MEMPHIS, Tenn. - International Paper announced today that it has been recognized as one of the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies® by the Ethisphere Institute, an independent center of research that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance. The World's Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes those organizations that have had a material impact on the way business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company. This is the ninth 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. 

"It is an honor to be included among this list and to be among businesses whose principles and practices uphold the highest standards of ethics and corporate social responsibility," said Chairman and CEO Mark Sutton. "Since our Company's founding in 1898, International Paper has been defined by a commitment to ethical behavior and personal integrity. I want to thank our 58,000 talented team members worldwide who helped make this award possible."

"The World's Most Ethical Companies embrace the correlation between ethical business practice and improved company performance. These companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture and earning the World's Most Ethical Companies recognition involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing," said Ethisphere's Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. "Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at International Paper for this extraordinary achievement."

The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research 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 EQ framework and methodology is 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 (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%).