Certification

Certification is a voluntary means of auditing conformance to a standard set forth by an independent organization.  When it comes to sourcing wood fiber used to make paper and packaging products, certification of forestry-related operations represents the highest standard of stewardship and traceability that a company can provide to its customers. 

Third-party certification is employed elsewhere in the marketplace to provide consumers with assurances of good practices. For example, accounting methods and reports are third-party certified for financial reporting, attesting to the validity of the accounting procedures and accuracy of the reports.  In a similar fashion, third party certification attests to responsible management of forests and fiber sources.

We demonstrate our commitment to sustainable forest management and fiber sourcing practices through third-party certification to a number of independent standards including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®), the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and the Brazilian Forest Certification Standards (Cerflor). 

Our company supports the existence of multiple certification standards to increase the amount of certified fiber and the concept of mutual recognition, which acknowledges that responsible forest management can be achieved through a number of credible certification systems. For instance, PEFC is a global umbrella organization that certifies national certification standards and supports the promotion of sustainable forest management and chain-of-custody. PEFC recognizes the SFI program, Cerflor (Brazilian) Standard and the Canadian-based Canadian Standards Association (CSA) systems to name a few.

The diagram below depicts the journey of trees from the family forest owner to the customer -- and the points at which operations can be certified by specific standards.

The management, harvest and reforestation of forestlands can be assessed by conformance to a responsible forest management standard.  Forests can be certified to one of a number of forest management certification standards, e.g. SFI, FSC, Cerflor. International Paper, which no longer owns much land in the U.S.controls the purchase and harvest of wood fiber through certification to a procurement management standard.  The overall flow of wood fiber can be tracked and monitored by implementing a chain-of-custody system.

Certification and chain-of-custody are terms that are often used interchangeably; however, they actually describe two different but related processes.  At the root of all certification systems is the goal of protecting our forests so that they are economically viable and provide enjoyment and environmental benefits for today and generations  A chain-of-custody certification is a system that tracks fiber movement from the forest to the consumer and allows companies to make claims about the percentage of certified and/or recycled fiber within their products.  Organizations must choose the standard which is appropriate for their operations and demonstrates responsibility to customers. Explore the links on this page to learn more about certification and our commitment