IP Named 2016 World's Most Ethical Company for Tenth Year in a Row

 

For the tenth straight year, International Paper, Memphis, Tenn., USA, was named as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by The Ethisphere Institute. Despite a large number of global nominees, IP secured a spot on the list by maintaining its focus on the ethical business practices and standards that have defined the company since its inception more than 118 years ago.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Ethisphere and the World's Most Ethical Companies designation, which recognizes companies who align principle with action, work tirelessly to make trust part of their corporate DNA, and in doing so, shape future industry standards by introducing tomorrow's best practices today.

IP has been recognized 10 consecutive years and is one of only two companies in the Forestry, Paper, and Packaging category in 2016 underscoring their commitment to leading ethical business standards and practices in the industry. 

"At International Paper, ethics and personal integrity are essential to how we make products and how we operate as a company," said Mark Sutton, chairman and CEO. "Our 55,000 employees around the world are committed to doing the right things in the right ways, for the right reasons. We call this The IP Way. Congratulations to our global team for achieving this well-earned recognition."

Ethisphere's CEO Timothy Erblich explained that "companies rely on Ethisphere to continually raise and measure the standards of corporate behavior. Those that demonstrate leadership in areas like citizenship, integrity, and transparency create more value for their investors, communities, customers, and employees, thus solidifying a sustainable business advantage. Congratulations to everyone at International Paper for being recognized as a World's Most Ethical Company."

The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research and vetted and refined by the expert advice from Ethisphere's World's Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel.The EQ offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent, and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%), and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%), and provided to all companies who participate in the process.

The full list of the 2016 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found online.