International Paper

Stakeholder engagement
International Paper discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups. It discloses how its stakeholder engagement activities impact its sustainability strategy. The company’s stakeholder engagement covers nature, including biodiversity, and social issues.

Water
The company has a 25% reduction target by 2030 on water use intensity in its own operations and reports progress against the target.

No leading practices were identified for the company in the social inclusion and community impact area.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
International Paper discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy. It discloses targets on topics such as ecosystem use, water use, greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste, however it does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain, including social inclusion and community impact topics. The company reports consistently against all its targets. No evidence was found that it links performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. The company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Stakeholder engagement
International Paper discloses a clear overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities, which includes disclosing key topics along with the company’s response.

Lobbying
International Paper discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates. It does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. The company does not report misalignments between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
The company has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
The company does not disclose key species or areas important for biodiversity affected by its operations or suppliers. It has an opportunity to increase its transparency.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
International Paper has committed to sourcing 100% of its timber from sustainable forests, however it has not been determined from the evidence available in the public domain that this target is aligned with zero deforestation. The company does not disclose some activities to achieve conversion-free supply chains. It does not disclose time-bound targets to achieve conversion-free supply chains. Through its Global Fiber Procurement Policy, International Paper has disclosed a commitment to minimise ecosystem conversion, along with some activities to minimise ecosystem conversion. While International Paper aims to conserve and restore ecologically significant forest lands, there is no evidence that the company’s restoration efforts are aimed at restoring ecosystems that have been directly impacted by its activities. The company does not disclose details and outcomes of ecosystem restoration projects in areas affected by its own operations or by its suppliers.

Resource exploitation and circularity
The company does not disclose its inputs, including its material footprint. The company does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. The company does not disclose efforts to improve soil health.

Water
International Paper reports a decrease of 1.76% between 2019 and 2021 in water use intensity, thus demonstrating it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations. It reports that 7% of its water withdrawn is in locations with water-stress. The company does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawals. It does not disclose relevant information related to water quality and pollution, in its operations or supply chains. International Paper does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. It does not disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
International Paper does not disclose relevant information regarding hazardous waste in its operations or supply chains. It reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. The company does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
While International Paper discloses information relative to its scope 1 and 2 emissions, no evidence that the company had a reduction in these, nor any progress towards its targets, was found. It has 35% reduction target by 2030 for its scope 1 and 2 emissions, which is aligned with a well-below-2-degree trajectory. No evidence that the company reduces its scope 3 emissions was found and it not disclose a time-bound target to reduce its scope 3 emissions.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive alien species in its own operations.

Safe, healthy, clean environment
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights or land rights of local communities.

While International Paper discloses that it conducts due diligence in general, it has an opportunity to specify that it conducts human rights due diligence that includes a process for identifying human rights risks and impacts through its business relationships. It has an opportunity to describe a process for assessing the human rights risks it has identified and to disclose what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. A description of this process would include how relevant factors are considered, such as geographical, economic and social factors. While the company discloses that it conducts routine human rights risk assessments and that it remediates in locations with the highest risk, no evidence was found that it has a global system to act on all its salient human rights issues. No evidence that it provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes was found. While International Paper discloses the categories of stakeholders it engages with generally on sustainability issues, it is not clear if these stakeholders are those whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. No evidence that the company provides examples of its engagement with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities was found.

International Paper has a publicly available policy statement which shows it is committed to respecting the health and safety of workers. It has a publicly available policy statement which shows it expects its suppliers to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers. The company discloses information regarding the enforcement of laws in relation to the minimum wage, however no evidence it discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or that it has achieved paying all workers a living wage was found. No evidence that International Paper describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates was found. While it expects its suppliers to obey compensation laws, no evidence that it describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers was found. No evidence that the company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements was found. While it states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in relation to those.

International Paper discloses a tax strategy, but it is not applicable to all its operations. It takes steps to identify and address bribery and corruption. The company includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. It also outlines its approach to lobbying and political engagement but does not formalise this approach in a public policy document. No evidence that the company has a publicly available policy statement that specifies that it does not make political contributions was found.