United Nations Global Compact
A progress report on Pearson's performance
In July 2000, Pearson plc became one of the founding signatories to the Global
Compact. In a relatively short period of time, the Global Compact has successfully
engaged thousands of global companies in considering their responsibilities towards
Labour Standards, Human Rights, Environmental Management and tackling
corruption. Pearson is proud to have been able to contribute to this success through its
position as a member of the Advisory Council which guided the early development of
the Global Compact.
Pearson interpreted the original nine principles of the Global Compact into a series of
commitments that guide our actions and inform our strategy on priorities for
improvement. These commitments have been reflected in our Code of Conduct which
set out our business principles and standards of behaviour including our response to
the 10th principle on tackling corruption introduced in 2004.
Pearson continues to support the Global Compact principles. In this communication,
we describe each of the principles, Pearson specific commitments and links to
relevant sections of our Website which describe our policies, systems of management
and performance.
David Bell
Director for People
Highlights in 2006
This Communication on Progress provides the links to the sections of our Website
that describes in full our performance against the Pearson commitments. Some
highlights from 2006 are:
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Pearson was ranked as a Platinum Company, the highest tier in both the
Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index and the
Environment Index rankings based on our 2006 performance.
Pearson has announced its intention to become carbon neutral across the
company operations by the end of 2009
Penguin in the UK has secured Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) chain of
custody certification which will allow its books to carry the FSC label.
As part of our ongoing supplier audit programme, visits were carried out to the
main printers of our books, magazine and newspapers in South Africa, Brazil,
Mexico, Peru, Columbia and Chile.
We wrote to thousands of our suppliers to remind them of our Code of
Conduct and our commitments under the Global Compact.
Pearson efforts on diversity have been recognised through a number of
awards. In the UK, Pearson was ranked 7th in the Race for Opportunity league
table of company management practice on race and diversity issues.
Labour Standards & Human Rights
Global Compact
Principle
Pearson Commitments
Website Links.
Pearson companies and people
operate globally. Our products are
produced and manufactured across
the world and sold in many
countries, often by companies we
do not own which are operating on
our behalf. In the course of
conducting business in ‘high risk
areas’, we are committed to ensure
that we are not complicit in human
rights abuses and continue to
monitor this. If we were to find
ourselves inadvertently implicated
in abuses of human rights, we
would take immediate steps to
rectify such a situation.
The values section
summarises the
framework that all
Pearson employees use
in guiding how we
behave.
Human Rights
Principle 1:
Businesses should
support and respect
the protection of
internationally
proclaimed human
rights within their
sphere of influence
Principle 2: make sure
that they are not
complicit in human
rights abuses.
Labour Standards
Our Code of Conduct
describes the standards
that we set ourselves.
Our Annual Report
provides highlights of
our progress relevant to
implementing the
Global Compact.
Our people section of
our Corporate
Responsibility report
describes our culture,
employee engagement,
how we support worklife balance and skill
development.
Principle 3:
Businesses should
uphold the freedom of
association and the
effective recognition
of the right to
collective bargaining
We comply with the relevant laws
relating to employment and
employment conditions in each
country and business surveyed.
Subject to relevant laws in the
countries where we operate, we
fully respect the right of our
people to freedom of association
and representation either through
trades unions, works councils, or
any other appropriate forum.
Principle 4: the
elimination of all
forms of forced and
compulsory labour
We recognise that labour standards Our programme of
and conditions may vary from
supplier monitoring is
country to country. Pearson
now well developed
companies conduct business in
We have a duty to the
health and wellbeing of
our staff and this is
described in the Health
& Safety section of our
website
many of the poorer countries of
the world where living standards
are low. Where Pearson
companies directly control their
activities in a country, we ensure
that our people have satisfactory
wages and working conditions,
and that there is no exploitation of
labour.
Principle 5: the
effective abolition of
child labour
Principle 6: eliminate
discrimination in
respect of employment
and occupation.
and is described in the
supply chain section of
our Corporate
Responsibility report.
Our diversity
programme is also
described in our
Corporate
Responsibility report.
We offer equal employment
opportunities to all. The people we
recruit and promote are selected
on merit and suitability, and are
not discriminated against because
of gender, race, origin,
background, religion, marital
status, sexual orientation,
disability or age. In 2002, we
launched a major programme to
progress diversity within Pearson.
