Why Sustainability in Motion® is More Than a Slogan

Why a Registered Trademark Matters

Sustainability in Motion® is a registered trademark of International Paper (IP). That legal status reflects a deliberate choice: the concepts this phrase embodies are not marketing language to be discarded when convenient. They are core to International Paper’s values and to the value it delivers to customers.

Many companies adopt sustainability slogans. Fewer build operations that deliver on them. The difference between a tagline and a trademark is accountability. A trademark represents an ongoing commitment that the company stands behind publicly and legally.

For International Paper, Sustainability in Motion® describes a mechanical reality that customers can verify. Fiber either keeps moving through your facility or it accumulates. Payments either arrive on schedule or they create uncertainty. Service either continues through market cycles or it disappears when you need it most.

Recycling problems rarely announce themselves as sustainability failures. They show up as dock congestion, labor diversion, and cash flow surprises. Sustainability in Motion® addresses those operational realities, not abstract environmental aspirations.

Same Promise, Every Scale

The operational benefits of Sustainability in Motion® apply whether you manage recycling across hundreds of locations or run a single facility generating a few tons per month.

“Whether you’re dealing with a local store or bigger corporation, they need consistency,” says Joel Beary, National Accounts Manager at International Paper Recycling. “Our goal is to allow our customers to use the space of their operations to run their business, whether that’s selling widgets, commercial printing, etc., and not use the space for waste. They need recycling to happen seamlessly, and what their operations may see as waste, International Paper Recycling sees as value.”

Large national accounts need a recycling partner who can maintain uniform service levels across diverse geographies, provide consolidated reporting, and adapt to the complexity of multi-site operations. Smaller regional businesses need a partner who will show up reliably.

Both needs converge on the same requirement: a dependable recycling partner under any condition. International Paper Recycling serves both segments because structural demand persists whether the source is a national retailer’s distribution network or a regional printer’s single facility.

What Does Sustainability in Motion® Actually Mean?

The phrase captures three operational commitments that determine whether recycling works as a logistics function or creates drag on facility productivity.

Motion means pickup that matches your volume. Waste generation fluctuates with seasonality, promotions, ecommerce demand, and production cycles. A good recycling partner works with your actual output of material to provide flexibility in service, and flexibility preserves continuity.

Motion means service that persists through market cycles. Mill-backed partners maintain service because their manufacturing operations require fiber as feedstock. The motion continues because the demand is structural.

Motion means payment that arrives on schedule. For operations where recovered fiber represents revenue, late or renegotiated payments create planning problems. A recycler under margin pressure may delay checks or attempt to change terms mid-contract. Predictable payment keeps the financial side of recycling in motion too.

Why Does Flexible Pickup Matter?

Operational reliability does not mean rigid service. Effective recycling programs depend on flexibility that preserves continuity.

Peak seasons may require additional pickups. Slower periods may require fewer. The ability to adjust frequency, timing, and capacity without interrupting recovery keeps recycling aligned with real facility conditions rather than fixed schedules that no longer match operational reality.

“We want to be a one-stop shop partner in all of their recycling needs,” explains Lesley Schlesinger, East Region Area Manager at International Paper Recycling. “We offer a consultative approach helping businesses reduce their waste costs and increase their recycling for a variety of materials.”

A recycler with broad geographic coverage can adjust pickup frequency based on your actual generation rates. Service expands during high-volume periods and contracts when output slows. Loading areas stay functional and storage space remains available for inventory rather than bales.

The alternative is familiar to anyone who has managed recycling through a vendor with limited capacity: trucks that arrive on schedule whether you need them or not, or service that disappears when your volume drops below their minimum threshold.

Beyond Cardboard: Finding Value in Unexpected Places

Sustainability in Motion® extends beyond fiber. International Paper Recycling specialists look across the full waste stream to identify opportunities that other recyclers overlook.

One example: A food manufacturer was spending thousands of dollars monthly to landfill product that could not be sold. Quality issues, production overruns, material that had fallen on the floor during processing. All of it was going to trash.

During a facility walkthrough, an International Paper Recycling specialist identified the waste stream and found an outlet: the material could be diverted to agricultural feed operations. What had been a recurring disposal expense became a source of cost recovery. The solution had nothing to do with cardboard or paper. It came from looking at the customer’s operation comprehensively rather than limiting the relationship to fiber.

