In the past, IKEA has claimed that it would strive to become a carbon-neutral company that protects the environment, and now it seems it is proving its claims. The furniture and home furnishing shop has recently purchased 11,000 acres of forest in Georgia, which was land that was about to be lost to development.

IKEA Is Implementing Various Strategies to Reduce the Carbon Imprint of Its Business

IKEA bought the forest land in Georgia to ensure it remained intact and kept working on sucking up CO2 from the atmosphere. Apparently, the forest was bought as part of the company’s ongoing strategy to reduce the carbon imprint it creates through its chain. In addition to saving the trees, the purchase will save the valuable gopher tortoise that lives in the Altamaha Basin. The forest is now owned by an IKEA subsidiary known as Ingka Group. In the past, it has done work with The Conservation Fund, which is a non-profit organization that has protected millions of acres of US forests from fragmentation and development.

IKEA’s Ingka Group Is Setting the Highest International Standard for Forest Management

Both the Conservation Fund and Ingka are making sure to keep working forests in Georgia from being broken up into segments and developed. The organizations also make sure to take legal action to protect the forests, and this also protects the gopher tortoise, which is a priority species for conservation. Ingka Group owns some 616,000 acres of forests in both the US and Europe, and the company chooses to ensure it sets the highest international standards for proper forest management. According to an IKEA spokesperson, the company uses no significant amount of the wood from the forests it manages.

It seems that forest stewardship is just one of the many tactics IKEA uses to become a carbon-neutral company. They also announced that they would start buying used IKEA furniture from its clients and use it for resale. The company also uses less carbon-emitting materials and electric vans whenever it can.

It is said that blood donation is one of the greatest donations of all donations. This holds especially true for a Lexington-based mystery woman for whom doctors have been using Derrick Smith’s blood to treat her medical condition. Apparently, Derrick’s blood contains a rare antigen that’s helping the woman to get better in health. Let’s see how this story began as it sure seems like an interesting one.

It’s a Match

Smith has been a regular blood donor all his life – and donates blood in the Kentucky Blood Centre from time to time. In February 2020, he donated his blood. Months later, the Kentucky Blood Centre conducted a test and discovered that his blood has a rare antigen that can be potentially beneficial for curing a women’s patient’s illness. He was made aware of the situation and urged by the medical staff to donate blood once a month. He was told that the woman had no one else and his act would be a big help to her. Derrick agreed, and since then he has been coming to the center every month to donate his blood for her.

An Everyday Superhero

So far, Derrick has donated his platelets six times; he intends to continue donating his blood till she gets better. The authorities have not revealed the respective identities to the blood donor and recipient; however, they have made Derrick know that the woman belongs to the same city (Lexington). Stories like these give hope and assurance that humanity is still alive and all hope is not lost in the world. They also encourage one to be humane and caring towards one other. Derrick Smith’s story teaches that to be a superhero you don’t require Herculean strength or possess extraordinary qualities. All you require is compassion – and willingness to help others whenever and wherever you can. This surely is a heartfelt and inspiring story.