Why Sustainability Is Central to Canada’s Affordability Agenda

By Selwyn Crittendon, CEO and Chief Sustainability Officer, IKEA Canada

Affordability and the cost of living is a major challenge for millions of Canadians. One of the most overlooked opportunities to address it lies in plain sight: the connection between affordability and sustainable living.

This is where small, everyday choices by millions of Canadians can add up to enormous impact.

Across the country, households are already feeling the pressure of rising costs. But Canadians also understand something important: wasting less means saving more. Using less energy, extending the life of household goods, reducing food waste, or choosing second-hand options are not abstract environmental ideals; they are practical, immediate ways to make life more affordable.

The evidence is clear. 74% of Canadians who say their homes help them live sustainably also report feeling positive about their life at home. When sustainable choices are accessible and intuitive, they don’t just reduce costs, they improve quality of life.

The opportunity in front of us is simple: make sustainable living easy and affordable and design and scale-up programs to have the biggest impact. 

At IKEA, these principals shape how we design and deliver our products. Today, 100% of our lighting range is energy-efficient LED, cutting household electricity use by up to 85% compared to traditional bulbs, without increasing costs. Our flat-pack designs reduce material use and transportation emissions while helping keep prices low. And through offers like our furniture Sell Back program, we’re making it easier for customers to extend the life of their furniture. 

We see the same impact in our partnerships. Working with organizations like Furniture Bank, we have helped support more than 11,680 individuals and families while diverting tens of thousands of mattresses and furniture items from landfill. That effort has prevented over 1,700 metric tonnes of CO₂ emissions; the equivalent of driving more than seven million kilometres. This is what affordability and sustainability look like in practice: lower household costs, less waste, and stronger communities.

Spending time in Ottawa last month, I was encouraged by conversations with government leaders who recognize that affordability cannot be addressed in isolation. There is growing alignment that climate ambition and cost-of-living pressures are not competing priorities and that they are deeply connected.

Policies that reduce waste, improve energy efficiency, and support circular business models can lower costs for households today while building long-term economic resilience. Continued investment in clean innovation from electric delivery fleets to renewable energy will help ensure that sustainable choices remain affordable and accessible.

We all have a role to play governments, businesses, and individuals alike. But the focus should be clear: make it easier for Canadians to choose options that help them waste less, use less, and spend less.

Because the cost of inaction will ultimately be higher. More extreme climate events will drive up household costs, while delayed innovation will limit economic opportunity and intensify affordability pressures.

Canada does not need to choose between addressing affordability and advancing sustainability. The path forward demands that we do both together.

The call to action is straightforward: design policies, products, and everyday choices so that sustainable living is not a premium option, but the default. When we do that, we don’t just help Canadians get through today we help them build a more affordable, resilient future.