Pearson PLC

"Timber production and forestry has been identified by Pearson as a higher risk industry due to the potential for human rights abuses, including the use of forced, indentured and child labour. [...] The risk of slavery is associated with unsustainable and illegal forestry practices. As a cornerstone of their certification criteria, FSC and the PEFC require ethical treatment of workers in the forestry industry and compliance with fundamental ILO conventions, including the Forced Labour convention [...] In our annual report and on our website we report annually on our progress to meet our commitment to the UN Global Compact and other human rights standards including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s declarations on fundamental principles and rights at work, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights [...]. It also sets out our expectations for supply partners to oppose discriminatory, illegal or inhumane labour practices including slavery and human trafficking. [...] The Partner Code sets out our support for universal human rights (including equal employment, freedom of speech and of association."

"We require our suppliers to comply with environmental laws and regulations applicable in their countries of operation... We commit to ensure that our paper suppliers understand our interest in the development of commercially viable new grades of book paper that include recycled fibres... 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."

"We helped set up PREPS - Publishers for Responsible Environmental Paper Sourcing. This group was set up to extend the approach used by Pearson and others on mapping the environmental characteristics of the paper purchased by opening this to other industry members. Through working with our industry peers we have helped establish an industry reporting standard helping improve data quality.Pearson has adopted the PREPS approach and grading system as our global standard and we use it to assess the papers we purchase. A description of the grades is attached as Appendix 1."

"All Pearson Business Partners must operate in fullcompliance with the laws, rules, and regulationsof the jurisdictions in which they operate andwhere they provide goods or services to Pearson.Where this Code sets higher standards than thelaw, Business Partners are expected to adhere tothe standards of this Code [...] Pearson reserves the right to review or audit Business Partners’ compliance with this Code and the organization’s system of ethics and compliance controls and management oversight."

"Business Partners should promptly report violations of this Code or any unethical behavior by a Pearson employee to a Pearson manager. If this is not feasible, Business Partners may confidentially report concerns by contacting the PearsonCompliance Office at compliance@pearson.comor by using PearsonEthics.com, an independent resource that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."

Pearson report in their 2019 Sustainability & ESG Report on paper used (MT) - 2017: 95,552, 2018: 103,758, 2019: 100,000. 

"In 2019, we purchased over 100,000 tonnes of paper globally. To help to reduce our impact, we have retained Chain of Custody accreditation from the FSC in the UK, which enables Pearson products to carry the FSC logo. Of the more than 12,000 tonnes of paper we purchased in the UK, 86% was certified to an environmental standard, such as FSC or PEFC."

"The board Audit committee monitors implementation of the Business Partners Code and Pearson Legal oversees third party adherence to our Business Partner Code."

"A senior executive at Pearson has responsibility for ensuring that our environmental guidelines are followed by our businesses. We review the policies and performance of our suppliers against these standards and encourage improvement wherever possible."

 "For many of our grades of paper, FSC paper is currently unavailable or uneconomic to use. We continue to encourage our paper suppliers to increase overall levels of certification and in particular to adopt the FSC standard."; "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."