Codes of conduct and international framework agreements: New forms of governance at company level - Case study: IKEA

IKEA signed with Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI, formerly IFBWW) one of the first international framework agreements (IFAs) in May 1998. This IFA has been revised in 2001 to include the internal IKEA code of conduct (IWAY) which had been developed since 1999. The IWAY code of conduct is in the first instance directed towards IKEA suppliers (including the IKEA-owned Swedwood company) and addresses environmental concerns, as well as social and labour relations issues. The interviews for this case study were conducted in January and February 2007 with representatives of IKEA management, the European Works Council and the Building and Wood Workers International Union.