Karol Gobczynski

Activist, Business leader, Concerned citizen, Connector, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Environmentalist, Global soul, Idea generator

Karol Gobczyński is Head of Climate and Energy at Ingka Group, which includes IKEA Retail, Ingka Centres and Ingka Investments. Ingka Group is the largest IKEA franchisee and a strategic partner with more than 370 IKEA stores in 30 markets. IKEA Climate Positive is a shared strategic initiative to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than the IKEA value chain emits, while growing the IKEA business. As Ingka Group Head of Climate Karol is accountable for establishing and implementing the overall climate and energy agenda at Ingka Group; developing tactics and integration into ways of working to secure that Ingka Group meets its climate goals and co-create Climate Positive IKEA. Karol started his IKEA career working with integration of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures into the daily operations of IKEA suppliers in Central Europe. After 3 years, Karol became Energy and Climate Manager for IKEA Group in Poland. During his time in this role, he supported wind farm acquisitions, governance and operations which enabled IKEA businesses in Poland to generate more renewable energy than they consumed. Karol also leaded the team which introduced IKEA Home Solar offer on the Polish market. Karol graduated The School for Renewable Energy Science in Iceland.

connecting the dots, energy, low climate footprint living, Nordics, Iceland, borderland

By building better future faster we can reduce emissions as well create more equal and inclusive society.

My name is Karol Gobczyński, born in the borderland between Poland and Lithuania in the town where building bridges and dialogue is part of everyday life. Today, I am the Head of Climate and Energy at Ingka Group. So how did it happen? My father is an electrician. Growing up, I thought energy and everything around it was about as boring as it gets. Today, I am the Head of Climate and Energy. I graduated The School for Renewable Energy Science in Iceland. My IKEA journey started in Poland. Working with suppliers of IKEA furniture, I saw how bold commitments to energy efficiency and carbon emission reductions empowered co-workers to be more entrepreneurial and innovative. After becoming Climate and Energy manager of IKEA Poland, I also had the possibility of being part of our investments in wind farms, which lead to IKEA Poland generating more renewable energy than the energy used in all IKEA branded operations in the country. Since 2009, Ingka Group has invested 2.5 billion EUR in renewable energy globally, and now we own and operate more wind turbines than stores. Almost half of our stores have solar PV installations, reducing our electricity costs and carbon footprint. IKEA also offers customers affordable clean energy services incl. home solar systems in 14 markets, giving people the opportunity to be part of a low carbon movement. So where are we going as IKEA? IKEA committed to become climate positive by 2030. IKEA Climate Positive is a shared strategic initiative to reduce more greenhouse gas emissions than the IKEA value chain emits, while growing the IKEA business. These commitment challenge us to work in new ways and drives innovation and renewal in our business. And we are not alone. There are more than 900 companies that have committed to or have already set science-based targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. As Ingka Group Head of Climate I'm accountable for establishing and implementing the overall climate and energy agenda at Ingka Group; developing tactics and integration into ways of working to secure that Ingka Group meets its climate goals and co-create Climate Positive IKEA. Returning to my childhood hometown in Poland, today my parents pay 5 times less for heating and electricity than the average house owner thanks to energy efficiency, home solar installations and extracting heating from the ground through heat pumps. Going back to my dad, today he is empowering other people through sharing his knowledge about energy efficiency, installing solar panels and creating green jobs. BTW, my brother works as well in renewable energy sector. He loves climbing, so he is climbing the wind turbines and do maintenance to keep them in a good shape. My wife is a music manager, and one of her artists just recorded carbon neutral album. My mum is working on reducing daily footprint through e.g. growing fruits and veggies, and preparing preserves for the winter. This is amazing that we all can do our part when we know what to do. We all as a part of society – governments, business and civil society - have a role to play in the transition to the net-zero future we want. So let’s turn climate challenges into opportunities for all of us.

Repairing my socks