IKEA Group USA has closed on the purchase of its first U.S. forest property, covering approximately 25,000 acres in Lowndes County, Alabama. The investment in forestry is part of a broader strategy to invest in the sustainable production of resources that IKEA Group consumes directly through its products (wood raw material, recycled materials, etc.). The Swedish furniture giant owns more than 250,000 acres of forest land in Romania and the Baltic States. For its forest management in the U.S., IKEA Group has partnered with Campbell Global, a major investor in sustainable timberland and natural resources to oversee and operate the property. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. IKEA Group currently operates 47 stores and seven distribution centers in the U.S.
“As a responsible forest owner, we are interested in identifying and applying sustainable management methods that will allow us to preserve and even increase the quality of the forest over time,” says Krister Mattsson, Head of Financial Asset Management, IKEA Group. “Entering the US market is a milestone for our investments in forests, and we believe we will learn a lot here while implementing our long-term approach to forest management and applying for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.”
