MEMPHIS, Tenn. - International Paper announced today that it has been recognized as one of the 2014 World's Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute, an independent center of research that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance. This is the eighth straight year that International Paper has been honored with this award, which recognizes organizations that continue to raise the bar on ethical leadership and corporate behavior. Ethical business practices and standards have defined the company since its inception more than 100 years ago.

"International Paper's commitment to the highest ethical and sustainable business standards is guided by a simple principle: do the right things for the right reasons," said Chairman and CEO John Faraci. "Our company has been in operation for 116 years, a testament to our 70,000 talented and dedicated people worldwide who help make IP a company of substance."

"The entire community of World's Most Ethical Companies believe that customers, employees, investors and regulators place a high premium on trust and that ethics and good governance are key in earning it," said Ethisphere's Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. "International Paper joins an exclusive community committed to driving performance through leading business practices. We congratulate everyone at IP for this extraordinary achievement."

The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient™ framework. The Ethics Quotient framework has been developed over years of effort to provide a means to assess an organization'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. The Ethics Quotient framework and methodology was determined, vetted and refined by the expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere's network of thought leaders and from the World's Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel. 

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (25%), reputation, leadership and innovation (20%), governance (10%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (25%) and culture of ethics (20%). ­­

The full list of the 2014 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/.