Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: International Paper Company (IP) demonstrates limited engagement on climate policy, with policy engagement that is broadly misaligned with policy pathways for delivering the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement. While the company has advocated in support of regulation to foster a circular economy, it has called for exceptions for the paper product industry. In addition, IP promotes an ambiguous understanding of the relationship between land use and climate change, recognizing the value and potential of forestland as a carbon sink without acknowledging the impact of the forest products industry on deforestation. IP is a member of several industry groups which are highly active and negatively engaged on climate policy, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: IP has limited top-line communication on climate change. The company partially acknowledged the link between climate and land use in its 2022 Sustainability Report, published in May 2023. In its Climate Change Statement, last updated in February 2023, IP recognized its responsibility to mitigate emissions within its own operations, but the company’s overall support for IPCC-demanded targets is unclear. This position was reinforced in its 2024 Sustainability Report published in April 2025. In the same 2024 report IP appearedto support a market-based approach to developing the circular economy over government regulation.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: InfluenceMap analysis has not located recent evidence of IP’s positions towards or engagement with climate change policies related to carbon pricing and trading, GHG emission regulation, or renewable energy regulation. The company has not disclosed its positions toward, or engagement with, specific climate change policies on its corporate website as of July 2025. The company disclosed some policy positions in its 2023 CDP disclosure report, including on circular economy and biomass energy, but with limited detail on any related policy engagement.
Engagement with Land-Use Related Regulations: IP demonstrates limited engagement on land-use related regulations, with unclear or mixed positions. IP appears to focus its engagements on land use policy around carbon sink protection. In its 2024 Sustainability Report, from April 2025, the company appears to support the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). However, in its Lobbying Disclosure from Q4 2024, IP disclosed its engagement with US policymakers and cited “implementation concerns” withthe EUDR. In an August 2024 press release,the company appeared to support land-use offsetting, however stressed the need to have market-based initiatives without stating its position on offsetting regulations.
Positioning on Energy Transition: IP appears to have broadly negative engagement on the energy transition. In the EU, on the Antwerp Declaration from February 2024, the company indicated support for scaling up low-carbon, renewable, and nuclear energy, though it was unclear if this was aligned with IPCC standards. At the US level, in its Lobbying Disclosure from Q4 2024, the company disclosed engagement with transportation policy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s petition around zero-emission locomotives without specifying a clear position. In its 2023 CDP report, it appeared to support a continued role for fossil fuels in the energy mix, stating support for policies that “promote energy diversity” through “market-driven solutions” that include “renewable and traditional energy sources.” In the same report, IP advocated for the use of biomass in energy generation to be qualified as carbon-neutral, but was unclear in its position on the use of bioenergy in the energy mix at large.
Industry Association Governance: IP disclosed a full list of its industry association memberships in its 2024 Sustainability Report but did not provide detail on either the company's activity within the associations or the climate positions of the associations themselves. A company executive serves on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers, which has engaged negatively with various strands of US climate-related policy while strongly advocating for an expanded role for fossil fuels. IP’s CEO is also a member of the Business Roundtable, which has taken some positive positions on climate policy in recent years while opposing other critical policies, including the Build Back Better Act and Inflation Reduction Act. As of July 2025, IP does not appear to have published a review of its alignment with its industry associations.
A detailed assessment of the company's corporate review on climate policy engagement can be found on InfluenceMap's CA100+ Investor Hub here.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.