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Powerbroker for

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  • Overall approach
    4/10
    • Overarching commitment on deforestation
      0/4
    • Signatory to an initiative tackling deforestation
      1/1
      Signatory
      Yes
      1/1
      Which initiatives?: UN Global Compact
      "RELX Group has been a signatory to the UN Global Compact since 2004 and its SDG Resource Centre will play an important role in the dissemination of business-driven knowledge, tools & resources, and expertise to advance the SDGs."
    • Awareness of the value of forests
      1/1
      Awareness
      Yes
      1/1
      "We work with our suppliers to purchase paper from well managed forests and known and legal sources. We support credible independent certification and we reject illegal logging of old growth forests and the use of any species on the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora) list or the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) red list. To this end, we became a founding member of the Publishers Database for Responsible Environmental Paper Sourcing (PREPS), a sectoral approach to paper sustainability. "
    • Deforestation as a business risk
      1/1
      Business risk
      Yes
      1/1
      What proportion of revenue that comes from relevant industries is exposed to each forest risk commodity?: Unknown

      What revenue comes from industries relevant to each forest risk commodity?: Unknown

      What poportion of a company’s annual revenue depends on each forest risk commodity?: Unknown

      What type of risk is recognised?: Financial; Reputational
      "Deforestation or sustainable sourcing is covered within their Global Environmental Policy and in conjunction their Sustainable Paper Policy - "The Global Environmental Policy indicates that we must consider, among other risks, those that require legislative compliance, have significant cost implications for the business and/or which may affect our reputation." [...] "The company is committed to the protection of the environment, through the: responsible, efficient and sustainable use of natural resources such as paper"
    • High-level management of deforestion
      1/1
      High-level management
      Yes
      1/1
      How often does the committee or board meet to assess company's progress on addressing deforestation-related issues?: Annually

      Which commodities does it apply to?: Pulp & paper
      "Our Environmental Champions network, together with colleagues throughout the business, as well as external stakeholders such as NGOs and investors, help us monitor and rank our environmental risks and opportunities. They are reviewed by the Environmental Checkpoint Committee, chaired by the CFO, during the year." [...] "This policy sets out the approach taken by the company and its divisions .... It was developed by our Global Procurement and Corporate Responsibility teams to support our Environmental Management System and the broader voluntary commitments we have signed up to as a company, including the United Nations Global Compact. ... This policy will be reviewed on an annual basis."
    • Executive compensation linked to deforestation
      Executive compensation
      No
      0/0
      Does it disclose the percentage of pay at risk?: No
    • Target to reduce emissions from land-use change
      0/1
    • Reporting on emissions from land-use change
      0/1
    • Disclosure of conservation activity
    • Disclosure of reforestation activity
    • Target to reduce emissions in scope 1/2
      Reduce emissions
      Yes
      0/0
      Is this target aligned with/verified by SBTi?: Yes

      What is the target date for the company to achieve their climate target?: 2025. 2040

      Type of climate target: Net-zero emissions
      "In 2021, we launched our new environment targets which include a target, set using the science-based target methodology, to reduce emissions by 46% in 2025 against a 2015 baseline. We also signed The Climate Pledge which commits RELX to achieving net zero emissions across our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2040 atthe latest."
  • Commodity score
    22/90
    • Pulp & Paper
      22/90
      • Commitment Strength
        5/17
        • Commodity-specific deforestation commitment
          3/4
          • Commitment applies to all regions, suppliers and operation
            Yes
            2/2
            Commitment applies to all regions, suppliers and operation
            Yes
            2/2
            RELX and its businesses are committed to: [...] Increasing the amount of certified paper and recycled content in our paper" ; (Applies to all) "We work with our suppliers to purchase paper from well managed forests and known and legal sources. We support credible independent certification and we reject illegal logging of old growth forests and the use of any species on the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora) list or the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) red list [...]
          • Target date
            2025
            0.8/1
            Target date
            2025
            0.8/1
            What actions or steps are identified for time-bound implementation?: NA
            "100% of RELX production papers to be graded in PREPS as ‘known and responsible sources’, or certified to FSC or PEFC by 2025"
          • Interim target date
            No
            0/0.5
            Interim target date
            No
            0/0.5
            What date is given for the interim milestone?: NA
            NA
        • Commitment to a traceable supply chain
          0/7.5
          • Commitment details
            No traceability commitment
            0/4
          • Commitment applies to all regions, suppliers and operation
            No
            0/2
          • Target date
            Post 2050 or no target date
            0/1
          • Interim target date
            No
            0/0.5
      • Associated Human Rights Abuses
        4/17
        • Labour rights in the supply chain
          Yes
          3/3
          Labour rights in the supply chain
          Yes
          3/3
          Details of commitment: ILO; Discrimination; Forced labour; Child labour; Freedom of association

