Annapolis leaders went to Sweden to learn about climate change. I went to IKEA.

Sustainability smacks you the instant you pull into the IKEA parking lot in College Park. Most spaces are tucked under elevated solar panels, a national initiative started in Maryland three years ago to help the Swedish furniture giant generate all its own electricity. Walk past the U.S., Maryland and Swedish flags and into the mammoth blue-and-yellow building, and the first of many brightly colored, chipper displays makes clear that saving the planet is at stake with every purchase — “5 ways to step into a more sustainable day — every day.”