OPERATIONALEXCELLENCE 16 OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE: A MINDSET OF CONTINUOUS AND DELIBERATE IMPROVEMENT OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE  INTERNATIONAL PAPER International Paper leverages the vast experience and diversity of our employees to operate our global manufac- turing system with excellence. Through our commitment to continuous and deliberate improvement, all of our  team members are working to make International Paper the best manufacturing company in the world. International Paper operates 41 paper mills world- wide. We have the best people in the industry and we  have always sought to operate our facilities efficiently,  safely and in a manner that minimizes impact on the  environment. That’s why our facilities are recognized  as among the best in the world. Beginning in 2014, International Paper launched a new  organizational framework in facilities around the globe  to take our manufacturing performance to a new level.  Our Global Manufacturing System (GMS) is a carefully  selected set of our best practices organized into a single  system that every facility will implement over the next  three years. Once fully implemented, the GMS will  drive our results further and faster by leveraging the  efficiency of proven best practices and allow for more  sustainable change as we identify even better ways of operating.