Memphis, Tenn. – International Paper a world leader in renewable fiber based packaging, pulp and paper products, has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies.

International Paper has been recognized for twelve consecutive years, and is one of only two honorees in the forestry, paper and packaging industry, underscoring their commitment to leading with integrity and prioritizing ethical business practices.

In 2018, 135 honorees were recognized, spanning 23 countries and 57 industries. The twelfth class of honorees had record levels of involvement with their stakeholders and their communities around the world. Measuring and improving culture, leading authentically and committing to transparency, diversity and inclusion were all priorities for honorees.

"As a company, we value character as much as capability. We look for all our 52,000 employees across the globe who not only have talent, skills and work ethic, but who also are dedicated to the principle of doing the right things, in the right ways, for the right reasons, all of the time. This is the IPWay," said Mark Sutton, Chairman and CEO. "It is an honor to once again be included on this list and to be among companies whose principles and practices uphold the highest standards of ethics and corporate social responsibility."

The World's Most Ethical Companies continued to show exemplary leadership," explained Ethisphere's CEO, Timothy Erblich. "I congratulate everyone at International Paperfor being recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies."

Ethics & Performance

Once again, the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies have proven that operating with integrity leads to greater financial performance. Research has found that, when indexed, listed World's Most Ethical Companies outperformed the U.S. Large Cap Index over five years by 10.72 percent and over three years by 4.88 percent. Ethisphere refers to this as the Ethics Premium.

Methodology & Scoring

The World's Most Ethical Companies 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 manner. 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 percent), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20 percent), culture of ethics (20 percent), governance (15 percent) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10 percent). All companies that participate in the assessment process receive their scores, providing them with valuable insights into how they stack up against leading organizations.