Forestry Certification

Not only are we certified, we encourage everyone else to be.

International Paper is a long-standing advocate of third-party certification in sustainable forest management.  We helped lead the development of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative ® (SFI) in North America and we are involved in its continual improvement.

In 1998, IP began the process of third-party certification of the management of our U.S. forestland to SFI® and ISO 14001 standards.  As the company has sold this land, we have ensured that it will continue to be certified under new ownership.  Additionally, our mills will continue to procure their fiber through our third-party certified SFI procurement system which promotes tree harvesting education and outreach.

Although IP uses the SFI certification standards in the U.S., we have also actively supported and used other national standards in countries where we operate, such as CERFLOR in Brazil.  IP supports mutual recognition of certification standards.  We have encouraged the adoption of CERFLOR, SFI, and other systems recognized by the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification schemes for FEFC.

Beyond our won operations, we also encourage other forest owners and managers to certify their operations.  We have actively encouraged certification programs appropriate for family forest owners, such as the American Tree Farm Program and “point-of-harvest” programs like the Maine Master Logger Certification.