          How far back in the supply chain does this commitment apply?: Unknown

          Other workers' rights commitments: Only work legal working hours
          "We expect all of our suppliers, manufacturers, service providers, and business partners along with their subsidiaries, affiliates, sub-contractors, and recruitment agencies (jointly “Suppliers”), to make these same commitments based on the 10 Principles of the United Nations Global Compact and in alignment with the Declaration on Human Rights and ILO standards. At a minimum, we require that all RELX Suppliers meet the following standards:..."
        • Inclusion of small-scale farmers
          No
          0/2
        • Gender equality in the supply chain
          Commitment to address gender related labour rights including discrimination and harassment
          1/2
          Gender equality in the supply chain
          Commitment to address gender related labour rights including discrimination and harassment
          0.5/2
          "Suppliers will not discriminate in hiring or employment practices, terms or conditions, including compensation, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, and will not discriminate in sourcing, on the basis of race, religion, age, nationality, social or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, political opinion, disability, or any other category protected by law"
        • Commitment to remediation
          Yes
          1/1
          Commitment to remediation
          Yes
          0.5/1
          What does the commitment cover?: Social harm; Environmental harm
          "Independent external audits of high risk suppliers, as determined by SRS programme criteria, such as those operating in areas where human rights, labour, environmental, corruption or other abuses have been known to occur, are performed on a regular basis. Results are communicated to suppliers along with any remediation required; remediation target dates are agreed and follow-up audits are performed to ensure issues identified have been resolved."
        • Commitment to test Free, Prior and Informed Consent
          No
          0/3
        • Commitment to respect customary rights to land, resources, and territory
          No
          0/3
        • Zero-tolerance approach to violence and threats
          No
          0/3
      • Implementation and Reporting
        13/56
        • Reporting proportion of compliant volumes
          0/0
        • Reporting is independently verified
          No
          2/2
          Reporting is independently verified
          No
          2/2
          Is the performance of compliance of some suppliers, sources, or origins not verified, and if so why not?: NA

          For what percent of the company's supply volume is third-party verification of performance relative to commitments conducted?: NA

          What methods are used for verification?: FSC and PEFC

          Which tools, approaches, third-party verification, including certification, schemes are used?: FSC and PEFC

          Which processes or groups does the company use for third party verification?: FSC and PEFC

          What percent of the company's supply volume is verified using company verification systems?: NA
        • Suppliers aligned with deforestation commitments across supply chain
          No
          0/3
        • Deforestation cut off date
          No
          0/2
        • Collaborative actions
          No
          0/2
        • Jurisdictional approach focused on sustainable land use
          No
          0/2
        • Risk assessments for forest risk
          No
          0/2
        • Operations assessed to comply with law
          Yes
          2/2
          Operations assessed to comply with law
          Yes
          2/2
          "RELX Group and its businesses are committed to: Comply with relevant legislation"[...]"We engage a specialist supply chain auditor who undertook 93 external audits on our behalf in 2019. Incidence of noncompliance triggers continuous improvement reports summarising auditresults, with remediation plans and submission dates agreedand signed by both the auditor and the supplier. Areas coveredin the audit include: [...] legal compliance" [...] "We work with our suppliers to purchase paper from well managed forests and known and legal sources. We support credible independent certification and we reject illegal logging of old growth forests and the use of any species on the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora) list or the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) red list. "
        • Accessible grievance mechanism
          No
          0/4
        • Report volumes of commodity sourced/used
          Reporting total volume
          3/3
          Report volumes of commodity sourced/used
          Reporting total volume
          3/3
          What product types/sectors is this in?: Paper and Packaging

          What is the non-DCF commodity volume sourced from known production areas, and proportion of total supply chain volume this represents?: Unknown

