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  • Overall approach
    2/14
    • Overarching commitment on deforestation
      0/6
    • Signatory to an initiative tackling deforestation
      1/1
      Signatory
      Yes
      1/1
      "Pearson is a founding signatory to the United Nations Global Compact", and is also a member of the WWF Global Forest and Trade Network.
      Open source document Open source document
    • Awareness of the value of forests
      1/1
      Awareness
      Yes
      1/1
      "We reject illegal logging of old growth forests. [...] We are committed to support the protection of high conservation value forests."
      Open source document
    • Target to reduce emissions from land-use change
      0/3
    • Reporting on emissions from land-use change
      0/3
  • Commodity score
    43/86
    • Pulp & Paper
      43/86
      • Commitment Strength
        27/36
        • Commitment to protect priority forests
          11/15
          • Commitment details
            Forest-related commitment
            6/8
            Commitment to protect priority forests
            Forest-related commitment
            6/8
            Certification schemes mentioned: FSC; PEFC
            Type of commitment: Protects priority forests; Certification
            "We reject illegal logging of old growth forests. [...] We are committed to support the protection of high conservation value forests."
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all sourcing regions
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all sourcing regions
            Yes
            1/1
            "We reject illegal logging of old growth forests. [...] We are committed to support the protection of high conservation value forests."
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all operations
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all operations
            Yes
            1/1
            "We reject illegal logging of old growth forests. [...] We are committed to support the protection of high conservation value forests."
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all direct suppliers
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all direct suppliers
            Yes
            1/1
            "We work with our suppliers to ensure that the paper we purchase comes from certified, well managed forests. We encourage and expect improvement and promote credible independent certification."
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all indirect suppliers
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all indirect suppliers
            Yes
            1/1
            "We work with our suppliers to ensure that the paper we purchase comes from certified, well managed forests. We encourage and expect improvement and promote credible independent certification."
            Open source document
          • Target date
            Current
            1.3/1.3
            Target date
            Current
            1.3/1.3
            "We reject illegal logging of old growth forests. [...] We are committed to support the protection of high conservation value forests."
            Open source document
          • Target is quantifiable
            No
            0/1.3
        • Commitment to reduce use of virgin wood fibre
          9/11
          • Commitment details
            Yes
            4/4
            Commitment to reduce use of virgin wood fibre
            Yes
            4/4
            Type of commitment: Recycled content
            "we are committed to continue to increase the proportion of credibly certified and post-consumer recycled fibre we use. Our target was that by the end of 2020, such fibres will be maintained at 75% of the total we use in our products and we will look to increase the proportion delivered under a chain-of-custody." This target was achieved in 2017. 
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all sourcing regions
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all sourcing regions
            Yes
            1/1
            "we are committed to continue to increase the proportion of credibly certified and post-consumer recycled fibre we use. Our target was that by the end of 2020, such fibres will be maintained at 75% of the total we use in our products and we will look to increase the proportion delivered under a chain-of-custody." This target was achieved in 2017. 
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all operations
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all operations
            Yes
            1/1
            "we are committed to continue to increase the proportion of credibly certified and post-consumer recycled fibre we use. Our target was that by the end of 2020, such fibres will be maintained at 75% of the total we use in our products and we will look to increase the proportion delivered under a chain-of-custody." This target was achieved in 2017. 
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all direct suppliers
            No
            0/1
            Commitment applies to all direct suppliers
            No
            0/1
            "we are committed to continue to increase the proportion of credibly certified and post-consumer recycled fibre we use. Our target was that by the end of 2020, such fibres will be maintained at 75% of the total we use in our products and we will look to increase the proportion delivered under a chain-of-custody." This target was achieved in 2017. 
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all indirect suppliers
