Energy Efficiency, GHG Emissions, Industrial  -  April 27, 2023

International Paper to Tackle Scope 3 Emissions

International Paper, a supplier of renewable fiber-based products, will develop Scope 3 reduction plans and begin collaborating with its suppliers and customers to understand their GHG emissions footprint and decarbonization plans.

Measuring and reporting the company’s Scope 3 GHG emissions, which is fairly new for the company, is part of its plan called Vision 2030. These emissions include the GHG impacts generated within International Paper’s upstream and downstream value chain, but outside of its direct operations, such as the carbon footprint of input materials like wood fiber and chemicals, GHG emissions related to its distribution networks and from the further processing, reuse and final disposal of the products.

In 2021, a supply chain GHG emissions calculator tailored to the industry was created to track progress, according to a statement.  Between 2010 and 2020, the company lowered its GHG emissions by approximately 20% and reduced its use of coal and fuel oil by 50%.

Approximately 70% of the energy used in the mills comes from carbon-neutral biomass residuals, while the remainder comes from purchased energy, including natural gas, electricity and steam from utilities, and smaller amounts of coal, fuel oil and other fuels.

The company is also working on lowering its Scope 2 GHG emissions by adopting renewable power and is exploring options such as virtual power purchase agreements.

International Paper does not use carbon offsets in its GHG emissions reduction strategy.

The company announced it saw little net change in its combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions from 2019 to 2021 because of increased mill production over this period, along with other factors driven by COVID-19 disruptions, mill operations, weather events and energy supplies. The slight increase in Scope 1 emissions was largely offset by lower sales of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) at certain mills, resulting in lower Scope 2 emissions.

International Paper is also evaluating and pursuing investments in energy efficiency and fuel-switching for lower-carbon power generation in its operations. 

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