Annual 
Sustainability 
Report 
2018

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
1
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
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partner
Governance
Appendix
About Pearson
We are the world’s learning company with more 
than 24,000 employees operating in 70 countries, 
with a focus on those below. We report by 
geography because this is how we run  
the company.
We provide content, assessment, and digital 
services to schools, colleges, and universities,  
as well as professional and vocational education 
to learners to help increase their skills and 
employability prospects. Increasingly, we do  
this through partnership models where we  
bring investment, expertise, and scale to help 
deliver better learning outcomes.
 North America £2,784m
 Core markets £806m
 Growth markets £539m
Sales by geography

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
2
Introduction
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We believe that  
quality education 
is the key to  
shaping a better  
tomorrow.
By enabling better learning and helping to remove 
barriers to a quality education, we empower  
learners to build a better life for themselves  
and those around them.
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Introduction
1	
Introduction from our Chief Executive 
3 
Welcome from our Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
4 
Our 2018 impact 
5 
2020 Sustainability Plan Pillar 1: Reach more learners
7
Improve access to and affordability of products and services
8 	
Collaborate to reach underserved learners 
17 
2020 Sustainability Plan Pillar 2: Shape the future of learning
20	
Build skills that foster employability and inclusive economic growth
21 	
Promote education for sustainable development 
26 
	Engage in multi-stakeholder research, dialogue, and collective action  
to solve global challenges 
30 
2020 Sustainability Plan Pillar 3: Be a trusted partner
32	
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities
33 
Protect our natural environment 
46 
Build a sustainable supply chain 
49 
Governance
53 
Appendix
57 
About this report 
57 
Key stakeholders
58 	
Material issues 
60 
 
In this report
“Our 2020 Sustainability Plan guides us to create 
value for both our business and our world. We have 
made good progress this year to improve access to 
education, strengthen our human rights program, 
and reduce our environmental footprint.”
Linda Lorimer, Chair of the Reputation  
& Responsibility Committee of the Board

2018 was a year of progress for Pearson. We have a lot 
still to do, but are increasingly well placed to guide our 
customers through a lifetime of learning and help our 
partners shape the future of education. To achieve 
 our vision of having a direct relationship with millions 
of learners and to link education to the way people 
aspire to live and work every day, we are focused on 
three priorities: growing market share through our 
digital transformation; investing in growing market 
opportunities; and becoming a simpler, more efficient, 
and sustainable company.
In this report, we demonstrate how these priorities 
and our 2020 Sustainability Plan support each other  
to achieve economic, social, and environmental 
impact, creating value for shareholders while 
simultaneously having a positive impact on society. 
Whether it’s offering qualifications that help people 
get better jobs or providing products and services  
for learners who are struggling, our Sustainability 
Plan drives us to improve quality access to  
education, innovate in new ways, and reduce  
our environmental footprint.
Sustainability is important to our company and to  
our stakeholders. Learners and educators expect our 
business to help improve access through our products 
and services. Our employees seek purpose in their 
jobs, and working toward sustainability objectives  
can help them find it. Our investors are increasingly 
interested in environmental, social, and governance 
(ESG) data. Many of our customers, business partners, 
and suppliers share our commitment to responsible 
business and want to understand our practices.
As we look toward the future, social and 
environmental issues will be increasingly important. 
We need to consider these factors in everything we  
do – in line with our commitment to the United 
Nations Sustainable Development Goals and  
UN Global Compact principles on human rights,  
labor, the environment, and anti-corruption.
By becoming a more sustainable company,  
I’m confident that we will be able to have a positive 
impact on learners and our world – and continue  
to deliver value for many years to come.
John Fallon 
Chief Executive 
Delivering  
value through 
sustainability
Introduction from our  
Chief Executive
Economic
 Revenue and earnings
 Jobs and income
 Investor returns
 Inclusive economic growth
Social
 High-quality education
 Accessible and  
affordable learning
 Employability and  
21st century skills
 Good labor practices and 
working conditions
 Diversity and equality
 Social inclusion and peace
Environmental
 Global greenhouse gas 
emissions reductions
 Forest conservation
 Sustainable production  
and consumption
Impacts
2020 Sustainability Plan
Business priorities
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
3
Introduction
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Appendix

When I joined Pearson in January, I was delighted to 
become part of a company that has social impact at the 
heart of its mission. I have enjoyed learning about how 
our sustainability work is making an impact on the 
people who need education the most. From our 
innovations to reach underserved groups and our 
qualifications preparing learners for jobs, we are  
working hard to help change lives.
Our 2020 Sustainability Plan drives our commitment to 
integrating social and environmental issues into every 
aspect of our business and advance the UN Sustainable 
Development Goals. I’m proud of our progress toward  
its objectives this year.
We published our first human rights statement and 
took action to address gaps and opportunities 
identified through our human rights review. We also 
conducted research on supporting underserved 
learners and advancing education about sustainability, 
which will shape our work from 2019 and beyond.
In the social innovation space, the Tomorrow’s  
Markets Incubator identified a second cohort of 
employees to develop new ventures that support 
low-income learners. Our Every Child Learning 
partnership with Save the Children has expanded  
and is now advancing education for Syrian refugees 
and Jordanian children in 19 schools.
We strengthened our reporting in line with the Global 
Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and were included 
in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, FTSE4Good, 
Bloomberg Gender Equality Index, and the Workforce 
Disclosure Initiative in 2018.
We know there is more to do, and I look forward to 
working with colleagues across Pearson to help our 
business have an even greater impact on society.
Deirdre Latour 
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Putting our 
sustainability  
plan in action
Welcome from  
our Chief Corporate  
Affairs Officer
2020 Sustainability Plan
Reach more  
learners
1
 Improve access to and 
affordability of products  
and services
 Collaborate to reach  
underserved learners
Shape the future  
of learning
2
 Build skills that foster 
employability and inclusive 
economic growth
 Promote education for  
sustainable development
 Engage in multi-stakeholder  
research, dialogue, and 
collective action to solve  
global challenges
Be a trusted  
partner
3
 Respect and support  
our people, customers,  
and communities
 Protect our natural 
environment
 Build a sustainable  
supply chain
UN Sustainable 
Development Goals
SDG 4:  
Quality education
SDG 8:  
Decent work and 
economic growth
SDG 10:  
Reduce 
inequalities
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
4
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
5
Introduction
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learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Our impact on education
225+
m
3.8
1,800+
institutions, including community colleges, 
use the GED College Ready score level  
to help students progress to the next  
level of their education sometimes  
without placement tests or  
developmental courses
Nearly 700 two- and four-year colleges 
and universities with 3.8m course 
enrollments have access to more 
affordable materials through our 
Inclusive Access model
BTEC qualifications 
awarded to young women 
in Ghana, Malawi, 
Tanzania, and Zimbabwe 
as part of our partnership 
with CAMFED
100+
ideas received &  
9 teams selected 
to develop new 
business models  
that support 
underserved learners 
through Tomorrow’s 
Markets Incubator
31%
of BTEC qualifications 
include content about 
sustainability
28,000
new users downloaded 
our Space Hero math 
app, designed in 
collaboration with 
refugee children as  
part of our Every Child 
Learning partnership
p11
p17
p27
p23
p9
p16

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
6
Introduction
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learners
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of learning
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partner
Governance
Appendix
Our impact as a  
responsible business
Selected awards  
& recognition
Corporate Knights  
Global 100 Most 
Sustainable Corporations  
in the World
1
£5.7m
5,000
st
human rights statement
social contributions
57%
of employees 
participated in  
the Organizational 
Health Survey
-56%
reduction in energy 
consumption from our 
2009 baseline, through 
both the rationalization 
of our portfolio and 
energy efficiency
employees trained on our editorial policy  
for inclusive and appropriate content
Since we began publishing 
reports to demonstrate the 
efficacy of our products,  
we have released reports  
on products that  
impact the lives of
 18.5m 
learners
for our tax reporting
p33
p45
p36
p46
p36
p38

Reach more 
learners
Everyone deserves to be their best self.  
We work to identify and remove barriers to 
education for those most in need, both through 
our core business and our partnerships,  
to enable learners to reach their full potential. 
Our efforts are making an impact toward 
reaching UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 on 
quality education and 10 on reducing inequality.
Our commitments:
Improve access to and affordability  
of products and services
p8
p17
Collaborate to reach  
underserved learners
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
7
Introduction
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learners
Shape the future  
of learning
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partner
Governance
Appendix

In 2018, we continued to advance our 
commitment to improve access and affordability 
for underserved groups through our products 
and services. Some of these underserved groups 
include low-income learners, rural learners,  
first-generation college students, students  
who do not speak the dominant language,  
people with disabilities, underrepresented 
minorities, and adult learners and others  
facing personal constraints, such as the  
need to balance education with work and family 
responsibilities. Supporting these groups is  
central to advancing SDG 4 on education and  
SDG 10 on reducing inequality.
Research on underserved groups 
US classrooms have changed markedly in the last 
decade, with underserved learners comprising a large 
and growing base of today’s students. These students 
often come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In 2018, we did extensive research in the US, one of  
our largest markets, to understand the needs of this 
diverse group of students: challenges and barriers to 
learning; attitudes and behaviors toward education; 
and learning methods and technologies that are most 
likely to ensure their success. We explored how needs 
differed between recent high school graduates and 
those looking to continue their education as adults.  
Among other insights, we found that underserved 
learners could benefit from more use of flexible, 
guided, and personalized learning formats.  
Building this knowledge allows us to better  
support underserved learners throughout their 
lifelong learning journey. 
In 2019, we will deepen our understanding of these 
learners through continued research on the lifelong 
learner, engaging the broader ecosystem of educators, 
employers, and policymakers with this work.
Improve  
access to and 
affordability  
of products  
and services
60%
of community college campuses use 
Pearson products
Based on an estimation model developed  
by SRI using 2016 data.
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
8
Introduction
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of learning
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Appendix
In this section:
Research on underserved groups
8 
College readiness products 
9 
Inclusive Access
9 
GED
11 
Online Program Management
11 
AcceleratED Pathways
11  
Connections Academy
12 
Accessibility for people with disabilities
14 
Tomorrow’s Markets Incubator
16 
Pearson Affordable Learning Fund
16 
Pearson Ventures
16

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
9
Introduction
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Appendix
College readiness products 
Preparing learners for success in higher education
Many students and underserved learners arrive each 
term without the essential math or English skills they 
need to succeed in college-level courses. Programs 
are undergoing considerable change as educators 
explore innovative ways to increase student success 
and retention. Institutions are looking for ways to 
redesign the learning experience – particularly in 
developmental, foundational, and gateway courses.  
We partner with faculty from a variety of institutions  
to develop products and solutions that support 
course redesign, promote active learning, and 
enhance classroom experiences. We are working with 
schools across the country to deliver accelerated 
learning and remediation on core skills, like math and 
English, that play a key role in student success.
Our developmental products are designed to support 
students who have not yet achieved the levels of math 
and writing proficiency needed to take full-credit 
university courses. 
To help students refresh and strengthen their skills,  
we have a suite of developmental math and 
developmental English products that include both 
digital and print content. We also offer MyLab 
Foundational Skills, which is often used outside of 
regular courses, such as in bootcamps before school 
starts, to help students avoid taking remedial courses.
Our website includes a results library with 
implementation case studies from partner 
institutions and educators who have used  
Pearson products to improve college readiness  
and student success. 
See our results library at:  
www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com/northamerica/
educators/results/results-library.php
Inclusive Access
Making learning more affordable
Pearson Inclusive Access provides students with 
access to affordable, high-quality digital course 
materials and tools on the first day of class, better 
preparing them for each term and saving them up  
to 70% over new print materials. 
With access to course materials such as eBooks,  
MyLab & Mastering, and Revel from the first day of 
class, students have more time to prepare, keep up 
with their assignments, and achieve their academic 
goals. Educators also gain valuable insights into 
learning activity through access to data that enables 
them to track and assess student progress.
In 2018, more than 100 schools began using the 
Inclusive Access program. Now nearly 700 two- and 
four-year colleges and universities with 3.8m course 
enrollments have adopted Inclusive Access, reaching 
more than 1.4m students. Inclusive Access is helping 
these institutions to provide timely access to course 
materials and drive down the overall cost of a college 
degree. Impact studies with our Inclusive Access 
partners document measurable increases in student 
outcomes because they have fast access to course 
materials and can start their studies right away.  
As just one example, at Copiah-Lincoln Community 
College in Mississippi, a comparative analysis of 
traditional textbook package prices and Inclusive 
Access costs indicates that students save an average 
of 68% off traditional prices when using Inclusive 
Access course materials. 
Learn more about Inclusive Access at Copiah-Lincoln 
Community College:  
www.pearsoned.com/results/inclusive-access-copiah-
lincoln-community-college/
Improve access to and affordability of products and services