            No
            0/1
            Commitment applies to all indirect suppliers
            No
            0/1
            "we are committed to continue to increase the proportion of credibly certified and post-consumer recycled fibre we use. Our target was that by the end of 2020, such fibres will be maintained at 75% of the total we use in our products and we will look to increase the proportion delivered under a chain-of-custody." This target was achieved in 2017. 
            Open source document
          • Target date
            Current
            1.3/1.3
            Target date
            Current
            1.3/1.3
            "we are committed to continue to increase the proportion of credibly certified and post-consumer recycled fibre we use. Our target was that by the end of 2020, such fibres will be maintained at 75% of the total we use in our products and we will look to increase the proportion delivered under a chain-of-custody." This target was achieved in 2017. 
            Open source document
          • Target is quantifiable
            Yes
            1.3/1.3
            Target is quantifiable
            Yes
            1.3/1.3
            "we are committed to continue to increase the proportion of credibly certified and post-consumer recycled fibre we use. Our target was that by the end of 2020, such fibres will be maintained at 75% of the total we use in our products and we will look to increase the proportion delivered under a chain-of-custody." This target was achieved in 2017.
            Open source document
        • Commitment to a traceable supply chain
          7/11
          • Commitment details
            downstream company, traces to Processing Facility, no compliance check
            2/4
            Commitment to a traceable supply chain
            downstream company, traces to Processing Facility, no compliance check
            2/4
            "We first established a comprehensive global database of the environmental characteristics of our paper supply chain over a decade ago. [...] Overall, this database held information on just under 90,000metric tonnes of paper for 2017 and covers all our businesses. It includes: supplier and paper name, quantity purchased, recycled content, both pre-consumer and post-consumer, certification methods used, mill name, species of wood, country of origin of wood"
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all sourcing regions
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all sourcing regions
            Yes
            1/1
            "We first established a comprehensive global database of the environmental characteristics of our paper supply chain over a decade ago. [...] Overall, this database held information on just under 90,000metric tonnes of paper for 2017 and covers all our businesses. It includes: supplier and paper name, quantity purchased, recycled content, both pre-consumer and post-consumer, certification methods used, mill name, species of wood, country of origin of wood"
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all operations
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all operations
            Yes
            1/1
            "We first established a comprehensive global database of the environmental characteristics of our paper supply chain over a decade ago. [...] Overall, this database held information on just under 90,000metric tonnes of paper for 2017 and covers all our businesses. It includes: supplier and paper name, quantity purchased, recycled content, both pre-consumer and post-consumer, certification methods used, mill name, species of wood, country of origin of wood"
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all direct suppliers
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all direct suppliers
            Yes
            1/1
            "We first established a comprehensive global database of the environmental characteristics of our paper supply chain over a decade ago. [...] Overall, this database held information on just under 90,000metric tonnes of paper for 2017 and covers all our businesses. It includes: supplier and paper name, quantity purchased, recycled content, both pre-consumer and post-consumer, certification methods used, mill name, species of wood, country of origin of wood"
            Open source document
          • Commitment applies to all indirect suppliers
            Yes
            1/1
            Commitment applies to all indirect suppliers
            Yes
            1/1
            "We first established a comprehensive global database of the environmental characteristics of our paper supply chain over a decade ago. [...] Overall, this database held information on just under 90,000metric tonnes of paper for 2017 and covers all our businesses. It includes: supplier and paper name, quantity purchased, recycled content, both pre-consumer and post-consumer, certification methods used, mill name, species of wood, country of origin of wood"
            Open source document
          • Target date
            Current
            1.3/1.3
            Target date
            Current
            1.3/1.3
            "We first established a comprehensive global database of the environmental characteristics of our paper supply chain over a decade ago. [...] Overall, this database held information on just under 90,000metric tonnes of paper for 2017 and covers all our businesses. It includes: supplier and paper name, quantity purchased, recycled content, both pre-consumer and post-consumer, certification methods used, mill name, species of wood, country of origin of wood"