This approach reflects what Sustainability in Motion® means in practice. The commitment is not to a single material category. It is to keeping waste streams moving toward their highest-value destinations, whether that means International Paper’s own mills, third-party recyclers, or alternative markets that other haulers would never consider.

Why Does Reliable Service Through Downturns Matter?

The test of a recycling partner is not whether service works when commodity prices are high. It is whether service continues when prices crash.

“Mill-backed networks like International Paper’s create structural demand for Old Corrugated Containers (OCC), Double Lined Kraft (DLK) Box Clippings, and fiber regardless of market conditions,” Beary explains. “Diversified waste haulers and spot-market brokers tend to exit the market when they don’t have a profit motive to pick up your materials, whereas we always have a need for it.”

This structural difference determines whether Sustainability in Motion® remains true during
difficult market conditions. A recycler dependent on resale margins behaves differently than one whose manufacturing operations require fiber as raw material. Mill-backed partners maintain service through cycles because the feedstock requirement persists.

For regional and mid-size operations, a service interruption rarely stays contained. Material accumulates quickly.

“If you have a situation where two or three trucks don’t show up for pickup at a DC, material doesn’t stop coming in from the stores to that DC,” Beary notes. “So now all of a sudden you’re three trucks behind and have three more trucks of material show up, and you’ve got six trucks worth. That scenario isn’t sustainable. You can’t just pick back up at three trucks and keep it going. You have to consistently keep that outbound material flowing.”

The compounding nature of missed pickups explains why service reliability can matter more than price optimization. A recycler offering lower rates may depend on commodity spreads that evaporate during downturns. When their margins disappear, so does your service. The motion stops. “Making sure material is taken away, not clogging up their docks or warehouse bays,” Schlesinger adds. “That’s what resonates most with customers.”

Why Does Timely Payment Matter?

Recovered OCC and fiber often represent a revenue line, not just a disposal expense. That revenue stream is only useful for planning purposes if payment arrives predictably.

When a recycler’s margins get squeezed, payment discipline often suffers first. Checks arrive late, terms get renegotiated mid-contract, or the vendor disappears entirely. If your recycler’s profitability depends on commodity spreads that fluctuate monthly, your receivables inherit that volatility.

Payment reliability and service reliability reinforce each other. Consistent service keeps material in motion.

How Does Scale Support the Promise?

Sustainability in Motion® requires infrastructure. A single-facility recycler making promises about flexibility and reliability faces constraints that larger networks do not.

“International Paper can bring more than one thing to the table because we are so vertically integrated.” Beary says. “Where we differentiate from general waste haulers is that their need for OCC and other fiber materials may fluctuate with the market, but we have inherent demand for fiber because of the end-to-end nature of our business.”

Our scale provides you with a resilient supply chain with reduced exposure to trade disruptions, export dependency, and single points of failure. Broad geographic coverage means local service levels do not depend on a single facility’s capacity or a single market’s conditions.

International Paper recovers, processes, and manages nearly 7 million tons of fiber annually, representing approximately 12% of the U.S. market for recycled cardboard.³ This volume creates the operational foundation that makes Sustainability in Motion® more than marketing language.

How Does Documentation Support the Promise?

Closed-loop recycling models provide documented proof that packaging materials reach legitimate recycling facilities. Instead of tracking material through multiple intermediaries and brokers, businesses gain a clearer chain of custody.³

This documentation supports sustainability reporting requirements many companies face. It also provides verification if customers, auditors, or stakeholders ask where your packaging waste actually goes.

IP offers digital tools that support these documentation needs, such as the Supplier Portal that tracks volumes, grades, and shipment records.³

Documentation matters because Sustainability in Motion® is a verifiable claim, not just a brand promise. The fiber either moved through the system or it did not. The records either support that claim or they do not.

What About Extended Producer Responsibility?

Seven U.S. states have enacted Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging laws: California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon, Maryland, and Washington.² For companies operating in those states, consistent recovery documentation may become a compliance consideration as programs phase in over the coming years.

For businesses in the other 43 states, EPR is not yet a factor but more states are likely to be passing EPR legislation. Until it arrives in your state the operational case for Sustainability in Motion® stands on its own: functional loading areas, focused labor, predictable revenue, and a recycler who shows up regardless of market conditions.

If EPR does expand to additional states, businesses with documented recovery programs and reliable recycling partners will be better positioned than those building compliance infrastructure from scratch.