“Research shows that if you close equity gaps, 
everyone in the entire ecosystem benefits.” 
Lauren Gill, Solutions Portfolio Manager,  
North America Higher Education Services
Smarthinking is a 24/7 online tutoring service that 
provides on-demand, personalized expertise and 
support to suit every learner’s needs, especially 
underserved and first-generation learners.  
Accessible to students whenever and wherever 
learning moments occur, Smarthinking helps to 
provide ‘wraparound’ education support and fosters 
learning beyond the classroom. It provides tools and 
resources to those who might not be familiar with 
how to navigate the traditional higher education 
system or who might be reluctant to ask for help, 
ensuring high-quality education is available and 
accessible to all.
“Research shows that if you close equity gaps, 
everyone in the entire ecosystem benefits,” said 
Lauren Gill. A recent study conducted at Morgan  
State University looked at the impact of Smarthinking 
on academic performance. The study found that 
writing skills, confidence, and work quality improved  
as a result of student interaction with Smarthinking 
tutors. By helping to build learning behaviors, 
Smarthinking is building a stronger foundation for 
students’ journey of lifelong learning.
Smarthinking is a 24/7 online 
tutoring service that provides  
on-demand, personalized  
expertise and support to  
suit every learner’s needs. 
On-demand 
personalized 
expertise and 
support
Case study:
Improve access to and affordability of products and services
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
10
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
11
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
GED
Supporting high school equivalency and  
career readiness 
With the computer-based GED, adult learners can 
prepare for college, career training programs, or 
better-paying jobs. The test measures critical-thinking 
and problem-solving skills, and it is the only high 
school equivalency test fully aligned to state and 
national college- and career-readiness standards. 
225+
institutions, including community colleges,  
use the GED College Ready score level to help 
students progress to the next level of their 
education sometimes without placement  
tests or developmental courses
The enhanced GED test program offers a variety  
of online study tools and guides, opportunities to 
explore college and career options, and convenient, 
flexible online registration and scoring.
The GED test has two college-related performance 
levels, GED College Ready and GED College Ready + 
Credit, backed by the American Council on Education’s 
College Credit Recommendation Service. By meeting 
certain score thresholds, students may be eligible 
to bypass a placement test and developmental 
education courses, and in some cases be eligible  
for credit hours. 
These programs save GED graduates time and money 
as they move more quickly into and through college 
programs. Nationally, GED graduates who score at  
the College Ready levels or higher are equivalent to 
the top 27% of graduating high school seniors. GED 
graduates are significantly more likely to be prepared 
for, enroll in, and persist in college and career training 
programs according to data since 2014.
In 2018, we launched a new professional development 
track to address the specific needs of educators 
teaching and administering the GED test in 
correctional facilities. This is a focus area where 
we see the positive impact that education and 
workforce training has in reducing recidivism. Next 
year, we will continue to design study tools and 
instructional resources for this student population.
The GEDWorks program grew throughout 2018 as  
new employers began offering free GED preparation, 
advising, and testing to employees. Research has 
shown that GEDWorks students are 38.5% more likely 
to earn their diplomas than those studying and paying 
on their own. The program was created specifically for 
working adults, and we expect more employers to offer 
it in place of classic tuition reimbursement models. 
Online Program Management
Delivering courses and degree programs
We help institutions expand their educational reach 
through effective Online Program Management 
solutions. By delivering online degree programs or 
extending the reach of existing online programs, 
students have the opportunity to excel at school and  
at work. We currently support more than 40 academic 
partners and run nearly 350 global programs with 
400,000+ course registrations in 2018. 
350
global programs run through our Online  
Program Management service
AcceleratED Pathways 
Continuing education for working adults
Many working adults lack access to affordable, 
meaningful pathways to learn new skills or take  
their careers to the next level. This can be especially 
true for staff whose roles interact with customers,  
like retail sales or restaurant waitstaff, as well as 
those working behind the scenes, like in cleaning  
or food preparation. 
AcceleratED Pathways partners with employers to  
help them offer workers the opportunity to obtain 
foundational education skills (including reading, 
writing, and English), study for the GED, or pursue 
online degrees and certificates. We deliver these 
programs to employees, consistent with their 
companies’ mission, financial requirements,  
and corporate goals.
Improve access to and affordability of products and services
These students were recognized as 2018 GED Graduates of  
the Year for displaying exceptional dedication and scholarship 
during the preparation and testing process.

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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The program addresses many of the unique 
challenges that adult learners face. Education 
programs are delivered online and optimized for 
mobile devices, so employees can learn anytime  
and anywhere. A mix of funding sources, including 
employer contributions, grants, and school  
discounts, can reduce or remove the cost barrier  
for participation. 
An important element of the program is that learners 
have access to bilingual coaches, enrollment advisers, 
and tutors, who help them develop a personalized 
learning plan that meets their needs. In addition,  
prior work experience, course credits, and other 
credentials can be applied toward degrees, 
shortening the path to educational attainment. 
The AcceleratED Pathways team works with 
employers to redesign a traditional tuition 
reimbursement plan into a strategic education benefit 
that can alleviate the cost and access burden for an 
employee, driving participation and persistence,  
while improving employee engagement and morale. 
We are implementing programs with Starbucks, 
Brinker International, and the American Hotel & 
Lodging Association (AHLA) and ten participating  
hotel brands. In the past 12 months, our program  
with Brinker International received interest from  
team members in 41 states. In 2018, 359 team 
members were actively enrolled and participating  
in Best You EDU™, including 43 graduates from the  
GED and foundational education programs. Along 
with their peers, several went on to apply to college 
and started their first semester. Hundreds more are 
in the college application and enrollment process,  
or are working towards their GED and foundational 
education credentials.
Connections Academy
Providing solutions through virtual schools 
Connections Academy schools are tuition-free,  
fully accredited, US-based online public schools  
for students in grades K–12. The program offers an 
inclusive, collaborative learning experience that  
meets the unique needs of learners with a wide  
variety of backgrounds and abilities. 
An alternative to brick-and-mortar public schools, 
Connections Academy provides a valuable option  
for students who are not finding success in the 
traditional classroom, or who require additional 
flexibility or support. Students with serious health 
issues, who have been bullied, or are struggling or 
excelling academically can benefit from attending  
an online school. Our research has found that 
Connections Academy students perform just as  
well in math and reading on state tests as students  
at traditional schools, and that Connections Academy 
students statistically outperform students at  
other virtual schools in reading proficiency on  
state assessments. 
51%
of Connections Academy middle/high  
schoolers say that a benefit of online  
school is a safe environment
Source: 2018 student satisfaction survey that reflects 
the average of all Connections Academy schools.
“We already work for a company that has the  
drive to make our lives better. To see that they  
are taking additional steps to help us achieve a 
more purposeful life is amazing.”
Katie McGee, Assistant Manager at Chili’s
Improve access to and affordability of products and services

A seventh-grade student with congestive heart failure 
often missed school and regular peer interaction due 
to constant visits to the doctor. Attending California 
Connections Academy for the last two years of her  
life allowed her to continue her education online and 
restore a sense of normalcy during a time of great 
personal stress. 
In her two short years at the school, she made a 
lasting impact and developed relationships with a 
number of teachers, including many who came to  
visit her at her home. As one of her Connections 
teachers explained, “She felt a sense of belonging  
and had a family outside the walls of her own home.” 
Her parents have since created a recognition award 
for eight grade California Connections students in  
her honor.
“She felt a sense of 
belonging and had a 
family outside the walls 
of her own home.”
Connections Academy teacher
Case study:
Staying connected 
to school through 
challenging  
times
Improve access to and affordability of products and services
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
13
Introduction
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learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
14
Introduction
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Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Accessibility for people  
with disabilities
We continue to make good progress in accessibility 
across Pearson. As members of the World Wide Web 
Consortium (W3C) and contributors to efforts related 
to the W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative, we use the 
W3C’s internationally recognized Web Content 
Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as our foremost 
accessibility standard. We continue our outreach to  
key leaders, associations, and institutions, who  
partner with us on our accessibility work across 
Pearson globally.
A highlight of 2018 was the formation of a Global 
Accessibility Steering Group with executive 
leadership. This group brings together experts from 
across Pearson’s diverse businesses, with the goal  
to systematically improve accessibility in our digital 
products and support materials. 
In 2016, a target was published to make 100% of  
our higher education courseware digital portfolio 
accessible for people with disabilities around the 
world by 2020. Although there has been good 
progress, we have faced challenges and learned a 
great deal in the process. We will adjust our target 
going forward.
In 2019, the new global steering group will redefine 
how we measure our success in accessibility and will 
provide pathways to leverage internal and external 
accessibility expertise, to ensure continuous 
improvement in this area. Through the leadership  
of this group our digital learning and assessment 
platforms will show measured growth in how we 
support the needs of all learners through inclusive, 
accessible design. 
Pearson will also develop and publish a Global 
Accessibility Policy in 2019.
Global Product
In our Global Product business, all new platform 
development includes rigorous testing against WCAG 
2.0 AA standards. Fresh content is vetted by 
independent third parties and will not be integrated 
into our products unless it aligns with these standards. 
The accessibility competence of all third-party partners 
and tool providers is verified before any contract is 
signed or renewed. We expect our partners to place 
the same emphasis on accessibility that we do.
While we continue to pivot toward a future state  
where products are born accessible, our existing 
assets get equal attention. For example, Mastering,  
our market-leading science assessment product,  
has resolved the majority of its known accessibility 
defects. We have undertaken massive content 
remediation of our existing assets and we have 
updated or replaced the third-party tools that are 
incorporated into the platform. Where appropriate 
solutions do not exist in the market, we now look  
to develop our own. 
Assessment
The accessibility team in our Assessment business 
provides guidance on the production of braille and 
American Sign Language assets, leads usability testing 
with people with disabilities, and completes rigorous 
accessibility conformance testing with native users  
of assistive technologies.
In 2018, Assessment partnered with Higher Education 
Courseware on a study of equation editors for math 
and science to identify best-in-class features and to 
gather data on the most effective inclusive design 
practices for math and science content.
Because progress in accessibility depends on our 
product team’s level of expertise, we conduct an 
annual Summer Accessibility Institute, providing  
three days of intensive training on disability and 
accessibility topics. In 2018, we offered 20 sessions 
with participation from 1,028 team members. We are 
also actively involved in accessibility standards work 
and serve on five working groups within the World 
Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative.
Learn more about the World Wide Web Consortium’s  
Web Accessibility Initiative at: www.w3.org/WAI
Improve access to and affordability of products and services

“Incubator ventures inform how  
we think about improving what 
Pearson delivers today and shape 
where we might go with our 
learners tomorrow.” 
Teodora Berkova, Director of Social Innovation
Case study:
Using venture 
innovation to 
reach more 
learners
Improve access to and affordability of products and services
As the Tomorrow’s Market Incubator supports 
employees to design, test, and ultimately launch  
new products, services, and business models for 
underserved learners, it is also delivering value 
for Pearson in other ways. It offers professional 
development opportunities, identifies commercially 
compelling investments, and embeds an innovation 
mindset within the company.
Running since 2016, the incubator relies on a unique 
venture innovation methodology and process that 
includes in-market research, extensive financial  
and operational modeling, and market testing to 
ensure that each new business responds to the needs 
of individual markets. The ventures are focused on 
developing solutions suited to all stages of learners’ 
journeys, opening doors for future employment  
that may not have been attainable otherwise, and 
supporting Pearson’s lifelong learning focus. 
The forthcoming business models, products, and 
services have the potential to grow revenue and  
reach underserved learners in previously untapped 
markets. By providing a better understanding of  
local markets and new customer segments, as well  
as pushing the boundaries of technology to meet 
the needs of those markets, the incubator is helping 
Pearson uncover new and sustainable opportunities.
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Tomorrow’s Markets Incubator
Innovating for underserved learners
The Tomorrow’s Markets Incubator supports  
Pearson ‘intrapreneurs’ to develop new products, 
services, and business models for low-income and 
underserved market segments. To be part of the 
incubator, employee-led teams must demonstrate a 
compelling, feasible commercial solution that will 
improve learner outcomes and deliver social impact. 
Teams are selected by an investment committee 
comprising Pearson executives to receive seed 
funding and access to innovation coaches, who 
support them to develop professional skills and 
capabilities in venture creation for new markets. 
From the incubator’s first call for ideas, we have 
funded and launched three pilots in market as of  
2018: an employability platform in South Africa,  
a distance learning program for Technical and 
Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges  
in South Africa, and an educational math gaming 
system complete with real-time teacher dashboard  
in Australia and the US. 
In June 2018, we launched our second call to action, 
which generated over 100 ideas. Of these, nine were 
selected to develop their venture concepts and pitch 
them to the investment committee. Three teams were 
then funded to move forward into the next phase of 
prototyping and piloting, which began in early 2019. 
For the rest of 2019, the incubator will be focused on: 
prototyping and testing three new venture solutions  
in market, designing in-market pilots for successful 
prototypes, and continuing support for the more 
mature ventures.
Pearson Affordable Learning Fund
Investing in ‘edupreneurs’
The Pearson Affordable Learning Fund (PALF) invests 
‘patient capital’ – investments with a long time  
horizon for returns – in independently run, for-profit, 
education start-ups using innovative approaches to 
improving learning outcomes and increasing access  
to education at scale. By investing in new educational 
ventures, we help to increase the quality of education 
for millions of learners, identify what’s next in the 
world’s highest-growth markets, and generate 
attractive financial returns. 
PALF has invested nearly $25m into a portfolio of  
eight companies across six countries. PALF’s last 
investment in low-cost private school chains was  
in 2014, and while it continues to actively support 
existing portfolio companies, it has focused new 
investments on asset-light models that provide  
content and curriculum, often digitally enabled.
Learn more about Pearson’s position on low-cost  
private schools at:  
https://www.pearson.com/corporate/about-pearson/
our-position-on/low-cost-private-schools.html
Pearson Ventures
Investing in the future of education and employment
Building on PALF’s success, our future investment 
work will shift to a new approach to align more closely 
with Pearson’s five-year strategy, especially our focus 
on lifelong learning and employability. In April 2019,  
we launched Pearson Ventures, a fund to invest in 
growth stage start-ups that are building the future  
of education and employment. With an initial capital 
commitment of $50m over three years, Pearson 
Ventures will invest in companies building new market 
opportunities using innovative business models,  
future technologies, and new educational 
experiences. While Pearson Ventures will pursue 
competitive financial returns, equally important  
is its ability to collect shareable insights and  
drive organizational learning to help future-proof  
the company.
Improve access to and affordability of products and services

