Introduction
At the end of 2009, Sir David Bell retired as Pearson's director for people and also as the board director with oversight of corporate responsibility. In his 39 years at the company David did a huge amount to define what corporate responsibility means for Pearson and I am very pleased to take on the role and to try to continue David's work in this field. It has always struck me that the idea of being a responsible business – one that makes a positive contribution to society through effective learning, great books and powerful journalism – is in many ways the essence of Pearson.
It starts with being a values-based organisation (in our words, one that is 'brave, imaginative and decent'). It is not about what we say but about how we behave across our large, complex and diverse organisation. The kinds of businesses that we're in and the products that we make depend on our earning (and constantly re-earning) the trust of our readers, teachers and students for quality, accuracy and independence. We are proud of Pearson's long history as a responsible business, but we always feel that there is much more for us to do.
Pearson will continue to be that values-led company, placing enormous importance on the impact we have on the world through our products and services. We are as determined to enhance the learning experiences of our students (of all ages and walks of life) as we are to reduce our impact on the environment. Our goal remains simple: to be a socially responsible company that has a positive impact on society. We focus on our impact in four key areas:
Our strategy: Four key areas
- Product quality and impact
- Valuing our people
- Sustainable business practice
- Active citizenship
We report each year in conjunction with our annual financial results, so that our people and our other stakeholders can review our activity across the company and all over the world. You'll find a table of last year's targets and the new ones for 2010 at the end of this section and a fuller overview of our work over last year in our Always learning: Our impact on society 2009 report. Our corporate website will also be updated throughout the year if you'd like to read more about our work and projects in detail, and our Facebook page is regularly refreshed with examples of our CR and sustainability work from our businesses all over the world.
Please feel free to share any comments and suggestions with me at robin.freestone@pearson.com
Robin Freestone Chief financial officer
Board member responsible for corporate responsibility
Robin Freestone Chief financial officer