ea is not one to shy away from a challenge and as a purpose-led company, it is stepping up as a role model with a 360-degree approach in this call to action.  “We call ourselves a purpose-led company, not only doing the hardcore core business. We are very aware when it comes to our responsibility as a company in the countries and communities where we operate and how we can actually make things happen to support, push and call out what the consumers in our communities are experiencing,” Mirja Viinanen, Ikea Australia CEO, told Inside Retail. A place to call home ‘This is not a home’ is a confronting campaign commissioned by Ikea Australia in partnership with Save the Children Australia to raise awareness of homelessness driven by domestic and family violence. By creating awareness of the real-life living conditions of women and children experiencing homelessness, Viinanen hopes the exhibit will drive impactful change. “As a business, there are many opportunities to help the community,” she said. “We have many people in our own communities where we’re doing the business that don’t have a home. Basically, they’ve needed to escape and have to stay in the car, a tent or on the couch in a family or friend’s living room.” The campaign was conceptualized while the company was planning its FY24, which at Ikea Australia, runs from September 1, 2023, to August 31, 2024. “It has been a long planning process connected to the whole big topic of creating a positive social impact as a company,” Viinanen said. As Viinanen noted, Ikea’s own internal co-workers, many of whom live close to its stores, are part of the community. “What we have seen lately in the media [is the connection between] the crisis when it comes to the cost of living and homelessness,” Viinanen said. “When we started to dig deeper into the statistics, I was horrified and upset to understand how big Australian homelessness rates were and the number is rising.” After learning that most homeless Australians are women and children, Viinanen wanted to shake the stigma and shame that has enabled the issue to remain in the shadows. “The home is the most important place and we believe that kids are the most important people,” Viinanen said. “We really need to start to talk about that.. “Sustainability as well, if the private companies and industry are not calling to action on these topics, we need to. Our power in the communities as well as on certain topics can challenge the councils and the government to act as well. We need to start tackling these topics.” Small steps to a bigger result ‘This is not a home’ is all about starting a conversation about homelessness driven by domestic and family violence. Through the campaign, Viinanen hopes “others are picking up the topic in a tangible way, to solve the issue in one of the best countries in the world, Australia. The second outcome is very tangible. We are calling out for donations for Save the Children.” Customers can join Ikea by donating to Save the Children when they shop in-store, online or remotely – to ensure more survivors of domestic and family violence are supported throughout their journey and find a safe place to call home. Recognizing the challenge ahead, Ikea is leading the charge not only with financial aid but by donating products to the cause. “We can help when it comes to furnishing those places and when they have the opportunity to have their own home,” Viinanen said. Ikea is donating “starter packages valued up to A$500, which include the basics everybody needs at home when they move into basically an empty house”. Additionally, Ikea is upping the ante through its evolving partnership with the retail charity marketplace Good360 Australia. “When it comes to creating positive social impact, Ikea has a couple of defined goals and one of those is very much connected to what we are doing right now,” Viinanen said. “We have a power to ask councils and governments to act on these topics that are obviously a big issue in the country, [but] that should not be an issue,” Viinanen concluded.