No single organization, or sector, can tackle  
global education challenges alone. We work in 
partnership with international non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs), governments, and local 
organizations to expand access to high-quality 
education for learners struggling to overcome 
barriers. By working together, we can make  
even more progress toward the UN Sustainable 
Development Goals.
Every Child Learning
Supporting education in emergencies
Since 2015, Pearson has been working with Save  
the Children on Every Child Learning, a partnership  
to deliver high-quality education to Syrian refugee  
and host community children in Jordan. Working with 
children, parents, teachers, school leadership, and  
the Ministry of Education, the partnership aims  
to secure measurable improvements in overall 
academic performance, build resilience, and 
strengthen child wellbeing. 
Pearson has committed £4.5m to support an  
in-school program, led by Save the Children, that 
focuses on after-school learning, psycho-social 
support, teacher professional development, and 
school-community relations. We also developed a 
math learning app called Space Hero, which is 
deployed through the program.
The in-school program was piloted in three schools 
during the 2017/18 school year, reaching 1,336 
Jordanian and Syrian boys through access to 
supplementary math and remedial Arabic, working 
with 45 parent-teacher association members, and 
engaging 166 student council members to strengthen 
the link between communities and schools. In 2019,  
we expanded the program to an additional 16 schools. 
Collaborate  
to reach 
underserved 
learners
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
Reach more 
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Shape the future  
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Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
In this section:
Every Child Learning
17 
Project Literacy 
18 
Unreasonable FUTURE
19 
America’s Promise Alliance: GradNation
19

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
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Shape the future  
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Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Space Hero (Batlalfada) is a fun and engaging math 
learning app, designed by Pearson in collaboration 
with refugee and Jordanian children, aged 9–12, to 
strengthen their math skills. In addition to being used 
in the in-school program, it is available to the public  
to download for free on Google Play. In 2018, the app 
had over 28,000 new users and over 4,000 weekly 
average users regularly playing the game. It is 
Pearson’s highest rated app in the Google Play Store. 
To facilitate better understanding of how to integrate 
the app in schools, Pearson’s Pedagogy and 
Improvement team conducted trainings for over  
50 math teachers who will be testing the app with 
their students. For most teachers, this will be the  
first time leveraging a digital tool for learning.
With the program now in 19 schools, we aim to impact 
over 25,000 learners in the following ways: 
 9,500 children will take part in a blended learning 
program using the math app in schools
 2,280 children will take part in remedial Arabic to  
help them catch up with their peers
 14,700 children will take part in sports for 
development classes, helping them to develop 
effective communication skills, build peer-to-peer 
relationships and gain a sense of belonging.  
This will be achieved through the provision of 
training, toolkits, and technical support to 38  
physical education teachers
 360 teachers will receive subject-based training in 
addition to child protection and psychosocial support 
training, aiming to provide more effective lessons  
in a safe and supportive learning environment.
Project Literacy
Raising awareness and building partnerships 
Project Literacy is a global movement to make 
significant and sustainable advances in the fight 
against illiteracy so that all people have the 
opportunity to fulfill their potential through the  
power of words.
In 2018, we partnered with Results for Development 
to enhance the impact of Project Literacy’s 100+ 
partner network by developing its potential as a 
community of practice. The partner community, 
divided into teams, 
Fourth-and-fifth-grade students 
in Wadi Al-Seer school in Amman, 
Jordan play the Space Hero app 
together during a math lesson
Collaborate to reach underserved learners
28,000
new users of Space Hero,  
which is Pearson’s highest rated  
app in the Google Play Store
focused on technology, communications, parent 
engagement, teacher training, and measuring impact. 
At the end of their eight-month collaboration,  
the groups will be releasing tools, papers, and 
inventories to support global efforts in the fight  
for literacy access for all. 
Learn more about the partner community at: 
www.r4d.org/projects/convening-in-country-practitioners-
to-collaboratively-tackle-literacy-challenges/

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
Reach more 
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Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Project Literacy teamed up with our global partner 
network and actor Idris Elba to imagine IlliteraCity,  
a fictional representation of a world inhabited by 
people unable to read and write, demonstrating  
the personal and societal impact of illiteracy. 
After running two Project Literacy Lab accelerator 
programs supporting 29 ventures, in 2018 we 
connected the best-performing companies with 
investors and Pearson mentors. We also tested a 
Literacy Prototyping Fund, through which four Lab 
companies received grants to develop collaborations 
that will help them to scale their reach and impact. 
Meet the Lab companies: www.projectliteracy.com/lab/
Unreasonable FUTURE
A global movement to ensure future generations 
thrive in the new economy
In March 2019, we announced a multi-year initiative 
– Unreasonable FUTURE - with Accenture, Fossil 
Foundation, and Unreasonable Group that brings 
together disruptive innovators and entrepreneurs to 
design a future in which people and technology work 
side-by-side to solve workplace challenges and unlock 
our human potential. As an initiative of our global 
strategy office, Unreasonable FUTURE supports  
both our core business and societal impact by 
fostering an open innovation ecosystem around  
the future of work, in line with our five-year plan’s 
focus on employability.
Over the next three years, we will support a portfolio 
of 45+ high-growth ventures – companies that are 
already shaping the jobs of tomorrow – to build a 
more inclusive future of work for underserved youth 
and at-risk workers. Every year of the partnership,  
we will select a cohort of at least 15 ventures to 
participate in a two-week accelerator program along 
with senior leaders, subject matter experts, and 
intrepreneurs from Pearson. 
Learn more at: www.unreasonablefuture.com
America’s Promise Alliance: 
GradNation
Improving high school graduation rates
A high school diploma is key to achieving a better life  
in the US. Recent data, however, shows that the US 
graduation rate for the class of 2018 is only 84.6%.  
This is why Pearson joined the national movement of 
partners supporting America’s Promise Alliance and  
its goal to increase the high school graduation rate  
to 90%. 
In 2015, we made a multi-year $3m commitment to 
launch the GradNation State Activation initiative.  
With purposeful investment at the state level, 
Pearson helped fund three $200,000 grants to state-
level organizations in Arizona, Massachusetts, and 
Minnesota to encourage statewide collaboration,  
share knowledge to accelerate adoption of proven 
strategies, and develop successful models to replicate 
and scale. The research conducted in these three 
states was done in partnership with America’s  
Promise Alliance and the Center for Promise. 
Our work as part of the GradNation initiative has 
fueled a national movement among education,  
non-profit, local, and state communities. In 2018, 
research in Minnesota highlighted how to change 
exclusionary school disciplinary policies, such as 
suspension and expulsion, to help more students 
graduate. The report focused on youth perceptions 
and provided policy and practice foundation for 
legislators, education policymakers, and practitioners 
to use to move toward non-exclusionary practices.  
In the year ahead, research in Arizona will uncover  
the barriers students face when they strive to  
re-engage with their education after time away  
from the classroom.
Collaborate to reach underserved learners

Shape  
the future  
of learning
We want our learners to be equipped with  
the skills and capabilities they need to build 
careers and communities, navigate uncertainty, 
address the world’s biggest sustainable 
development challenges, and thrive in the  
21st century and beyond.
Our commitments:
Build skills that foster employability and inclusive 
economic growth
Promote education for sustainable development
Engage in multi-stakeholder research, dialogue, 
and collective action to solve global challenges
p21
p26
p30
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
Reach more 
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Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix

Education drives social mobility, helping more 
people play a part in society and enter into  
the job market so they can build better lives for 
themselves and their families. Good jobs and 
careers transform individual lives, bring stability 
to communities, and help economies flourish – 
contributing to UN Sustainable Development  
Goal 4’s targets on vocational and technical skills, 
as well as SDG 8 on economic growth and decent 
jobs, and SDG 10 on reducing inequality.
In this section:
Research and thought leadership
21 
Personal and Social Capabilities Framework
22 
Pearson Career Success
22 
BTEC qualifications
23 
CAMFED partnership
23 
Pearson VUE
25 
English language learning
25 
Research and thought leadership
We are committed to helping learners navigate the 
changes brought on by trends like automation, 
globalization, and an aging population. Our recent 
research with Nesta and Oxford Martin, The Future of 
Skills: Employment in 2030, provides insight into the 
future of work and its implications for education.  
We predict that the future of work will be brighter  
than some studies suggest, with many of the jobs we 
recognize today remaining in demand in 2030 and 
beyond. However, the skills required for success are 
likely to change, and the findings make it clear that 
lifelong learning will become an imperative. 
In 2018, we partnered with Jobs for the Future to 
publish Demand-Driven Education: Merging work and 
learning to develop the human skills that matter. 
Together, we identified emerging practices and 
employers who are working to provide diverse 
opportunities to employees for a lifetime of work  
and learning. One such offering is Best You EDU™,  
a partnership between Pearson and the restaurant 
group Brinker, which allows employees to earn 
foundational, GED, and associate degree credits at  
no cost (see p12). 
Future research in this space will include exploration 
of how learners, aged 14–70, experience and interact 
with education, as well as work on how we begin to 
turn lifelong learning from an imperative to a reality. 
Build skills  
that foster 
employability 
and inclusive 
economic 
growth
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
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of learning
Be a trusted 
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Governance
Appendix
Personal and Social  
Capabilities Framework
Integrating key skills in our products 
The Personal and Social Capabilities Framework 
provides clear definitions of professional skills that 
students need for success, including critical thinking, 
collaboration, communication, self-management, 
leadership, and social responsibility. It was informed  
by dozens of frameworks from educational and career 
organizations and institutions, academic literature,  
as well as primary surveys and focus groups 
conducted by Pearson teams with faculty, 
administrators, and employers. 
In 2018, we reviewed our products to understand the 
extent to which they integrate the skills outlined in the 
Personal and Social Capabilities Framework and the 
top skills identified in our Future of Skills research. 
While we found that many of our products implicitly 
help students develop these skills, fewer products 
explicitly teach them. 
In 2019, we will support the authors of Pearson  
content to integrate explicit instruction in Personal  
and Social Capabilities. 
Pearson Career Success
A digital platform to prepare students for work
Pearson Career Success (CS) aims to meet the needs  
of both colleges and employers by providing a digital 
suite of assessments, learning modules, and tools 
that help students discover career goals, identify and 
fill their skills gaps, and effectively present themselves 
and evidence of their competencies to employers. 
CS assessments help students to understand their 
level of college and career readiness, identify their 
personal strengths, preferences, and aspirations  
that lead to improved likely career goals, and measure 
Growth, Resilience, Instinct, and Tenacity (GRIT).  
CS also includes a variety of tools to help students 
demonstrate their skills on LinkedIn and  
through ePortfolios.
100,000
We have achieved our initial goal of 
enrolling 100,000 students 
Students earn digital credentials or ‘badges’ that can  
be displayed publicly allowing employers to better 
understand their skills and experience. A first tier of 
badges covers knowledge of key professional skills,  
and a second tier enables students to create and 
showcase concrete projects that demonstrate their 
ability to apply these skills. We will introduce 
additional badges in 2019.
Studies1 have shown that the students most in need  
of and willing to take advantage of such extra career 
guidance are often students of color, first-generation 
students, and those starting college or career training 
later in life. CS aims to support all students, regardless 
of their backgrounds, to gain access to greater levels 
of employability and more satisfying careers. 
We have already achieved our goal of enrolling 
100,000 students in CS by 2020, and plan to reach 
150,000 enrollees by 2020. Forty-eight institutions 
have adopted CS to date. 
At the end of 2020, we plan to publish quantitative 
data showing the correlation between the use of  
CS and increased interviews and employment offers, 
as well as qualitative feedback from local employers 
on CS-prepared job candidates.
Nevertheless is a podcast and platform launched  
by Pearson which tells the story of the relationship 
between technology and the women working to make 
the world a better place. In 2018, we commissioned  
a set of STEM Role Models posters from across the 
world. These posters are created by independent female 
artists and offered under a Creative Commons license.
Build skills that foster employability and inclusive economic growth
Profiling STEM role models
1 Strada-Gallup 2017 College Student Survey, https://news.gallup.com/
reports/225161/2017-strada-gallup-collegestudent-survey.aspx.

