Community

2008 Objectives

  • 10% increase in group-wide volunteering

Through our Reed Elsevier Cares programme we concentrate on education – a common thread across the group – for disadvantaged young people. We saw a 66% rise in volunteering and donated £2.1 million in cash donations (including matching gift programmes) and the equivalent of £3.8 million in gifts of products, services and staff time in 2008. Our Two Days programme allows all employees up to two days off per year for their own community work.

Reed Elsevier Cares Champions engage colleagues in annual events including the RE Cares Challenge to reward business sponsored community engagement, and Reed Elsevier Cares Month, with hundreds of activities around the world. During the Month, we held our first-ever global fundraising drive, raising US$62,000 for Save the Children’s Rewrite the Future, which furthers education for children living in conflict affected countries; and our second global book drive yielded 18,208 books from employees for local and developing world readers. Good internal performance is recognised externally.

2009 Objective

  • Additional 10% increase in group-wide volunteering

Good internal performance is recognised externally.

2008 recognition:

  • Received Platinum rating in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index
  • Admitted to Dow Jones Sustainability Index and SAM Sustainability Yearbook, scoring in top 15% of companies
  • Member FTSE4Good
  • Finalist for VBDO Supply Chain Award
  • Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World
  • AAA rating from Innovest Strategic Value Advisors
  • A “best reporting company” in the Carbon Disclosure Project’s Climate Leaders Index