            Open source document
          • Target is quantifiable
            No
            0/1.3
      • Reporting and Implementation
        11/34
        • Reporting against commitments
          4/6
          • Commitment to protect priority forests
            Yes
            2/2
            Commitment to protect priority forests
            Yes
            2/2
            "We also hold FSC chain of custody certification in North America through our outsource partner and in 2015, we became FSC certified in the UK." Reported to CDP 2017
          • Commitment to reduce use of virgin wood fibre
            Yes
            2/2
            Commitment to reduce use of virgin wood fibre
            Yes
            2/2
            This target was achieved in 2017.
            Open source document
          • Commitment to a traceable supply chain
            No
            0/2
        • Reporting is independently verified
          1/4
          • Commitment to protect priority forests
            Yes
            1.3/1.3
            Commitment to protect priority forests
            Yes
            1.3/1.3
            certification
            "We also hold FSC chain of custody certification in North America through our outsource partner and in 2015, we became FSC certified in the UK." Reported to CDP 2017
          • Commitment to reduce use of virgin wood fibre
            No
            0/1.3
          • Commitment to a traceable supply chain
            No
            0/1.3
        • Deforestation cut off date
          No
          0/2
        • Monitoring and verification of supplier compliance
          No monitoring
          0/4
        • Engagement with non-compliant suppliers
          Engage with suppliers but with no time-bound threat of exclusion
          2/4
          Engagement with non-compliant suppliers
          Engage with suppliers but with no time-bound threat of exclusion
          2/4
          "To continue to actively encourage all our paper suppliers but particularly those in the Asia to increase levels of certification and in particular to adopt the FSC standard."
          Open source document
        • Publishing supplier lists
          No disclosure
          0/4
        • Accessible grievance mechanism
          No
          0/4
        • Collaborative actions
          Yes
          2/2
          Collaborative actions
          Yes
          2/2
          Attending & contributing to meetings
          "Along with other members of the WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN) in the UK, we are committed to continue to increase the proportion of credibly certified and post-consumer recycled fibre we use."
          Open source document
        • Report volumes of commodity
          Partial
          2/4
          Report volumes of commodity
          Partial
          2/4
          103,758 Tonnes
          Pearson reported their total consumption of paper at 103,758 Tonnes in 2018. 
          Open source document
      • Social Considerations
        4/16
        • Commitment to ensure Free, Prior and Informed Consent
          No
          0/4
        • Labour rights in the supply chain
          Yes
          4/4
          Labour rights in the supply chain
          Yes
          4/4
          ILO; UN Declaration for HR; Discrimination; Forced Labour; Child Labour; Freedom of association
          Pearson have committed themselves and their suppliers to protect their workers' rights to have freedom of association, and to be free from discrimination, forced labour, and child labour.
          Open source document
        • Gender equality in the supply chain
          No commitment
          0/4
        • Inclusion of small-scale farmers
          No
          0/4
  • Commitment strength
    27/36
    Avg. score
  • Reporting and Implementation
    11/34
    Avg. score
  • Social considerations
    4/16
    Avg. score

Profile

Pearson Plc is a learning and media company based in London. The company operates in more than 65 countries and publishes material online and in book format. Pearson together with Bertelsmann owns Penguin Random House, which is the largest consumer publisher in the world. The large-scale publishing operations require vast amounts of pulp and paper.

Sector
Industry sector 
Printing & publishing
Segments
Retailer
HQ
HQ 
United Kingdom
Company Type
Company type 
Public listed
Collective Commitments
Consumer Goods Forum member
New York Declaration on Forests signatory

How we assess the Forest 500

To ensure deforestation free supply chains, companies need to adopt and implement timebound and measurable policies for forest risk commodities.

All assessments use policies published on company websites, some links may have changed or been removed since the time of assessment.

Full corporate sector performance data Forest 500 assessment methodology

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Disclaimer

This assessment has been carried out following the methodology developed for the Forest 500 project, available here. Please see our disclaimer applicable to all information contained within this site and our terms and conditions for use of data presented on this site.

All assessments use policies published on company and financial institution websites, and while we endeavor to keep them updated some links may have changed or been removed since the time of assessment.

Please contact us with any concerns or feedback about this or other assessments included in the Forest 500.