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
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Appendix
BTEC qualifications 
Providing high-quality vocational education
Pearson BTECs are qualifications that provide 
specialist, work-related learning across a range  
of sectors, in nearly 40 subjects. Delivering the 
knowledge, skills, and understanding students need  
to prepare for their chosen career, BTECs can  
support progression to higher or further education, 
apprenticeships, or directly into employment.  
In 2018, nearly 1m learners signed up to BTEC 
qualifications with the intention of progressing into 
employment or higher education.
BTEC qualifications can also improve social mobility. 
On average, 40% of individuals from the lowest four 
socio-economic groups (as defined by the UK Office  
for National Statistics) progressed to higher education 
related to their BTEC compared with 20% of those 
students who completed A Levels. 35% of students 
studying BTECs from the BAME (Black, Asian,  
and minority ethnic) groups progressed to higher 
education compared with 24% of BAME students  
with A Levels. With more individuals having access  
to further and higher education via their BTEC 
qualifications, we are helping to contribute to a  
more qualified workforce that will continue to 
improve economic growth. 
40%
of individuals from the lowest four  
socio-economic groups (as defined by the  
UK Office for National Statistics) progressed  
to higher education related to their BTEC
We are committed to increasing the number of BTEC 
registrations outside the UK, particularly in markets 
where vocational education is developing. As part of 
our financing arrangements, the interest rate payable 
on the Group’s bank facility is linked to progress in 
increasing the number of registrations outside the UK.
In 2017, the Group had 30,510 registrations which 
increased to 32,106 registrations in 2018 (an increase  
of 5.2%). 
We will ensure that the design of BTECs will support 
the transition for post-16 learners as a result of the 
recent skills review carried out by the UK Department 
for Education and other governmental departments. 
The review seeks to ensure that future technical 
education is as robust and as recognized as academic 
education, and that learners have an equal chance  
of progressing to higher education or employment 
with technical qualifications.
CAMFED partnership
Empowering girls and young women in Africa 
Since 2013, Pearson has partnered with international 
NGO CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education)  
on a project funded by the UK Department for 
International Development’s (DFID) Girls’ Education 
Challenge, and supported by relevant national 
Ministries of Education, to help girls from low-income 
communities in sub-Saharan Africa stay in school, 
learn, and develop key skills for life and work. 
The partnership developed relevant learning 
resources and a professional development program 
that helps young women train to become mentors,  
or ‘Learner Guides’, who teach a curriculum we 
co-developed with vulnerable children in rural 
schools. We also created a customized BTEC 
qualification to recognize the achievements of the 
Learner Guides. This qualification is designed to help 
more girls enter formal higher education, teacher 
training, and the workforce by improving their 
employability potential. Our goal is to award 5,000 
BTEC certifications to Learner Guides. As of March 
2019, we have awarded 1,802 BTECs in Ghana,  
Malawi, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.
In 2018, the Women’s University in Zimbabwe agreed 
to recognize the BTEC for entry to some teacher 
training courses. In some parts of the target countries 
where there are limited opportunities for further 
education, the BTEC is in itself a qualifier for some 
teaching roles, and is considered by employers and 
local government in hiring decisions.
Pearson and CAMFED are continuing to work together 
under the Girls’ Education Challenge to deliver 
adapted learning resources for secondary schools  
in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and to review and adapt  
the BTEC qualification in order to reach a broader 
range of young women who have left school.
Build skills that foster employability and inclusive economic growth

Tatu is a 26-year-old BTEC graduate and student from 
Kilosa District, Tanzania. Earning a BTEC certification 
has helped her garner the respect of her peers,  
who see her as a key influencer at her college. 
To gain her BTEC certification, Tatu demonstrated 
competency in: classroom management; facilitating 
meetings and study groups; filing and documenting; 
and conducting community outreach. She also 
conducted home visits to encourage children who  
were not attending or had dropped out of school to 
return to their classrooms. 
Community outreach was just one component of  
the assessment process, but it had a lasting impact  
on Tatu’s future as a leader. “Riding a bicycle miles 
away to follow up on a drop out student was worth it. 
I can’t think of a better way to change girls’ lives  
than for them to get an education,” Tatu shared. 
Through her BTEC certification, Tatu is empowered  
to help other women bring transformative change to 
their communities.
Case study:
“Riding a bicycle miles away  
to follow up on a drop out  
student was worth it. I can’t  
think of a better way to change 
girls’ lives than for them to get  
an education.” 
Tatu, BTEC learner 
Empowering 
future female 
leaders with BTEC 
& CAMFED
Build skills that foster employability and inclusive economic growth
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
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Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
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Governance
Appendix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
25
Introduction
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Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
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Governance
Appendix
Pearson VUE
Global leader in developing and delivering  
high-stakes assessments
Delivering more than 16 million high-stakes exams 
every year. Pearson VUE helps individuals advance in 
their careers through professional credentials and 
licensing that verify the skills and knowledge required 
for a specific job or educational program. A pioneer  
in computer-based testing, Pearson VUE collaborates 
with leading test owners to develop and deliver 
assessments in every industry from academia and 
admissions to IT and healthcare, enabling learners  
to reach their potential while expanding the global 
reach of our clients across the globe.
The process for certifying professionals protects  
the integrity of critical fields like medicine, nursing, 
firefighting, technology services, and more.  
For example, in North America alone, we provide  
the certification and licensing exams for 95 medical 
and nursing specialities. Through these partnerships 
with our clients, we work to preserve the safety, 
wellbeing, and continued advancement of our  
global communities.
English language learning
English is becoming the language for global and 
business communication, and English language skills 
are now a key contributor to individual opportunities 
and socio-economic growth in many countries.  
As a result, governments, companies, parents,  
and individuals continue to prioritize high-quality 
English language learning programs within and  
outside of the education system, across ages and 
stages. English language learning and assessment 
represents one of the greatest growth opportunities 
for Pearson to make a difference to and impact on 
learners around the world.
Our English language courseware portfolio offers 
opportunities for individuals to learn English through  
a range of print and digital materials. Products 
support learners in their academic and professional 
endeavors at any level of proficiency and styles that 
are suitable for ages ranging from pre-primary to 
adult. We support teachers to deliver this learning 
through a suite of professional development 
opportunities and materials. Our English language 
assessment portfolio of products provide valuable 
diagnostics and insights for 
governments, institutions, parents, and learners.  
They span low- to high-stakes assessments, including 
PTE Academic, our computer-based fast, flexible,  
fair, and secure test of English for migration and  
visa purposes.
To support our learners, the courseware and 
assessment products we create rely on well-
researched pedagogy and clearly demonstrate 
progression. Our English products are supported  
by technology that helps learners of all ages and  
levels of proficiency advance their English language 
skills. All new English products are aligned to and 
underpinned by the Pearson-developed Global Scale  
of English (GSE), which measures skill levels in  
English reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  
This alignment to the GSE supports personalization, 
efficacy, and pedagogy in our blended and virtual 
courseware and assessment products. Learners  
are provided with valid evidence of their English 
proficiency, as a score on the Global Scale of English, 
and our vision is for this to be accepted by schools, 
universities, workplaces and businesses, and 
government authorities worldwide.
Build skills that foster employability and inclusive economic growth

Promote 
education for 
sustainable 
development
In order to shape a better tomorrow for people 
and the planet, today’s learners must be informed 
global citizens who not only understand global 
issues, such as poverty, inequality, and climate 
change, but are also equipped with the skills 
needed to take on these challenges. By promoting 
sustainability education, we can explore new 
opportunities while making a direct contribution  
to the UN Sustainable Development Goals  
and inspiring the next generation to create  
a better world.
In this section:
Education for sustainable development strategy
26 
Sustainability in our content and assessments
27 
Advocating for sustainability education
29 
UPSHIFT
29 
Education for sustainable 
development strategy
As part of our 2020 Sustainability Plan, we have 
committed to advocating for UN SDG 4, target 7  
to promote education for sustainable development 
(ESD) and global citizenship education. ESD is  
a holistic learning approach that includes acquiring 
knowledge about sustainability, and developing  
skills and capabilities required to advance 
sustainability. It is supported by a teaching  
approach that enables exploratory, action-oriented, 
and transformative learning.
In 2018, we completed a review to determine  
how Pearson can more strategically advance ESD.  
Our research and interviews found that interest in 
education and skills training on different aspects  
of sustainability is increasing among students, 
employers, and employees. As a result, there is a 
lso an increased demand for relevant teaching 
materials and guidance. 
We developed a strategy focused on advocating for 
ESD, including through thought leadership (see p29); 
better leveraging existing or creating new products  
to advance ESD; and ensuring our employees 
understand sustainable development issues  
relevant to their jobs. 
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
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Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Introduction
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Appendix
Sustainability in our content  
and assessments
Higher education
Across our disciplines in the higher education 
textbook market, we work with a number of authors 
and professors who are experts in various 
sustainability topics and have made it part of the 
materials they develop for Pearson. 
Sustainability-related topics are central to our 
geosciences, environmental science, engineering,  
and personal health titles, where they are integrated 
throughout the main presentations, boxed features, 
and digital assets. For example, we offer Mastering 
Environmental Science, a collection of online 
homework, tutorials, and assessment tools,  
which is a market leader.
BTECs
Sustainability is embedded within 31% of BTEC 
qualifications across sectors, including engineering, 
warehouse operations, construction, health,  
health and social care, science, and IT.
Engineering qualifications are about solving problems 
and improving productivity and efficiency, including  
by reducing waste and cost through environmentally 
friendly methods of production. These changes will 
assist organizations to meet their own sustainability 
targets and stimulate new employees to think about 
their environmental impacts at work. 
In health qualifications, we explore using technology  
to create sustainable health and care systems and 
develop skills for a sustainable workforce. We also 
teach our BTEC students in Health and Social Care 
about promoting health in society. Our science 
certifications include a unit on contemporary issues  
in science, focusing on the ethical, social, economic, 
and environmental factors that learners must 
consider in their careers.
We were recently awarded a contract by the  
UK Department for Education and Institute for 
Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFA&TE)  
to develop new qualifications in the digital and 
construction sectors. These new technical 
qualifications will be co-designed by employers  
who have emphasized the role of sustainability skills 
for employment within specific occupations. 
Pearson College London
Pearson College London, Pearson’s higher education 
institution providing a range of undergraduate and 
postgraduate degrees, apprenticeships, and short 
courses, offers a dedicated sustainability module and 
includes sustainability as part of degree programs  
in accountancy, law, and business. Students visit 
different companies as part of an experiential  
learning curriculum, many of which have a focus on 
sustainability. In addition, students also undertake 
self-managed learning and research projects, which 
often focus on sustainability-related topics.
Promote education for sustainable development

