are processed into energy and fertilizer for local farms.

“At Ikea, we see waste as a resource,” said Javier Quiñones, CEO and chief sustainability officer, Ikea US.

“After reducing pre-consumer food waste by nearly 50 per cent over the past seven years, this is the next step in improving operational efficiency.”

Ikea plans to expand the initiative to additional US stores as part of its goal to recycle 100 per cent of waste from its own operations by 2030.

Peter van den Poel, MD of Ingka Investments, said the move aligns with the group’s EU$1 billion commitment to circular solutions globally.

“Addressing food waste is not just good business, it is essential for a livable future,” he added.