IMPLEMENTATION - FISCAL YEAR TO DECEMBER 2006
Labour Standards & Human Rights
Introduction
The key elements for Pearson in furthering our compliance with the Labour Standards
and Human Rights Global Compact Principles are:
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Board Accountability. David Bell as Director for People is the Executive
Board Member responsible for the Pearson response to the Global Compact.
Practitioner Engagement. Two networks of Human Resources professionals
in the UK and US guide implementation of the Pearson response and reporting
on performance. The UK and the US are our most significant centres of
employment and our global operations report into our businesses in these
countries. We have set up a network of Diversity Councils and Champions
across our operating businesses to progress our programmes.
Clarity of commitment. Pearson commitments under the Global Compact
form part of our corporate governance and risk management procedures and
are placed in the public domain.
Surveying. Each of our businesses report on their performance against the
commitments we set ourselves. In 2006, the survey covered 92 business
operations in 45 countries. The survey does not cover sales offices or joint
ventures where Pearson does not have management control.
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Reporting. Our performance against our commitments is described in our
Corporate Responsibility Report and on our corporate Website.
Independence. Our survey process is carried out on our behalf by an
independent consultancy with specialist expertise supported by internal action.
Code of Conduct. The Pearson commitments are incorporated into our Code
of Conduct. Compliance is reviewed annually and material issues reported to
the Board.
Supply Chain. We have set the standards we expect of all our suppliers and
for our key suppliers; we continue to introduce specific clauses relating to
these standards into our contracts.
Progress in 2006
Our agenda for 2006 was laid out in our Annual Report supported by a more detailed
report on corporate responsibility. The focus for 2006 was to continue to extend the
scope of our review process with suppliers.
Looking Forward
Our main targets for 2007 are again laid out in our Annual Report and in our third
detailed report on corporate responsibility.
Environment
Global Compact
Principle
Pearson Commitments
Pearson Performance
Principle 7:
Businesses should
support a
precautionary
approach to
environmental
challenges
Our Environment
Policy on our corporate
Website and our
Environmental
Management System
describes our main
commitments.
Our Environmental Review section
on our corporate Website provides
details of our progress in 2006 and
our plans for 2007. This includes
data on energy and water, our
carbon emissions and resource use.
For 2007, we have extended our
commitment to carbon neutrality
across the business.
Principle 8: undertake Our products help us
initiatives to promote educate, entertain and
greater environmental inform.
responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage
the development and
diffusion of
environmentally
friendly technologies
Our Annual Report
describes some of the
ways that our
businesses have met
these principles
Implementation - fiscal year to December 2006
Environment
The key elements for Pearson in furthering compliance with the Environmental
Global Compact Principles follow the same model used for Labour Standards and
Human Rights described above.
The most notable difference is that Alan Miller, Director of Group Affairs has group
responsibility for environmental management and to work with the operating
businesses to improve their performance and reporting. This is in addition to the wider
role of David Bell as Executive Board Member responsible for the Pearson response
to the Global Compact.
Anti-Corruption
The guiding document through which Pearson manages its compliance to this
principle is the Pearson Code of Conduct. The key characteristics of the Code are:
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Reporting. Material issues are reported to Senior Management and to the
Audit Committee.
Independence. Group Audit has responsibility for the management of the
Code. A confidential whistleblowing process is in place for employees to
raise issues.
Awareness. An annual e-mail is sent to all-employees to confirm Pearson
compliance with the Code of Conduct.
Global Compact Principle
Pearson Commitments
Pearson Performance
Principle 10: Businesses
should work against all
forms of corruption,
including extortion and
bribery
How does Pearson intend to build on its commitment?
We believe that openness and transparency are the most important levers for
improving our performance.
As far as possible, Pearson uses existing communication channels and management
processes to review, improve and demonstrate our progress. We will continue to use
the Pearson Website and the Annual Report as our primary means to engage our
stakeholders.
In 2003, we introduced a discrete section within our Annual Report on corporate
responsibility. For the third year, we also report on corporate responsibility issues in a
dedicated section of our corporate Website.
Contact
For further information, or if you have any questions or comments, please contact,
Alan Miller on alan.miller@pearson.com.