“One story can’t fully express a  
very complicated concept, but it  
can open your eyes to understand 
background, structure, and conflict  
of a complex issue.” 
Jeff Marshall, Executive Portfolio Manager,  
Sociology and Political Science
Educating students about societal issues is critical,  
and it is also complex and sometimes emotionally 
charged. We are addressing this challenge through 
Pearson Originals, a high-impact video series that 
exposes students to critical topics in today’s world  
in an unbiased way, equipping them to develop their 
own perspectives and take action on the issues that 
affect them. 
Through our Revel courseware, Pearson Originals  
is delivered at higher education institutions across  
the United States. The Pearson Originals videos 
students and teachers rely on today grew out  
of a deeper documentary series that addressed 
complex and often polarizing topics, such as the 
opioid crisis, immigration, and gender transitions.  
The documentary videos are available for free  
on YouTube.
Through the use of strategic market research, as well 
as a focus on pedagogical outcomes, the Pearson 
Originals team ensures that students learn in a way 
that is most effective for them. The videos show  
that there is a way to engage in open, constructive 
discourse on the tough issues. With Pearson Originals, 
challenging issues are understood more clearly. 
Case study:
Watch Pearson Originals 
videos at: 
www.youtube.com/channel/
UC-DRpDjsSkloj9oOIEmgJfA
Using video to 
bring complex 
social issues to life
Promote education for sustainable development
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Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Read the report
businessfightspoverty.org/
articles/download-centre-
148-register/
S T
a gu i de To becomi ng a
c e n T u RY  T e ac H e R
Read the report
www.pointb.is/21csguide
Advocating for  
sustainability education
In October 2018, Pearson collaborated with Business 
Fights Poverty, Arizona State University, and the UN 
Principles for Responsible Management Education  
(an initiative of the UN Global Compact) to publish  
The Role of Business in Education and Training for 
Sustainable Development. Based on interviews with 
educators and companies, the advocacy report shares 
insights and recommendations for business to help 
people gain the skills and knowledge required to meet 
sustainability challenges, improve lives, and 
contribute to long-term prosperity and wellbeing.  
The report was launched at Net Impact’s annual 
conference, and we hosted an online discussion panel 
with nearly 2,000 page views.
UPSHIFT
Collaborating with UNICEF in Myanmar and Vietnam
In 2017/18, we supported a UNICEF program called 
UPSHIFT, which focuses on improving 21st century  
and employability skills for marginalized youth in 
Myanmar and Vietnam.
UPSHIFT prepares young people from marginalized 
low-income communities to identify, analyze, and  
take entrepreneurial action to address social, 
environmental, and economic challenges in their 
communities. The program consists of a series of 
workshops delivered by local teachers, youth 
facilitators, and community leaders.
Over several months, participants learn critical skills 
such as problem identification and analysis, project 
design and management, business plan development, 
critical thinking, communications and team skills, 
human-centered design, and prototyping.
Together, we reached over 3,000 young people, 
supporting them to gain the tools and resources  
to create their own solutions to the barriers their 
communities face. We also co-created A Guide to 
Becoming a 21st Century Teacher developed together 
with Point B and Mawlamyine University. The guide  
is an aid for secondary school teachers to integrate 
21st century skills into their teaching practice  
and classrooms. 
Promote education for sustainable development

We are active participants in multi-stakeholder, 
collective action initiatives that aim to strengthen 
global education systems, explore the role  
of the private sector in global education and 
development, and advance the UN Sustainable 
Development Goals.
In this section:
SDG event sponsorship and participation
30 
Thought leadership reports
31 
Key multi-stakeholder groups
31 
SDG event sponsorship  
and participation
We support events and use our speaking platforms  
to help inspire and mobilize other companies and 
stakeholders to take action to achieve the SDGs. In 
2018, members of our executive team, together with 
other employees, participated in numerous events.
During UN General Assembly Week, the future of  
work was a priority theme for us, along with refugees 
and gender equality. We spoke at events hosted  
by WISE@NY; the Global Business Coalition for 
Education; the World Economic Forum; UNICEF, 
UNHCR and Save the Children; and Business  
Fights Poverty. Through these and other speaking 
engagements, we highlighted how we are supporting 
the SDGs, particularly SDG 4, 8, and 10, with our  
2020 Sustainability Plan and core business activities, 
as well as with programs, campaigns, and advocacy.
Engage in  
multi-stakeholder 
research, dialogue, 
and collective  
action to  
solve global 
challenges
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Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Thought leadership reports
Social innovation
In 2018, we collaborated with Mercy Corps, UNHCR, 
Thomson Reuters Foundation, Business Call to Action, 
and Innovest Advisory to produce a series of briefs  
that provide practical insights into refugee-inclusive 
business models and recommendations on how to 
bring them to scale. 
Literacy
UNESCO and Pearson launched Guidelines for 
Designing Inclusive Digital Solutions and Developing 
Digital Skills to help private sector companies,  
NGOs, international organizations and governments 
produce content for people with low literacy skills 
who are new to digital environments.
Engage in multi-stakeholder research, dialogue, and collective action to solve global challenges
www.unglobalcompact.org
www.unprme.org
www.gbc-education.org
www.businessfightspoverty.org
www.bsr.org
www.netimpact.org
In partnership with
In partnership with
In partnership with
Designing Inclusive Digital Solutions
and Developing Digital Skills
Guidelines 
Read the report
en.unesco.org/themes/
literacy-all/pearson-
initiative/guidelines
Read the report
businessfightspoverty.org/
articles/download-centre-
147-register/
Key multi-stakeholder groups

Be a trusted 
partner
We are committed to being the best partner  
we can be to learners, educators, suppliers,  
and communities: living our values through 
how we do business, treat people, and 
protect the environment.
Our commitment:
Respect and support our people, 
customers, and communities
Protect our  
natural environment
Build a sustainable  
supply chain
p33
p46
p49
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Respect and 
support our people, 
customers, and 
communities
Our business impacts people in a variety of ways. 
We protect the rights, privacy, and safety of our 
learners and customers, and ensure we deliver 
relevant, easy-to-use, and effective products  
and services. We prioritize the wellbeing of  
our employees and provide them with the 
opportunity to develop, grow, and be their best 
selves. We are also dedicated to investing in local 
communities. Respecting and supporting people 
is a baseline expectation to advance the UN 
Sustainable Development Goals.
In this section:
Human rights
33 
Privacy and data security
34 
Safeguarding
35 
Efficacy
36 
Editorial policy
36 
Product safety
37 
Our employees
38 
Health and safety
42 
Corporate security and resilience
43 
Volunteering and giving to our communities
45 
Human rights
Our vision is to respect and promote human rights, 
including the right to education, throughout our 
operations and with our customers, employees, 
contractors, and supply chain. We have a corporate 
responsibility to respect human rights, and our 
approach is guided by the Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights, the International Labour 
Organization’s declarations on fundamental principles 
and rights at work, the UN Guiding Principles on 
Business and Human Rights, and the UN Global 
Compact Principles. We are a founding signatory to 
the UN Global Compact, and we are a member of the 
Global Compact’s UK Local Network. 
We respect the rights of our employees to freedom of 
association and representation through trade unions, 
works councils, or any other appropriate forum 
wherever local laws allow. Pearson employees are 
participants in trade unions in some locations.  
We work to prevent discriminatory, illegal, and 
inhumane labor practices including child labor,  
forced labor, slavery, and human trafficking. We use 
our influence with our suppliers to improve standards 
for their employees. Read more about supporting our 
suppliers and our work to prevent modern slavery in 
the supply chain on p49.
In 2018, we published our first public Human Rights 
Statement outlining our approach. 
Read our Human Rights Statement:  
www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-
com/global/Files/Policies/Human_Rights_Statement_Draft_
Final_June2018.pdf
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We also developed and began to implement a 
roadmap to address the priority human rights  
risks and opportunities – related to content,  
learners, partnerships, technology and employees –  
identified through a human rights impact assessment 
across Pearson’s operations and value chain.
We have internal policies in place for addressing key 
human rights priorities including editorial content  
(see p36), safeguarding (see p35), data privacy  
(see below), and health and safety (see p42).
We also published our Modern Slavery Statement.
Read our Modern Slavery Statement:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/about-pearson/our-position-
on/modern-day-slavery.html
Privacy and data security
At Pearson, we understand the importance of 
respecting and protecting the rights, freedoms,  
and dignity of all individuals who entrust us with  
their personal information, and we strive to 
implement a robust data privacy and security 
program to protect this personal information.  
Keeping personal information safe reflects our  
values of decency and accountability, as well as  
our commitment to human rights.
Pearson’s Chief Privacy Officer manages our data 
privacy program and our Chief Information Security 
Officer oversees the information security program. 
Both are accountable to the executive leadership  
team. Our data privacy and information security 
programs are regularly reviewed by Pearson’s  
internal audit team.
The data privacy and information security teams 
partner to develop and provide guidance on policies, 
management practices, training, laws and regulations, 
vendor management, incident response, and privacy 
and security requirements, which are embedded in  
our product and technology development processes. 
To inform our approach, we are active participants  
in global, industry-leading associations including the 
International Association of Privacy Professionals 
(IAPP), Software and Information Industry Association 
(SIIA), Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), Centre for 
Information Policy Leadership (CIPL) in Europe,  
and the Information Systems Audit and Control 
Association (ISACA). 
Our risk management framework is built on  
recognized international standards (ISO 27005/31000) 
for assessing information security risks and includes  
a process of reviewing new programs, products, 
vendors, and changes to legacy programs. Our 
information security controls are based on ISO 
27001/27002 and are regularly tested and evaluated 
through internal and third-party reviews.
We comply with relevant legislation and contractual 
requirements, and monitor regulatory changes to 
assess their impact on our processes and programs. 
We mandate annual training for all employees on 
information security and data privacy. As part of  
this training, employees are required to read and  
sign an Acceptable Use Policy. 
We adapted our privacy program to align with  
the requirements of the General Data Protection 
Regulation (GDPR), which came into force in May 2018. 
This resulted in a review and update of our policies  
and processes to better assess privacy risks, improve 
vendor management, and address user requests, 
among other actions. 
For the fourth year in a row, we made a significant 
improvement to our Information Security Program 
maturity level score, which is provided by an external 
assessor. Our global information security policies  
and standards are updated regularly to reflect  
best-in-class behaviors and changes to external 
compliance requirements. 
See also p72 of our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
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In 2018, we made significant improvements to our  
data privacy and information security programs and 
processes, focusing on: 
 Embedding ‘privacy by design’ and ‘security by 
design’ principles into the product development 
process for all new applications 
 Delivering a month-long internal campaign to raise 
awareness of data privacy and information security 
among employees through webinars and workshops
 Improving and expanding tools and processes, such 
as an inventory of the personal information Pearson 
holds, continuous vulnerability scanning, and a 
privacy and security questionnaire for vendors
 Broadly deploying multi-factor authentication and 
privileged user management for our employees 
 Completing an exhaustive ‘review and repair’ effort 
on our most critical applications to ensure alignment 
with ISO 27001 controls
 Completing an in-depth review of several key global 
programs and processes including our processes  
and access controls program for joiners, movers,  
and leavers
 Regularly assessing our products and applications 
to ensure compliance to policy.
Safeguarding
We are committed to safeguarding and protecting 
learners wherever we operate, and particularly in 
schools, training and learning centers, and teaching 
facilities. Our primary concerns focus on ensuring 
children’s safety and providing safe, age-appropriate 
learning environments for all, in both physical and 
virtual classroom settings. Safeguarding has been 
identified as a principal risk under our enterprise  
risk management system and is subject to regular 
reporting to the Reputation & Responsibility 
Committee, a Board-level committee. 
In 2018, we agreed a new safeguarding strategy  
for 2018–2020 focused on safeguarding in online  
and digital environments, and developed related 
metrics to better analyze safeguarding practices  
across the business. 
We completed a gap analysis on the safeguarding 
assurance processes for each business, and 
strengthened internal assurance processes in  
areas where external policies and processes  
are inconsistent or – in some geographies –  
less developed. For example, we support the 
implementation of our sexual harassment policy  
by designating safeguarding leads in our colleges, 
providing regular training, and conducting climate 
surveys for learners.
100%
outrun of our target to address 85% of 
actions identified through our risk  
assessment process
We deliver safeguarding incident reporting to relevant 
managers twice per year or more frequently when 
needed, and seek to continuously improve reporting 
practices. In conjunction with our practice reviews,  
we have started to analyze trends in reporting to 
enable a more targeted approach to our training  
and support programs. In 2019, we will be improving 
impact evaluation for our training programs, to better 
understand how participation affects staff and 
learner perceptions about safety.
Based on the findings of a human rights assessment 
we undertook last year, we have begun to strengthen 
our processes for learners to raise concerns about 
harassment or abuse, including by integrating 
recommendations from the UN Guiding Principles  
on Business and Human Rights into relevant 
safeguarding risk assessment frameworks.
We briefed safeguarding leads on the criteria for 
effective remedy, and developed a diagnostic tool  
and process to align our grievance processes with  
best practice. In 2019, we will develop action plans to 
address gaps identified through this assessment.
See also p68 of our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities

