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Welcome to our report on Our Business and Society for 2006.
As one of the worlds leading publishing companies, we combine a commitment to achieve our commercial goals with a dedication to a wider public trust. In addition to our core business of educating, informing and entertaining, we run a global programme of CSR activities which you can read about in our full report at www.pearson.com/community/csr_report2006
Each year we set ourselves targets to help us become the kind of company we strive to be: one that is brave, imaginative and decent. Below you can see how we performed in 2006 (with the detail in our online report) and our targets for 2007.
Our targets for 2006
For our full report on 'Our Business and Society' go to www.pearson.com/ community/ csr_report2006
While we are pleased with our progress, we are constantly reminded
how much more there is to do and nowhere more so than on the
issue of climate change. (In 2007 we will publish a special version
of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth for young readers.)We have an
ongoing target to reduce our carbon emissions and have begun the
process of becoming a climate neutral company. Penguin UK has
become the first of our businesses to start to offset its carbon usage
(see www.greenpenguin.co.uk
) and we are now at work on both sides
of the Atlantic on plans for the rest of our companies to follow suit.
Our goal is to have completed the process by the end of 2009.
As always, we welcome any comments or questions. Please e-mail me at david.bell@pearson.com
Our plans for 2007
Maintain our position in the key indices of social responsibility.
Expand the environmentally friendly book packaging options to distribution centres outside our key markets of the US and UK.
Continue our environmental and labour standards auditing programme with our printers in Asia, the Far East and parts of continental Europe.
Continue to advance our programme for independent certification of the paper we purchase for our books and newspapers.
Continue the process of becoming a climate neutral company with a view to completing that process globally by 2009.
Continue our commitment to build a truly international business by helping more of our people experience a new country on a short-term assignment, with our developing markets as a priority.
Show evidence of progress in retention of people with diverse backgrounds for both entry level and management positions.
Launch the Pearson Foundation Development Fund to support our businesses in their work with community-based programmes around the world.
Work with the UK government to extend our flagship community programme Booktime and build on the success of Read for the Record with Jumpstart in the US.
David Bell, Director for people