What could be wrong with cotton, you say? Cotton plantations use huge amounts of water, pesticides and fertilizer. That's rough on farmers, flora and fauna.

Because so many IKEA products are made with cotton, we partner with the WWF to run Farmer Field Schools in Pakistan and India where cotton farmers learn new and better ways. After just two years, the cotton farms in Pakistan alone used 30% less water, 60% fewer pesticides and 40% less fertilizer.

That's better for water, air, plants, bugs, birds, fish and mammals – including people.

At IKEA sustainability and education are important. In 2001, we funded a scholarship for students from Russia, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to study sustainable forestry at the Swedish University of Agricultural Science. The scholarship is available for students every year.

IKEA cares about children and their education, so in 2005, the IKEA Social Initiative donated 18,000 NORDEN tables to UNICEF in Liberia and Burundi. They were great support to the school enrollment drives and are now used in schools.

IKEA cooperates with WWF on projects aimed at reducing our impact on the climate. One example is that IKEA and WWF - together with selected suppliers in Poland, Sweden and China - are creating a casebook of good examples for how suppliers can save energy, money and become less reliant on fossil fuels for manufacturing, heating and cooling.

We also cooperate by doing pilot studies in the UK, China and the United States that aim to promote sustainable modes of transport in partnership with local authorities, businesses and organizations. The learnings can then be spread to other markets.

IKEA is socially active in its communities. For instance, IKEA US implemented a program to help victims of hurricane Katrina in 2005. Part of the "Give a Hug" program was that every dollar from the sale of heart-shaped FAMNIG cushions at all IKEA stores in the US would be donated to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

After the major earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, IKEA Social Initiative donated 335,000 quilts to the victims through UNICEF. After the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008, the IKEA Social Initiative donated 200,000 Soft Toys through Save the Children.

IKEA Social Initiative is supporting major health initiatives carried out by UNICEF. These programs aim at developing integrated, community-based, sustainable approaches to improve child survival in some of India's most deprived areas. The initiative covers 18 states and is expected to benefit 80 million children and adolescents, and 10 million women. The focus is on improving the health and nutrition of children providing vitamin supplements, advocating breastfeeding, providing safe water and creating a healthy environment for children and their families.

IKEA cares about sustainability education, for example, IKEA Italy developed educational material for schools in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Two different packs were developed: a “Responsible Energy pack” and a “Responsible Forestry pack” (2006) - both distributed for free to schools near the stores.