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Efficacy
Efficacy is core to Pearson’s mission. We identify  
the outcomes that matter most to learners and 
educators, design products based on evidence of 
what works to improve those outcomes, measure  
the impact our products can have on learning,  
and continuously improve how they are designed  
and implemented. 
In April 2018, Pearson became the first education 
company to release third-party audited and 
independently reviewed reports on the efficacy of  
our products – that is, their impact on learning 
outcomes – fulfilling a 2013 commitment to 
transparency and reporting. 
We gathered feedback from educators and thought 
leaders around the world about our efficacy reports. 
While our commitment to efficacy has been widely 
celebrated, our stakeholders have asked us to 
increase the utility of the reports by helping teachers 
to change their practice. We are responding by 
including guidance in the 2019 reports about how  
the findings can be applied to support educators to 
implement our products. In addition, we are putting a 
more explicit focus on implementation in our research 
and working through multiple channels to enhance 
our conversations with educators about efficacy.
By engaging with the education community, and 
advocating for outcomes-focused, evidence-based, 
product design and transparent reporting about 
impact on learning, we aim for our efficacy agenda  
to contribute to shaping the future of learning by 
positively influencing the global education system. 
We will continue to report on product efficacy moving 
forward, which helps us to build trust with learners, 
educators, instructors, and other key stakeholders. 
Learn more about at efficacy at Pearson at:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/efficacy-and-research.html 
Editorial policy
We aim to produce high-quality content that inspires 
our customers. We work to earn learners’ trust  
that our course materials are not only effective in 
improving learning outcomes, but also relevant, 
appropriate, and inclusive.
Our process includes editorial reviews, internal and 
external peer reviews, and external commissioning. 
We also conduct testing with teachers, pupils, and 
independent academic experts. We understand the 
importance of standardizing best editorial practice, 
which was one of the reasons we launched the  
Pearson Editorial Policy in late 2017. 
Our Editorial Policy is based on principles in the 
following areas: 
1. Respecting human rights including freedom from 
discrimination and bias
2. Creating content that embeds an awareness for and 
the promotion of diversity and inclusion 
3. Demonstrating support for learning that is based 
on evidence and facts
4. Aligning with legal and ethical obligations of content 
creation and production.
The policy is applied across all markets, business 
units, and varying operating models. It is based upon 
editorial principles in operation today across our 
business, as well as best practice external guidelines.  
It applies to all content in all geographies, regardless  
of whether it is print or digital or if it is created 
2019 Efficacy Reports
3 audited product  
efficacy reports: 
1. Revel for Psychology in 
North America
2. MyPedia in India
3. Sistema COC in Brazil
2 assessment reports
1. Pearson Test of  
English Academic 
2. GCSE Qualifications
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities
Representing 
552,000+
learners

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internally or by a vendor, and provides guidance for  
all individuals involved in content creation.
In 2018, we continued to implement the policy. Almost 
5,000 global colleagues in relevant functions have 
taken the online learning module, and many have 
attended a workshop where these learnings are put 
into action through case studies. We ensure that the 
policy is broadly communicated to all our employees, 
including functions that do not directly interact with 
our content. We also released a Business Partner 
version of the policy that we are currently rolling  
out. Over 1,000 editorial freelancers and vendors 
have been briefed and trained on the Policy.
In some markets, we tailor our approach to 
implementing the policy in order to meet particular 
needs. For example, in 2018, we piloted a process  
in our Higher Education Courseware division with a  
focus on diversity and inclusion, which is central to  
the policy. We contracted specialist consultants to 
support the creation, review, and copy-editing of 
content. We provided in-person and virtual training  
to diversity and inclusion discipline leads in each 
team, our dedicated quality assurance team, and our 
Advocates (see p40 for more about the Advocates).  
Our infrastructure now includes a risk assessment 
rubric, recommended review workflows, an approved 
escalation path, and a content stylesheet to support 
all those involved in our product development 
process. Our work continues throughout 2019 to 
transition the pilot work into a scalable D&I process.
Our Editorial Policy is supported by a network of  
35 policy champions who are responsible for 
supporting implementation, ensuring local guidelines 
are aligned to the global policy, and serving as a point 
of escalation for queries in our businesses and 
markets around the world. A cross-enterprise steering 
committee meets quarterly to oversee progress, 
chaired by a member of our executive team. 
In 2019, we will continue to implement the policy, 
including by incorporating it into Pearson’s Code of 
Conduct, automatically assigning the online learning 
module to new starters in content-facing and content-
support functions, and ensuring that Editorial Policy 
checkpoints are incorporated into our product 
development processes.
Product safety 
Pearson takes measures to ensure the safety of our 
customers. All of our products for young children – 
physical books as well as other items like marbles, 
balloons, puppets, pens, and pencils, among many 
others – are age-appropriate and properly labeled  
with relevant choking hazard warnings. 
Our product safety manual sets out procedural and 
legislative requirements for product testing, 
development, and labeling, and is regularly updated  
to reflect any new developments. We carry out risk 
assessments based on learners’ ages, product use,  
and materials, and use third parties to test and certify 
compliance with product safety standards. 
We collaborate with industry partners to maintain a 
current database of all chemicals that are used to 
make our products and classify them according to 
relevant safety legislation. 
In 2018, we again had zero product safety incidents. 
We continued to focus on and address relevant 
regulations and industry trends (including US 
Consumer Product Safety Commission, ASTM 
International (formerly American Society for Testing 
and Materials) toy standard activities and updates,  
and EU General Product Safety Directive, UK TSI,  
EN 71 Part 1, 2, 3). Pearson continues to be an active 
member of the Publishing Industry Product Safety 
(PIPS) Forum, which is part of the Book Chain project  
in the UK, where trade and academic publishers in the 
industry come together to share best practices and 
keep abreast of legislative and chemical updates (see 
p49). We continued to work with approved suppliers 
and to date we have seven vendors in PIPS, all of 
which have had training on using the PIPS database. 
Going forward, we will maintain our target of zero 
product safety incidents or recalls.
For more information visit: 
bookchainproject.com/home
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Our employees
Measuring organizational health 
Employees play an integral role in delivering  
Pearson’s mission, and the foundation of our work to 
support them is creating the structure for a healthy 
organization. In October 2018, we launched a  
new Organizational Health Survey to replace the 
engagement survey we had previously conducted.  
The survey was distributed to 22,000 global 
employees, and we achieved a 57% completion rate. 
We are in the process of reviewing the results with 
executive management to produce clear, tangible 
action plans with specific focus areas and 
measurements that will help drive us forward. 
In 2018, we aimed to improve in areas that had been 
identified through a 2017 pilot survey, which included 
strategic clarity, innovation, and learning. As one 
example, in October, we hosted an Innovation Jam, 
which was an online, employee-driven discussion to 
openly exchange perspectives and ideas to support 
Pearson’s growth, in line with our five-year strategy.
Managing the impact of our transformation
Pearson continues to manage considerable amounts  
of change both within the business and outside it.  
The difficult but necessary changes we have been 
making will allow us to speed up innovation, provide 
better customer experiences, eliminate duplication, 
and increase scalability in the long term. 
Unfortunately, this means we have had to reduce our 
headcount. We continue to do all we can to support 
our colleagues through this transformation, through 
regular communication and detailed consultation, 
and providing support for those leaving the company. 
For example, in the UK, we follow a legally prescribed 
consultation process, under which we consult with  
our employees on major organizational changes.  
The length of the consultation is dependent on the 
number of employees that are impacted by the 
proposed changes, but as a best practice, we adopt a 
minimum consultation period of 45 days. We also 
support the right to unionize in the UK, and for the  
part of our UK population that is unionized, we have 
recently revised the collective agreement.
As another way to support those who have left the 
company, in 2018 we launched the Pearson Alumni 
Network to build and enhance relationships with  
our past Pearson employees. Over 1,000 members 
have joined the digital platform where they can  
access recent Pearson news, career opportunities, 
networking and industry insights, research, and 
business information. In 2019, we plan to grow the 
network further and host alumni events.
Supporting contingent workers
Contingent workers are an important, valued and 
ongoing part of Pearson’s workforce, comprising 
approximately 26% of our total workforce in 2018.  
The nature of Pearson’s work in key educational 
business areas is often cyclical, where there is a need 
to ramp up the workforce for a defined period of time 
to deliver key outcomes for our learners. 
Pearson partners with Allegis Global Solutions,  
a managed service provider for contingent workers  
in the UK and US, to ensure that we have an efficient, 
transparent, and sustainable process for hiring and 
managing our contingent workforce. See p52 for  
more detail. 
Investing in talent 
As part of our investment in talent and succession,  
we piloted the Talent Brokerage Program at the end of 
2017 to allow our high-potential talent to participate  
in an international exchange of knowledge and skills 
across our growth markets. After a successful pilot,  
the program was expanded globally in 2018 and has 
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities
Our employees in 2018
24,000+
employees
Employees by region
14,113
North America
5,192
Core markets
4,521
Growth markets
496
Other
1000+
members of the online Pearson Alumni 
Network

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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delivered benefits for the participants and the 
business including: talent retention; exposure to 
different cultures and businesses; sharing ideas and 
building skills; and opportunities for longer-term 
international assignments in the future. 
Over the past year, we have also introduced several 
efforts to strengthen our leadership pipelines.  
One example is Talent Share, a standing agenda  
item at our Pearson executive team meetings that  
highlights senior leaders across the company  
helping us to increase global mobility and encourage 
lateral movement. 
Fostering learning and development 
Education and development for our employees 
remains a cornerstone of our commitment to our 
people. In 2018, we focused on continuing to build  
our Pearson employee learning platform through the 
curation of content for key skills, including in digital, 
innovation, and transformation areas. 
Our leadership development programs aim to close 
skill and experience gaps and develop a wider array  
of talent, especially among our female populations. 
The programs bring a mix of internal and external 
activities, enlist Pearson Executive leaders and Board 
members as teachers and coaches, and include  
both cohort and individual development activities.
Strengthening our approach to pay transparency 
Our aim is to offer competitive total compensation  
that not just attracts and retains employees  
but also motivates employees to deliver  
outstanding performance.
We want employees to better understand why they 
earn what they do and how their pay package is 
determined. We aim for our pay decisions to be 
supported by tools and frameworks that promote 
fairness in how pay is determined and operate  
without bias and discrimination.
In 2018, we focused on educating managers so they 
understand our compensation philosophy, feel 
enabled and empowered to have pay conversations 
with their teams, and can make more informed 
decisions. We also continued to publicly report on 
gender pay (see p40). Next year we will provide 
additional education and training for managers  
and employees on pay transparency.
Supporting our people in and out of the workplace 
We are committed to offering benefit programs  
that make our employees’ lives easier, simpler, and 
more rewarding. Our programs vary globally and 
include benefits such as health insurance, disability 
coverage, retirement savings matching, employee 
stock purchase options, commuter benefits, tuition 
reimbursement, and programs that support wellbeing 
and work–life balance. Helping our employees outside 
of the office leads to higher levels of employee 
engagement and productivity at work, and improves 
individual wellbeing.
Looking ahead 
As we continue our digital transformation, our 
long-term focus is to: streamline, digitize, and 
integrate our people solutions; become a healthier, 
more innovative, and more adaptive organization; and 
develop leaders who promote a high-performance 
culture and drive business results. In 2019, our focus 
will be to: 
 Continue to develop our executive and senior 
management succession bench with a strong 
emphasis on looking at opportunities within 
business line, P&L and country MD level roles for 
women and diverse talent
 Progress on our journey toward greater pay 
transparency and what that means to Pearson 
through education and standardization
 Provide integrated people solutions that empower 
the business to drive results, outcomes, growth,  
and employability for learners
 Use the outputs from the Innovation Jam and the 
results of our Organizational Health Survey to  
create clear, tangible action plans.
For employee data, see:  
www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-
com/global/Files/sustainability/2018-reports/2018_
Sustainability_Performance_Data.pdf
See also p65 of our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities

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Foster a diverse workforce and an  
inclusive workplace 
At Pearson, we value a diverse workforce and a 
workplace which reflects our learners – the customers 
we serve around the world. Through celebrating and 
leveraging our diversity, we can better harness our 
collective skills and talents, our imagination and ideas 
to design and deliver the best services and solutions 
for all learners.
In 2018, we appointed a senior global leader to drive 
this agenda and conducted a comprehensive review  
of the diversity and inclusion practice at Pearson.  
The review assessed the current state of diversity  
at Pearson both quantitatively and qualitatively, 
embracing feedback from a wide range of 
stakeholders and partners, and benchmarked 
Pearson relative to competitor companies as well  
as globally-recognized companies renowned for  
their diversity practices. 
Following the review, we designed and deployed a 
new strategic framework for the diversity and 
inclusion (D&I) practice at Pearson. Our D&I focus  
is to capitalize on different perspectives and leverage 
diversity to spur innovation, growth, and shared 
ownership through an inclusive culture and 
environment. This incorporates a new diversity 
framework, governance and measurement 
mechanisms, a set of global priorities, and a maturity 
model for evolving our employee resource  
groups into business resource groups. Our new 
approach includes:
 A new Diversity and Inclusion Council led by the  
CEO to provide strategic oversight and to extend  
our work into many more markets and countries. 
The Council includes business leaders, allies and 
advocates as well as representatives from our ten 
employee resource groups
 A set of seven priorities which will guide our 2019 
action plan and major initiatives 
 A significantly expanded global network of Diversity 
and Inclusion Advocates who provide support to 
advance our practice in their businesses and 
geographic locations
 A plan to help our ten employee resource groups at 
Pearson evolve and mature. The networks are for 
women, women in technology, parents, veterans, 
Latinos, the LGBT community, generational 
differences, people with disabilities, and employees 
of black and/or African ancestry.
In March 2019, we published our second Pearson  
Great Britain gender pay gap report. Our overall 
median gender pay gap as of 5 April 2018 is 14%,  
a small improvement on 2017’s figure of 15%.  
Our mean gender pay gap remains steady at 21%.  
We know there is work to do, and understanding the 
challenges we face means we can accelerate the pace 
of change. Our roadmap to address the gap, aligned 
with our D&I efforts, is outlined in the report.
Read our Gender Pay Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/news/media/news-
announcements/2019/03/pearson-publishes-2018-gender-
pay-report.html
As part of our target to embed diversity concepts and 
principles into our employee learning, we introduced 
a new training module on unconscious bias in 2018.
We also met our goal to develop a D&I dashboard that 
is reported quarterly to each business leader and to 
the Pearson Executive Management Committee. This 
dashboard primarily provides a gender breakdown of 
employees and new hires by career grade and covers 
the top 10 largest markets by headcount. This is part  
of an ongoing effort to work toward more deeply 
integrating D&I into organizational goals and 
performance assessment.
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities
Employee gender diversity in 2018
62%
female
38%
male
30%
Board positions held  
by women 
31%
senior leadership 
positions* held  
by women
*	
two reporting lines from the Chief Executive

