International Paper Co., Memphis, Tenn., USA, has been recognized once again by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as a 2017 World's Most Ethical Company.  For the eleventh straight year, IP was named as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies despite a large number of global nominees. International Paper 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 119 years ago.

"At International Paper, it is our vision to be among the most successful, sustainable, and responsible companies in the world. Our 55,000 global employees are committed to improving people's lives, the planet, and our company's performance by transforming renewable resources into products people depend on every day," said Sharon Ryan, SVP, general counsel, and corporate secretary. "I want to congratulate our global team for achieving this well-earned recognition."

2017 is the eleventh year that Ethisphere has honored those companies who recognize their role in society to influence and drive positive change, consider the impact of their actions on their employees, investors, customers, and other key stakeholders and use their values and culture as an underpinning to the decisions they make every day.

"During the past 11 years, we have seen the shift in societal expectations, constant redefinition of laws and regulations, and the geo-political climate. We have also seen how companies honored as the World's Most Ethical respond to these challenges. They invest in their local communities around the world, embrace strategies of diversity and inclusion, and focus on long term-ism as a sustainable business advantage," explained Ethisphere's CEO Timothy Erblich. "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, which 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.

 

Best practices and insights from the 2017 honorees will be released in a series of infographics and research throughout the year (view or download the 2016 insights). Organizations interested in how they compare with the World's Most Ethical Companies are invited to participate in the Ethics Quotient.