This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
IN a world first announcement, IKEA Netherlands is discontinuing the sale of gas cooktops and will only sell induction cooktops from January 2024.
The move has been welcomed by The Global Cooksafe Coalition (GCC) as a an “important step in the right direction for cooktop retailers”.
“Induction cooking is safer for our health and the climate and is a far superior cooking experience for commercial and home cooks,” said Virgina Jones, Australian program manager at GCC.
“We expect this is the first of many such commitments from the big cooktop retailers and brands.”
IKEA Netherlands is hoping that by only offering induction hubs, consumers will switch to electric and stimulate the market.
“IKEA Netherlands wants to contribute to a more sustainable life at home and the sale of gas hobs does not fit in with that,” said Liselotte van Dijk, sustainability business partner at IKEA Netherlands.
Australia is currently in the early phase of transitioning to electric cooking from gas stovetops, with Victoria having announced bans for gas in new homes from January next year and the City of Sydney becoming the latest council in NSW to support a ban on gas in new buildings.
“Six years ago we started to hear commitments from car manufacturers to go all electric, it’s interesting that we are now seeing the first announcement about kitchen appliances from IKEA Netherlands,” said Davina Rooney, CEO at the Green Building Council of Australia.
“While many car manufacturers have now committed to phase out dates for petrol cars, today’s announcement is the first sign of this in the cooking space.”
“The future is electric so it’s fantastic to see a major brand like IKEA taking a bold step in the right direction.”
