Global expansion has proven historically difficult, yet IKEA has found a way to not only balance the entire customer experience, but also achieve a reputation for social responsibility and sustainability in the process. One of its greatest impacts thus far has been on the environment. In 1997, before the IWAY was even finalized, IKEA sought to increase the efficiency of transportation by writing "IKEA, transport and the environment."" Its purpose was to limit pollution from travel and strategically place all stakeholders geographically. Based on responses gathered by a University of Bari study, 60 percent of stakeholders lived less than 20 km from the store. According to one author, "IKEA's intuition was not so much to involve some vendors in this program, but more to formalize this synergy through the sharing of an ethical code. A code whose purpose is not only practical in terms of production, but also symbolic of the ability of the Swedish corporation to use its brand as a means to ensure the work of all those with whom it collaborates.