Posted by
Barry Siskind
UFI’s Community Manager

I recently watched Howard, Chief Sustainability Officer for IKEA deliver an inspiring TED talk. His message was particularly timely for us as the UFI Sustainable Development Focus Meeting in Geneva is quickly approaching.

http://www.ted.com/speakers/steve_howard.html

Howard’s talk opened with three startling statistics:
• By 2030 the number of people in the middle class will grow by an additional three billion people
• The average temperature of the earth will increase by six degrees centigrade
• The number of cities that have a population of one million plus are now at 500. At the beginning of the twentieth century the number was 12.

The conclusion is obvious. We are building more cities to house more middle class consumers and the earth is getting warmer. Things cannot go on without some major adjustment. IKEA hired Howard to lead their company into the future focusing on a key message, “Choose to lead on the issues that really count.”

I found his message simultaneously inspiring and challenging. And with our Sustainable Development Focus Meeting on December 11, this is a stark reminder of how important the issue of sustainability really is.

To see the entire meeting agenda click here: www.ufi.org/geneva2013