“Being able to report publicly about women in the 
workplace is important. So many studies say that to 
be truly innovative and impactful in society, 
companies that will last – and thrive in the emerging 
conscious consumer economy, are those who are 
transparent in terms of their practices internally and 
externally,” Zerin Karim, Solution Delivery Manager.
For Pearson to succeed in the future, diversity across 
our teams will be of the utmost importance as those 
designing our products and services need to reflect 
those using them.
In Brazil, Pearson WILL (Women in Learning and 
Leadership) looks to address gender equality issues  
at a corporate and broader societal level. The group 
aims to support women at Pearson to be advocates  
for their own success, sharing lessons on how to 
communicate with leadership and express their 
professional goals and capabilities. 
In the past year, the WILL Brazil team has grown to  
over 60 members, nearly tripling in size. Team 
members such as Luciane Lazaretti Dias Moises,  
a mother balancing a career in legal services and 
family, helps to host events for couples and families  
to discuss work/life balance and panels featuring 
inspirational female leaders in business. Luciane 
translated an unconscious bias training to Portuguese 
so it could be inclusive to all Brazilian employees.
The WILL team also implemented lactation rooms for 
new mothers at all Pearson locations in the country 
and created a mechanism for employees to submit 
suggestions for how Pearson Brazil can better 
support diversity and inclusion. 
In the UK, Zerin Karim is leading a new employee 
resource group, Women in Technology (WIT),  
which aims to celebrate underrepresented women  
in technology, open pathways for women outside  
of technology to gain digital skills, and influence  
key business functions to be more gender inclusive  
in their operations. 
To help bridge the gap between our learners and  
our business, WIT also hosts digital career events and 
edTech workshops for our communities globally  
with a focus on educating young female students  
on STEM subjects. 
Through its internal and external activities, WIT is 
helping Pearson achieve greater gender balance in  
the technology landscape both within our 
organization and across the industry.
Case study:
Supporting the 
success of women 
through employee 
resource groups
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
41
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
42
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
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of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Our work on diversity and inclusion continued to  
gain external marketplace recognition. In 2018, 
Pearson was:
 Named in the 2018 Forbes list of America’s  
Best Employers for Diversity
 Scored 100% in the 2018 Corporate Equality Index  
run by the Human Rights Campaign
 Recognized as having one of the top 50 leading 
global LGBT Ally Executives by the FT/OUTstanding 
 Awarded the Dynamic Mentoring Organisation of  
the Year for a second year by the 30% Club, which 
advances women on boards, and Women Ahead  
for a programme led by our employee resource 
group on gender. 
We also continued our series of monthly 
#DiscussDiversity Twitter chats reaching over  
3m active users.
To advance diversity and inclusion in 2019, we will:
 Continue to work toward our goal to extend our 
reporting on gender pay to cover our global 
operations by 2020
 Institute an annual D&I dashboard review and 
goal-setting session with each business and  
function leadership team. 
Health and safety
Our people work in many diverse locations around  
the world, including schools, colleges, test centers, 
offices, home offices, working remotely, data centers, 
call centers, printing sites, and warehouses. Our 
health and safety management system is designed to  
prevent injuries and ill health, which could include 
musculo-skeletal disorders, traumatic injury, chemical 
exposure, falls from height, among others. Simply put, 
we cannot be a sustainable company and a trusted 
partner unless we ensure the safety and wellbeing  
of our people, our learners, and all who come into 
contact with our operations. 
The global Health and Safety (H&S) team develops, 
maintains, and supports our H&S Policy, and the 
Board’s Reputation & Responsibility Committee 
monitors H&S performance. While we have seen  
our risk decrease from outsourcing many of our 
warehousing and printing operations, we continue  
to monitor high-risk activities, such as test processing 
and printing, direct delivery of educational services, 
driving for work, and occupational illness risk from 
office ergonomics, international travel, and 
occupational stress. 
Pearson Management Services, the company in the  
UK that manages our head office, is certified against  
BS (OHSAS) 18001, an internationally recognized  
H&S management standard. This standard is being 
replaced by ISO 45001, and our head office targets 
certification to the new standard in 2021.
The number of employees globally who are aware of 
the 2018 H&S Policy continues to grow, with 87% of 
employees successfully completing our online Global 
Health and Safety Policy & Standards course.
A robust H&S assurance program has also been 
established and is essential for ensuring that we are 
actively identifying hazards, regulatory compliance 
concerns, and non-conformance with the policy.  
This is supported by a global network of nearly  
150 H&S Coordinators, who work to ensure the  
H&S management system is implemented and 
managed in their business locations. 
Health and Safety in 2018
92%
of our H&S standards 
have been fully 
implemented around  
the world
96%
of open H&S findings 
from audits prior to 2018 
have been fully resolved
83
H&S Coordinators were 
trained and successfully 
certified in Institution  
of Occupational Safety 
and Health (IOSH)’s 
Managing Safely  
course in 2018
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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We continue to evolve our assurance program. In 
2019, 65% of audits will begin as informal ‘advisory 
reviews’ through which we work with new locations to 
become aware of their priorities and address actions 
before a formal audit takes place. 
The global H&S team has become a registered center 
to teach the Institution of Occupational Safety and 
Health (IOSH) Managing Safely course. In 2018,  
we delivered training to 83 H&S Coordinators  
around the world, with a 100% certification rate  
as verified by IOSH. 
In line with the plans we set out last year, we have 
reviewed the global H&S Safety Management System 
information management requirements to be more 
digital and efficient. We will continue to develop the 
Pearson Risk Information & Systems Management 
platform, where we track incident reporting and other 
internal metrics, throughout 2019 to expand the 
reach, capability, and accessibility.
In 2018, we undertook five significant review projects 
in order to assess management and control 
processes, and to determine action required for 
continual improvement. These projects included a 
review of:
 Incident reporting and investigation 
 Occupational health and wellbeing 
 Occupational road risk
 Ergonomics management
 H&S documentation and record keeping.
Assessments were completed, and management 
frameworks are developed or in progress for all areas 
except occupational road risk, whose assessment is 
ongoing with completion deferred to 2020.
Key future plans include: 
 Complete remaining assessment work in areas of 
occupational road risk and establish improvement 
action plans as appropriate by 2020
 Implement initial action plans for global incident 
reporting, documentation and record keeping,  
and occupational health coming out of the review 
beginning in 2019
 Carry out annual H&S audit and assurance program, 
achieving at least 95% of plan in 2019
 Further assess and establish key performance 
indicators and other program measurements,  
with continuing effort to target further alignment 
with GRI metrics.
For H&S performance data, see:  
www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-
com/global/Files/sustainability/2018-reports/2018_
Sustainability_Performance_Data.pdf
See also p68 of our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Corporate security and resilience
We work in increasingly complex locations, societies, 
and global times, with new and emerging security 
challenges – geopolitical threats, terrorism, crime,  
and natural disasters, for example. Pearson has a 
responsibility to help minimize and manage these  
risks for our people, and our goal is zero harm. 
Throughout 2018, our corporate security and 
resilience program was steadily developed to become 
more agile. While we faced fewer external incidents 
than 2017, we responded to complex people, process, 
and technology incidents. 
A range of risks to our employees and learners 
remained in 2018, and we responded to an increased 
number of significant internal incidents related to our 
products, staff, and supply chain at a regional and 
local level. We continued to keep employees apprised 
of relevant local events, and we have trained 
employees and learners on how to remain vigilant 
and what actions to take when faced with a high-
impact event, such as active shooter, marauding 
vehicle or knife attacks, or other incidents. This type 
of training will continue in 2019. 
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities

Pearson WELL is an internal program in Core’s  
Asia Pacific region using human-centered design 
principles to improve employee wellbeing to optimize 
performance. The wellbeing strategy is a research-
based approach that incorporates prevention, 
intervention, and recovery. These three layers  
are crucial in helping Pearson to build a mentally 
healthy and resilient culture. 
Helping to build an ecosystem that supports people  
at work, it’s a key example of sustainability in action 
with Pearson acting as a trusted partner to one of  
its most important stakeholder groups – its own 
employees, sponsored by David Barnett, MD Asia 
Pacific, as a leader-led program. 
“In a modern-day context, people are expected  
to bring even more innovation, ambition, and 
sophistication to the workplace. With more 
distraction, more overload, and more expectations 
than ever, it’s important to focus on employee 
wellness, particularly as a continued driver of high 
performance,” says Wendy Demarte, Director, Health, 
Safety, and Environment. Last year, the Australian 
Human Resources Institute awarded Pearson WELL 
the Allan Fels Mental Health Award, which recognizes 
the support for mental health in the workplace.  
The group was also a joint winner in the National 
Safety Council of Australia’s Best Health & Wellbeing 
Program for 2018.
Pearson WELL operates under the belief that wellness 
drives performance individually and at the group 
level. “People first. Results will follow,” says Simone 
Wright, VP, Human Resources Asia Pacific. “If we make 
sure the people we have are at their best, it’s good for 
them, good for us, and good for business.” 
“If we make sure the people  
we have are at their best, it’s good 
for them, good for us, and good  
for business.”
Simone Wright, VP, Human Resources  
Asia Pacific
Case study:
Invest in an 
important 
stakeholder:  
our people
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
44
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
45
Introduction
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learners
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of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
We visited and reviewed approximately 20 countries 
and 35 Pearson locations, including both higher and 
lower risk, to understand security risks. The travel 
security program continued to advise and support 
employees traveling to higher-risk locations and saw a 
126% increase in volume from 2017. We implemented 
an online traveler security course, which is available  
to all staff and required for those embarking on 
higher-risk travel. In addition, sales teams, particularly 
in South Africa, India, and Mexico, were engaged to 
better understand the specific local and regional  
travel risks they face. 
Our physical security work focuses on protecting 
people and assets, such as buildings or our 
reputation, from unauthorized access and preventing 
harm to our staff or intrusion into our systems and 
network. In 2018, during the review of Pearson 
Institute of Higher Education in Midrand, South Africa, 
we were able to meet with student council, who  
were appreciative of the changes we had made on  
campus to engage with the students to prevent  
risk and simplifying our manned guarding and 
technology solutions. 
We also published a new Business Resilience Policy 
and Incident Management Framework aimed at 
achieving stronger and coordinated company 
responses to incidents that have a wider impact  
to our people, learners, systems, and reputation.
Volunteering and giving to  
our communities
Educational opportunities and outcomes are closely 
linked to the prosperity of local communities and 
global development. In 2018, our social contributions 
comprised £4.7m in community contributions and 
£1.0m invested in socially innovative business 
initiatives. Together, this was equivalent to 1.1% of  
our pre-tax profits for the year. We are a member of 
the London Benchmarking Group, a global standard 
for measuring corporate community investment,  
which allows us to track and report on our in-kind  
and cash contributions to community causes. 
Learn more about the London Benchmarking Group:  
www.lbg-online.net
1.1%
of pre-tax profits invested in community 
contributions and socially innovative  
business initiatives
As part of our commitment to support our 
communities, we provide employees with 
opportunities for volunteering and giving. All global 
employees can use up to three paid volunteer days a 
year for charitable work. We also offer company-
organized volunteering opportunities with non-profits 
that align with our company’s mission. 
For the 13th consecutive year, we supported Read  
for the Record, the world’s largest shared reading 
experience, with over 560 colleagues participating. 
Pearson Campus Ambassadors also organized 26  
Read for the Record events nationwide. Colleagues  
in both China and India made the volunteer event 
international, sharing over 200 books with local 
children, and over 70 employees volunteered in  
their own unique way with causes that mattered  
most to them.
Through our giving programs, employees have the 
chance to donate to specific charitable organizations. 
We offer matching programs for charitable donations 
for all UK and US employees and a payroll giving 
program in the UK.
Since 2015, Pearson has partnered with Kiva, an 
online microlending platform, to provide small loans 
to entrepreneurs around the world without access  
to traditional banking systems. In 2018, we made 
$434,425 in Kiva loans to 7,099 Kiva borrowers in  
60 countries, for a total of $2.1m loans as of the end  
of 2018.
Learn more at: www.kiva.org
Respect and support our people, customers, and communities

Protect our  
natural 
environment
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Appendix
Responsible environmental stewardship helps  
to create a healthy and sustainable planet for  
our learners and all of society. Minimizing our 
environmental impact is not just the right thing to 
do; it helps deliver cost savings and manage risk. 
We continue to do our part to address climate 
change and deforestation, which are the global 
environmental challenges that are most relevant  
to our operations and impacts.
In this section:
Our carbon neutral strategy
46 
Reduction
47 
Renewable energy
47 
Offsetting
48 
Our management practices
48 
Our carbon neutral strategy
Climate and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions  
are material sustainability issues for the company.  
In 2018, we maintained our climate neutral status for 
our directly controlled operations – a commitment  
first introduced in 2009. Our strategy is:
1. Reduction: We reduced our energy consumption 
from our 2009 baseline by 60% through the 
reduction of our building portfolio, energy 
efficiency initiatives, and the sale of business units.
2. Renewable energy: We maintained our record  
of purchasing 100% of the electricity we use  
from renewable sources. We generate our own 
renewable electricity at four of our sites, which is 
down from five following the sale of one in 2018.
3. Offsetting: Since 2009, we offset the emissions  
from our energy and fuel consumption and  
business travel.

