IKEA Announces Purchase of 3,264 Acres in Florida

On Thursday (1-13-22), Ingka Group, the owner of most IKEA furniture stores worldwide, announced that it has purchased more land in the United States, as part of a long-term commitment to responsible forest management.

According to the press release, “The new forests will support increased biodiversity, help ensure sustainable timber production from responsibly managed forests, and recover land damaged by Hurricane Michael in October 2018.”

Ingka group says it intends to plant seedlings of mainly longleaf pine on the 1,321 hectares, or 3,264 acres, of land in Florida. Longleaf pine was selected, according to Ingka Group because it is relatively resilient to the effects of climate change including resistance to forest fires and supports habitat for endangered plants and animals such as gopher tortoises, dusky gopher frogs, pine snakes and red-cockaded woodpeckers.

Ingka Group has been investing in recent years in forest land and with the new addition, it owns around 250,000 hectares in the United States, New Zealand, and Europe.

In a statement accompanying the Florida announcement, Krister Mattsson, head of Ingka Group’s investment arm Ingka Investments said, “The afforestation business … is a long-term investment that consolidates our business while also positively impacting the climate through the absorption of CO2 during the forests’ growth.”