          Reporting non-certified/non-compliant volume: 818.2 Metric Tonnes

          Total volume: 40910 Metric Tonnes

          Reporting certified/compliant volume: 40091.8 Metric Tonnes
          Reports volumes 2017-2021 in their 2021 CSR report. In 2021 the volumes were as follows: "Production paper (t): 40,910. Sustainable content (%): 98.
        • Monitor compliance for labour rights and FPIC
          No
          0/5
          Monitor compliance for labour rights and FPIC
          No
          0/5
          What is the status of those FPIC processes?: NA
        • Monitor compliance for zero tolerance approach and customary rights
          No
          0/5
        • Downstream: Reporting suppliers
          No
          0/4
        • Downstream: Monitor compliance in supply chain
          Yes, for its suppliers
          2/4
          Downstream: Monitor compliance in supply chain
          Yes, for its suppliers
          2/4
          How is compliance monitored?: Internal monitoring and verification systems

          For what percentage of suppliers does the company use/rely on external mechanisms to monitor compliance?: NA

          For what percent of suppliers does the company directly monitor compliance of production or processing operations?: NA

          For what percentage of the commodity sourced by the company is deforestation/conversion monitored at the farm level on production units known to be in the company's supply chain?: NA

          How frequently is compliance assessed?: Annually

          What percentage of the company's supply chain volume does that represent?: NA
          "Through our SRS database, we track suppliers[...] located in medium- and high-risk locations, as designated by a tool we developed with Carnstone. The tool incorporates 11 indicators[...] The tracking list changes year-on-year based on the suppliers we engage to meet the needs of our business. In 2021, there were 359 suppliers on the SRS tracking list, of which 44 are operating in high-risk locations and 50 in medium-risk locations. At year end, 96% of suppliers on the tracking list were signatories to our Supplier Code. We continue to work with non-signatories to gain agreement to our Code, and/or assess whether they have equivalent standards in place, in order to ultimately decide whether to continue doing business with them. "
        • Downstream: Reporting hectares of deforestation
          No
          0/4
        • Downstream: Engagement with non-compliant suppliers
          Engage with suppliers but with no time-bound threat of exclusion
          1/2
          Downstream: Engagement with non-compliant suppliers
          Engage with suppliers but with no time-bound threat of exclusion
          1/2
          Does the company work with the non-compliant supplier to develop an implementation plan to remedy associated harms or non-compliance?: Yes

          Does the company engage non-compliant indirect suppliers in order to address and remedy non-compliance?: Yes

          Does the company commit to engage with rightsholders, Indigenous peoples and local communities when developing the implementation plan?: No

          What type of support does the company offer to its suppliers to help them achieve compliance with commitments?: NA

          What criteria does the policy specify for blacklisting or exclusion?: Non-compliance with supplier code of conduct
          "Incidence of non-compliance triggers continuous improvement reports summarising audit results, with agreed remediation plans and submission dates."[...]"The Supplier Code states, “Failure to comply with any RELX term, condition, requirement, policy or procedure…may result in the cancellation of all existing orders and termination of the business relationship between RELX and supplier."
        • Downstream: Disclosure of non-compliant suppliers
          Yes, engaged
          1/2
          Downstream: Disclosure of non-compliant suppliers
          Yes, engaged
          1/2
          How many noncompliant producers or suppliers are engaged through improvement plans or other processes, and what percentage of the company's supply chain volume does that represent?: 14

          Does the company have a list of blacklisted or otherwise excluded suppliers or producers?: No
          "n 2021, there were 359 suppliers on the SRS tracking list, of which 44 are operating in high-risk locations and 50 in medium-risk locations. At year end, 96% of suppliers on the tracking list were signatories to our Supplier Code. We continue to work with non-signatories to gain agreement to our Code, and/or assess whether they have equivalent standards in place, in order to ultimately decide whether to continue doing business with them. We have embedded the Supplier Code into our sourcing processes and have a total of 3,670 suppliers who agreed to the Supplier Code in 2021, up from 3,457 in 2020."
  • Commitment strength
    5/17
    Avg. score
  • Implementation and Reporting
    13/56
    Avg. score
  • Associated Human Rights Abuses
    4/17
    Avg. score

Profile

RELX Group, headquartered in the UK, prints publications for a range of industries worldwide. The large-scale printing operations require a vast amount of pulp and paper. RELX Group is selected as a powerbroker for pulp & paper.

Sector
Industry sector 
Paper Packaging
Segments
Manufacturer, Retailer
HQ
HQ 
United Kingdom
Company Type
Company type 
CO
Collective Commitments
Consumer Goods Forum member
New York Declaration on Forests signatory

Top Brands

Elsevier, LexisNexis, Reed Exhibitions, Academic Press

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.

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.