Our impact on society report 2012 What is responsible business?

Under the current responsible business framework at Pearson, we focus on the three areas where we believe we have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact – literacy, learning outcomes and competitiveness.

Under the current responsible business framework at Pearson, we focus on the three areas where we believe we have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact – literacy, learning outcomes and competitiveness.

In addition, we adopt a broad and holistic definition of ‘responsible business’ that captures a series of priorities that are common across many industries and individual companies.

Environment
  • Climate change
  • Responsible resource use
Supply chain
  • Responsible procurement
People
  • Workforce of the future
  • Diversity and inclusion
  • People development
  • Collaboration and engagement
  • Health, safety and well-being
Customers
  • Freedom of expression
  • Editorial independence and integrity
  • Appropriateness and accessibility of content
  • Product safety
Communities
  • Active citizenship

Some of these issues are central to our business success; others may be small based on our commercial operations but have the potential to significantly impact our reputation. As we operate in over 70 countries, the relative significance of issues and therefore our responsible business strategy can vary based on varying operational, political and regulatory environments as well as customer expectations.

A report on how we manage and govern responsible business along with issues such as tax and lobbying can be found in downloads.

To find out more about our world leading businesses and our financial performance, please visit our Annual Report.