每日英語跟讀 Ep.K281: IKEA goes circular to make the things we love last longer
當你丟棄物品時你會感到愧疚嗎?或許你想要維修、回收或再利用，但是缺乏時間、知識或是精力去做嗎？不用再煩惱了。宜家家居可以幫忙。
Do you feel bad about throwing things away? Maybe you want to repair, reuse or recycle, but lack the time, knowledge or energy to do so. Well, IKEA can help.
這間始於瑞典，落足荷蘭的企業集團正在探索循環經濟，也就是消除廢棄物及資源再利用，一個對消費者來說更方便且適切的方法。
The Swedish-origin Dutch-headquartered multinational conglomerate is exploring new ways to make circularity – the elimination of waste and continual use of resources – more convenient and relevant for you.
舉例來說，宜家正在測試更多循環的可能性，像是家具租借服務、收回與回購計畫、幫助顧客維修、回收再利用老舊家具，或者透過轉賣來讓家具重獲新生。
For instance, IKEA is testing the potential for more circular solutions, such as furniture leasing, take-back and buy-back schemes, and helping customers repair, reuse and recycle old furniture or give it a second life through reselling.
「這意味著我們不應該拿走資源，」牛奶零售集團宜家家居北亞區商務總監艾斯本告訴The China Post，「而是應該嘗試回饋社群和地球更多的資源。」
“This means that we should not actually take away resources,” Hugo Asplund, Commercial Director at DFI IKEA North Asia (牛奶零售集團宜家家居北亞區商務總監艾斯本) told The China Post. “We should actually try to seek ways to give back more resources to the communities and the planet.”
身為全球最大的家具零售商，艾斯本認為宜家家居有很大的責任，必須去限制其對氣候的衝擊，這也與宜家長久以來的方針相呼應，那就是「對資源做最好的利用」。
As the biggest global home furnishing retailer, Asplund argues that IKEA has a big “responsibility to limit its impact on the climate,” which is consistent with IKEA’s long policy of making the best use of resources.
「最知名的一個例子便是我們的『扁平包裝』，指的是我們把家具放在小盒子裡，這樣你就可以很輕鬆有效的運送它們，」他繼續補充「而隨著時間演進，我們必須採取更多手段，我們必須把企業的成長與資源利用的曲線脫鉤。」
“One of the most known examples is our “flat pack,” where we kind of put our furniture into small boxes, so you can easily transport them in a very efficient way,” he continued. “And going forward, we need to take more steps, we need to decouple our growth with the material use.”
你知道嗎？有高達六成的宜家產品來自可再生的原料，像是木頭與棉花，而超過一成的產品包含回收再利用的原料。
Did you know? More than 60 percent of the IKEA product range is based on renewable materials, like wood and cotton, and more than 10 percent contains recycled materials.
推動循環理念的公司，會以「零汙染」的概念來選擇材料、如何設計、製造、運輸、販賣以及產品生命週期結束時的後續處理。
This “zero waste mindset” is the way to go for the company which has pushed forward with “circular concepts” in how they choose materials, and how they design, produce, transport, sell them and what happens to their products at the end of their life cycle.
具艾斯本所述，宜家長久以來都在尋找可再生以及可回收資源的使用新方法，並且會不斷重新設計既有產品的製程，來確保這些家具更符合永續性。
According to Asplund, IKEA is always looking to find new ways to use renewed and recycled resources as materials, and continuously re-design the production of existing products to make it more sustainable.
目前宜家已經著手計畫，目標是在2030年時讓公司的產品可以被消費者再利用、維修、再組裝和回收。宜家也不斷強調會在營運期間盡可能的節省能源消耗。
The company has already undertaken to make products that can be reused, repaired, reassembled and recycled by its customers by 2030. IKEA also repeatedly aims to save as much energy as possible in its operations.
宜家近期有個令人興奮的新服務－「家具租賃」，因為事實上有百分之四的碳足跡是來自產品生命週期的結束，這個數字也與運送貨物所產生的碳足跡相近。
One thing that IKEA Taiwan is very excited about is its new service connected to leasing, because actually 4% of the total (carbon) footprint actually comes from the end of life, which is actually similar to the transportation of the goods.
「藉由推動循環租賃，我們現在能夠拿回家具，重新整修它們後再次銷售，或著最糟糕的情況就是回收它們。」艾斯本解釋道。
“By introducing this circular leasing, we are now being able to actually take back articles, and we can then either refurbish them, resell them, or in the worst case even recycle them,” Asplund explained.
「我們在台灣正處在一個精彩的旅程中，不論是透過線上或實體的方式，我們發覺可以利用許多新的方式與樣態來觸及城市中的人們。」他補充。
“We are in a very exciting journey here in Taiwan, and both online but also physically, we see that there’s a lot of room for us to come in new shapes and formats, (drawing us) closer to the many people in the cities where we’re not currently present,” he added.
透過這些做法，宜家可以朝著永續的目標持續拓展。
And in doing that, IKEA is poised to further expand in a sustainable way.
這就是為什麼宜家選擇加入歐洲在台商務協會的「低碳倡議」，並與夥伴合作找出新的解決方法。
That’s the reason why IKEA is looking into new solutions and working together with partners such as the “Low Carbon Initiative” run by the European Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (ECCT).
艾斯本總結，歐洲在台商務協會幫宜家找到合適的夥伴，協助他們進一步用可持續且可負擔的方式拉近與消費者的距離，讓更多人能在台灣負擔得起一個美麗且功能強大的家。
The ECCT has helped IKEA find the right partners that can help them to come closer to the many people in a sustainable and affordable way, and to make more people afford a beautiful and functional home here in Taiwan, he concluded. Source article: https://chinapost.nownews.com/20211213-2972068