How International Paper Is Promoting Sustainable Forestry To Combat Climate Change and Preserve Biodiversity
Originally published in International Paper's 2023 Sustainability Report
Healthy forests are essential to a healthy future for our planet: they mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration, clean our water and provide habitat that wildlife populations need to thrive. With more than 1.6 billion people reliant on them for their livelihoods, forests also deliver substantial economic benefits. And at International Paper, forests are at the heart of everything we do.
Maintaining the health, well-being and resilience of our forests is integral to global ecosystems — and our business model. That’s why we are committed to producing the products our customers need while being a responsible steward of the world’s natural resources.
Protecting forests in the face of a changing climate
International Paper’s success depends on the sustainability of forests — and so does the future of our planet. The health of our forests and the species that call them home is intricately connected to a changing climate. To maintain the powerful and diverse benefits that forests offer, we need to sustain working forest landscapes for generations to come. That means enabling reliable end markets for wood fiber so forest landowners will choose to keep their land forested and sustainably managed rather than selling it for other uses.
Conserving rather than converting forestland protects our planet by helping to regulate the climate and sustain essential ecosystems that support countless plant and animal species. With biodiversity loss accelerating and a growing number of animals and plants threatened with habitat loss, according to the United Nations, healthy forests can act as a safe harbor for nature. Healthy forests can also make ecosystems more resilient to the shocks brought on by extreme weather events and a changing climate.
When these ecosystems are sustainably managed, forests can play a critical role in mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration. That’s why we work closely with forest landowners, wood suppliers and other partners to avoid deforestation, promote responsible forestry practices that protect high conservation value forests, and ultimately ensure the integrity of forests for the years and decades to come.
Our responsibility to the land
As diligent stewards, our responsibility to protect natural resources begins with our relationships with landowners and suppliers. Given our dependence on sourcing renewable fiber from working forests, we aim to operate an unparalleled fiber procurement system that is consistent with our core values. Since nature-related impacts and dependencies are location specific, we take local, context-specific steps to responsible fiber sourcing to enhance the environmental values of the forests from which we source. To that end, we engage in responsible fiber sourcing, which includes:
- Conducting due diligence throughout our supply chain
- Validating origin on direct uncertified fiber purchases
- Using mapping systems to monitor harvest activities and policy compliance via ForSite™, our geographic information system (GIS)
As we deliver on our Vision 2030 responsible fiber sourcing target, in 2023 we purchased and used:
48M tons of new and recycled fiber
5.2M tons of recovered fiber
Our Vision 2030 progress
Our leadership in forest stewardship centers on two targets that are driving progress toward our Vision 2030 goal.
Goal
Lead forest stewardship efforts globally
Target
100% Source 100% of fiber from sustainably managed forests
1M Conserve and restore 1 million acres of ecologically significant forestland (400,000 ha)
Impact
89% 89% fiber is verified as derived from a sustainably managed forest
73% 732,770 total acres of ecologically significant forestland conserved and restored
Our 2023 fiber sourcing in context
- 100% meets the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Controlled Wood Standard
- 100% direct sourcing from uncertified forests traceable to origin
- 100% direct sourcing verified no conversion of High Conservation Value Forests (HCVFs)
- 100% indirect sourcing traceable to a country and county level of origin
- 100% suppliers monitored to meet IP’s Global Sourcing Policy
- 95.6% from forests within the U.S.: 97% Southeast U.S., 3% Oregon
- 3.5% from forests in Canada (Alberta province)
- 0% sourcing from peatlands or High Carbon Stock (HCS) forest
- 0% sourcing from Intact Forest Lands (IFLs)
Conserve and restore 1 million acres of ecologically significant forestland
- 373,145 total acres of ecologically significant forestland have been conserved
- Improved forest management on 3,145 acres as part of due diligence efforts in ForSite™
- As part of our Forestland Stewards Initiative with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, we conserved and restored 370,000 acres of forests throughout North America
- Total goal completion progress: 732,770 acres improved (73%) since 2020
- The remaining 11% of fiber volume complies with International Paper’s Global Fiber Procurement Policy; we will continue to increase verification efforts toward our Vision 2030 goal
Our approach
As complex ecosystems, forests support countless plant and animal species, regulate freshwater cycles and contribute to the overall ecological balance of our planet. International Paper recognizes that a sustainably managed forest is one that maintains and enhances economic, social and environmental values for the benefit of present and future generations. As one of the world’s largest users of wood fiber, we are passionate about pursuing forest conservation and restoration activities that complement our commitment to sustainable forest management and responsible sourcing. We further aim to enable healthy forest landscapes beyond our own supply chains by investing in research, restoration and conservation initiatives that benefit forests, watersheds and biodiversity.
Our approach to forest stewardship has three main elements: responsible fiber procurement, forest certification and collaboration with forest and wildlife conservation partners.
Disclosure on nature
We will continue to gather data on how we interact with biodiversity using our GIS-based sourcing platform, ForSite™ (see page 29). In 2024, International Paper will go through the scoping phase of the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) methodology across our sourcing and manufacturing footprint, with an intent to disclose information in 2025.
About International Paper
International Paper (NYSE: IP) is a global producer of sustainable packaging, pulp and other fiber-based products, and one of the world's largest recyclers. Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., we employ approximately 39,000 colleagues globally who are committed to creating what's next. We serve customers worldwide, with manufacturing operations in North America, Latin America, North Africa and Europe. Net sales for 2023 were $18.9 billion. Additional information can be found by visiting internationalpaper.com/.
About International Paper - EMEA
In Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA), International Paper focuses on the production and marketing of fiber-based packaging and specialty pulp, employing approximately 4,400 people. As a leading supplier of high-quality corrugated containers for a multitude of applications, we serve customers throughout the region from our network of two recycled containerboard mills and 23 box plants in France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal and Spain. Specialty pulp is made in Gdansk, Poland. Other products available from International Paper in the region include a variety of Kraft linerboard and other pulp products.
