Ethics & Business Practice

International Paper relentlessly pursues excellence by focusing on the three key drivers of its business: People, Customers and Operational Excellence.

The people of International Paper Company believe that "ethical behavior and personal integrity are the core of our culture". This is the way we choose to describe ourselves, and is the fundamental principle that guides our work and our lives.

Every International Paper employee has a copy of the company's Ethics Handbook. In light of our complex and constantly changing world and work, this handbook does not

seek to address every situation and dilemma. Rather, it is a guide and a workplace tool, advising employees of our policies and standards of workplace behavior and the employee's right to seek answers to their questions and concerns. It is based on the expectation that International Paper employees are leaders in ethical decision making.

The customers of International Paper, like customers everywhere, prefer to do business with an ethical company. Whether our customers are other businesses and institutions or individual consumers, and whether our customers interact with us bytelephone, in person or through e-business channels, we believe they all deserve to have confidence in the integrity that we bring to all our customer transactions. To us, treating our customers ethically means supplying quality products and services, providing the best value, anticipating our customers needs and meeting their expectations. And we will do these things in full compliance with the letter and the spirit of the law.

At International Paper, "operational excellence" means that we pursue quality in everything that we do. We use technology to achieve competitive advantage, and we pursue strategies that are based on best practices and that differentiate us from our competitors. We are dedicated to responsibly managing our natural resources and to respecting and protecting the environment. As one of the largest private forest landowners in the world, the company manages its forests under the principles of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)? program, a system that ensures the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees while protecting wildlife, plants, soil, air and water quality. Operational excellence also means that we are dedicated to dealing ethically across our supply chain, and with all stakeholders of the company. In short, it means that we are accountable in all that we do.

You are invited to look through the pages of this site. You will find the International Paper ethics handbook in eighteen languages. You will also find several written articles that discuss the ethical workplace and ethical leadership at International Paper. Finally, you will find a way to contact me by phone or e-mail. If you want to learn more about how "doing the right thing" is part of our life at International Paper, or if you see something that troubles you and want clarification, this is the contact information to use.

Jim Berg
Director, Ethics and Business Practice