Ikea Group recently has announced to sell only LED lamps and bulbs in its stores by 2016 to help its customers save energy and cut carbon emissions.

According to IKEA Chief Sustainability Officer Steve Howard said in a webcast and teleconference, replacing the world’s 12 billion traditional light bulbs with LEDs would cut emissions equivalent to those of the Netherlands. In addition, the company will also convert all the lighting in its stores, factories and distribution centers to LEDs.

By switching to LEDs, Ikea is picking a winner out of technologies jostling to replace incandescent light bulbs, whose sale the 27-nation European Union phased out on Sept. 1.

Samantha Smith, who heads the environmental group WWF’s global climate and energy program, said on the conference call, “This is a ground-breaking step towards sustainability by one of the world’s largest retailers of household goods. “Anything that helps us save energy at scale is a great step towards the future.”