Commitment to the UN Global Compact

The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) links businesses around the world with UN agencies, labour, and civil society in support of ten principles encompassing human rights, labour, the environment, and anti-corruption. Since becoming a signatory, we continually work to further UNGC principles within Reed Elsevier and beyond.

We are a member of the UNGC UK Network Advisory Group, Sustainable Supply Chain Advisory Group, and CEO Water Mandate Steering Group. In the year, we contributed a best practice case study to a European local networks guide and held webinars on the UNGC for our suppliers and for members of the UK network. On behalf of the CEO Water Mandate, we served on the board of the Alliance for Water Stewardship and participated in the German government consultation on the Bonn 2011 Conference: The Water Energy and Food Security Nexus – Solutions for the Green Economy. We hosted a meeting of the Sustainable Supply Chain Advisory Group and helped develop a Practical Guide for Continuous Improvement. LexisNexis Legal & Professional continued support for the international Bar Association/United Nations Global Compact ‘Lawyers as Leaders’ video series to increase awareness of legal issues associated with CR. The four-part programme discusses the role of legal counsels in providing insight and support for UNGC principles. The 2011 anti-corruption module included an interview with Reed Elsevier’s US General Counsel, Kenneth R. Thompson, II, who also serves as Co-chair of the International Bar Association’s Corporate Social Responsibility Committee. See our Communication on Progress for how we advance the ten principles.

We worked with Ernst & Young on assurance of our 2011 environmental and health and safety data. Their conclusions are in Appendix 2, with observations from their assurance activities in the Health and Safety and Environment sections of this report.