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Given that part of our absolute CO2 reduction is due  
to the divestment of a number of business units, it is 
more appropriate and meaningful to measure our 
performance by intensity metrics relative to our 
number of employees, square footage of office  
space, and sales. Since 2009, we have seen a 38% 
reduction in CO2e per employee using location-based 
measurement, or 68% using market-based 
measurement2; 20% reduction in CO2e per m2 
location-based, or 60% market based, and a 45% 
reduction in CO2e per £m location based, or 75% 
market based. 
See more environmental performance data at  
www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-
com/global/Files/sustainability/2018-reports/2018_
Sustainability_Performance_Data.pdf
Renewable energy
For six of our key markets we buy renewable energy 
through green energy tariffs or renewable energy 
certificates (RECs) in the country of consumption.  
This accounts for 90% of our electricity use. We buy 
RECs regionally for the remaining 10% in those  
markets where have a small presence. 
Reduction 
We have been working toward two targets to reduce 
our emissions and energy use:
1. To reduce our global climate footprint by 50% by
2020 using 2009 as the baseline year. As of 2018,
we have reduced our operational emissions vs our
2009 baseline by 60%.
2. To reduce absolute energy use in our buildings by
50% by the end of 2020 using 2013 as the base year.
In 2018, we achieved this goal with a 56% reduction
from the baseline.
Factors behind our performance include:
 Changes in the business with the sale of a number 
of business units 
 Our shift to digital content and the related move 
toward outsourcing print-related infrastructure  
such as distribution 
 The adoption of new communications technologies 
that reduce the need for business travel and 
facilitate more flexible and remote working 
 Improvements in electricity transmission and a shift 
in the mix of energy sources toward lower-carbon 
options and reduced emission factors.
Protect our natural environment
2009 
2013
2016
2017 
2018
Absolute emissions
Total GHG emissions (tonnes) location based
210,306
188,692 
126,385
104,384
84,649
% reduction in total GHG emissions (vs 2009)
40
50
60
Total energy use in our buildings (MWh)
285,590
201,040
147,384
127,083
% reduction in building energy use (vs 2013)
30
48
56
Intensity ratios 
CO2 (tonnes) per employee  
(scope 1,2- location based & 3)
5.66
3.86
3.44
3.48
CO2 (tonnes) per m2 office space 
(scope 1,2- location based & 3)
0.15
0.14
0.13
0.12
CO2 (tonnes)/Sales revenue  
(scope 1+ 2 location based +3)
37.39
27.76
23.13
20.50
2	 This year we have reported both our market- and location-based scope 2 emission for the first time. The location-based method reflects the average 
emissions intensity of grids on which energy consumption occurs. The market-based method reflects emissions from electricity that we have 
purposefully chosen. For the purpose of reporting our scope 2 market-based emissions, we only account for market-based emissions factors in those 
countries where we buy renewable energy credits in the country of consumption as zero carbon. For the remaining countries and consumption,  
we have used default location-based factors.

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Offsetting 
Emissions that we are not able to reduce or avoid are 
offset through forest-based projects. In 2018, we 
bought 36,000 tonnes of carbon offsets to cover the 
carbon associated with our scope 1 and 3 emissions 
(business travel, waste, and water) and the printing  
of our annual and sustainability reports, through a 
Brazilian forestry project that is certified to the REDD+ 
and VCS standards.3 We are also part of RE100, joining 
over 100 companies helping build a global market for 
renewable electricity.
Our management practices
In 2018, we were recertified against the Carbon Trust 
Standard for our global operations. Pearson was the 
second organization to secure the standard, which 
recognizes leadership in measuring, managing, and 
reducing year-on-year carbon emissions.
We continue to be certified against ISO 14001, the 
environmental management standard in the UK and 
Australia. This standard incorporates both internal  
and external audit. In other parts of the world, we 
apply our own global environmental management 
system (EMS) based on ISO 14001 standards. 
Our global EMS is available at:  
www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-
com/global/Files/sustainability/01_Pearson_
EnviroManSystem_Sept2016.pdf
Protect our natural environment
3	 Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation 
(REDD+) is a mechanism developed by the United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It creates a financial value 
for the carbon stored in forests by offering incentives for developing 
countries to reduce emissions from forested lands and invest in 
low-carbon paths to sustainable development. The Verified Carbon 
Standard (VCS) is a standard for carbon offsetting. It provides a set  
of criteria that provide integrity to the voluntary carbon market.  
VCS ensures that all project-based voluntary emission reductions  
are independently verified to meet its criteria.
We have embraced Leadership in Energy and 
Environmental Design (LEED), the green buildings 
standard in the US. We currently have four buildings 
certified under the LEED standard which together 
account for over 800,000 square feet and 
approximately 10% of our footprint. 
We publicly disclose our performance on carbon 
management, water, and forest management to the 
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
Our 2018 environmental data has been verified by 
Corporate Citizenship. The assurance statement  
covers the methodology, data collection, and accuracy 
of data reported.
See the assurance statement at:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/sustainability/reporting-
policies.html
Looking ahead
In 2018, we also started to map the wider carbon 
emissions from our supply chain in more detail.  
Going forward we will continue to work with our 
suppliers to better understand the sustainability risks 
and opportunities associated with the products and 
services we buy.

Build a 
sustainable 
supply chain
Doing business with partners who share  
our commitment to human rights and the 
environment strengthens our supply chain 
relationships and reduces risk.
In this section:
Sourcing policies
49 
Direct supply chain
50 
Indirect procurement
51 
Last year, Pearson purchased over £2.1bn of goods 
and services from over 66,000 third parties in over  
24 countries, ranging from large multinationals to  
smaller specialist companies and sole traders. 
The vast majority of the products and services that 
Pearson and its operating companies purchase 
globally are sourced from suppliers in OECD 
countries, mainly those in North America and Europe. 
Pearson divides its supply chain into two broad areas: 
direct and indirect. Our direct supply chain relates to 
the textbook production supply chain – paper, print, 
and transportation. More detail about our paper 
supply chain is on p50 and more about our print 
supply chain is on p51. Our indirect supply chain 
covers all other categories of spend, which include 
consultancy services, contingent workers, content, 
the digital supply chain, marketing, and facilities.
Our relationships with suppliers are guided by our 
commitment to the UN Global Compact and other 
human rights standards including the Universal 
Declaration of Human Rights, the International 
Labour Organization’s declarations on fundamental 
principles and rights at work, and the UN Guiding 
Principles on Business and Human Rights (see p33 for 
more on our commitments). The UK Modern Slavery 
Act, which requires companies to specify the steps 
they have taken to ensure that their business and 
supply chains are slavery free, also guides our 
approach to supply chain sustainability.
Our Modern Slavery Statement is available at:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/about-pearson/our-position-
on/modern-day-slavery.html
We are a founding member of Book Chain, a 
partnership between publishers to enhance industry 
standards relating to labor standards and human 
rights, product safety, and paper sourcing. Working 
together with industry partners helps reduce the 
compliance costs for suppliers as well as to reinforce 
the importance of adopting high standards.
Sourcing policies
As part of our approach to responsible sourcing, 
Pearson looks to work with partners and businesses 
that have standards that reflect our own. We have a 
number of policies and processes relating to working 
with third parties – the most important of which is  
our Business Partner Code of Conduct. 
The Business Partner Code of Conduct (Partner Code) 
clarifies the responsibilities and expectations we  
have of our business partners (which include joint 
venture partners, vendors, franchisees, distributors, 
suppliers, contractors, consultants, and agents) for 
ethical and responsible business practice. 
Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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What goes into our products?
The Partner Code sets out our support for universal 
human rights (including equal employment, freedom 
of speech and of association, and cultural, economic, 
and social wellbeing), good labor practices, and 
decent working conditions. It also sets out our 
expectations for supply partners to oppose 
discriminatory, illegal, or inhumane labor practices, 
including slavery and human trafficking.
The Partner Code forms part of new contracts and  
it is included when contracts are renewed or updated. 
Compliance with the principles in our code is a 
minimum standard of behavior outlined in contracts.
The Partner Code also states that it is the 
responsibility of business partners to ensure that 
subcontractors doing work for or on behalf of  
Pearson meet the same high standards of ethics  
and compliance required for business partners.
Our Business Terms of Reference provide us with  
the power of audit and, if necessary, the right to 
terminate a relationship if we find issues of non-
compliance. This means our responsible purchasing 
principles of behavior are contractually enforceable.
Direct supply chain
While we have a growing digital products and services 
supply chain reflecting our increasing shift to digital, 
our traditional paper-based products remain the  
most significant area of risk and impact. Our supply 
chain function manages our purchases of paper for 
books and our contracts with printers and work with 
distributors and shippers who bring our products  
to market.
Paper sourcing
Timber production and forestry has been identified 
by Pearson as a higher-risk industry due to the 
potential for human rights abuses, including the  
use of forced, indentured, and child labor. Paper 
production is linked to a number of important 
environmental issues, such as climate change, 
deforestation, and illegal logging, and the loss of 
natural forest cover is a significant source of 
greenhouse gases. 
Pearson has a longstanding responsible paper 
sourcing policy that recognizes this risk. This policy  
sets out our preference for papers that hold Forest 
Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, and we also 
recognize the Programme for the Endorsement of 
Forest Certification (PEFC) system of certification.  
PEFC endorses national schemes of certification.  
The two most significant schemes for us endorsed  
by PEFC are the Canadian scheme – the Canadian 
Standards Association (CSA) – and the Sustainable 
Forestry Initiative (SFI), which is used in both the  
US and Canada.
In 2018, we purchased over 100,000 tonnes of paper 
globally. To help to reduce our impact, we have 
retained Chain-of-Custody accreditation from the  
FSC in the UK, which enables Pearson products to 
carry the FSC logo. Of the more than 12,000 tonnes  
of paper we purchased in the UK, 86% was certified to 
an environmental standard, such as FSC or PEFC.
Build a sustainable supply chain
Direct
Relates to  
the textbook  
production 
supply chain 
 Paper
 Print 
 Transportation
 Professional and consultancy services
 Content development
 Digital supply chain
 Marketing
 Facilities
Indirect
Covers all  
other categories 
of spend

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We have identified the potential supply of paper from 
Indonesia as an area of moderate risk for social and 
environmental concerns. No paper manufactured  
in Indonesia or paper that contains pulp from 
Indonesia currently meets our supply standards.  
We communicate our standards to printers and  
others who purchase paper on our behalf.
Print production
We rely on third-party suppliers to print our 
textbooks and course materials. Globally, we have 
over 200 print suppliers representing approximately 
£91m in spend. We have a single global policy and 
approach for managing risk in our print supply  
chain, which covers supplier risk assessments and 
visits, third-party audits, and remediation of 
compliance issues.
We require suppliers rated medium and high risk  
over a threshold spend of £100,000 to undertake  
an independent third-party audit before they are 
approved as a supplier and to agree to regular review 
audits as an existing supplier at least once every  
24 months. We rate suppliers as medium or high  
risk based on a Book Chain tool designed specifically 
to help publishers identify labor and environmental 
risks in the supply chain. The audits are carried out 
through Book Chain.
Our due diligence process also includes print 
production departments visiting suppliers around  
the world to assess compliance with our standards  
and to encourage suppliers to address issues with 
non-compliance. These visits provide a valuable 
opportunity to reinforce our commitments to 
eliminating all forms of child, forced, and compulsory 
labor, as well as promoting environmental  
stewardship and other standards covered by the  
UN Global Compact. 
Our printers in China (representing 14% of UK spend) 
and Malaysia (representing 10% of UK spend) are 
visited at least annually and a visit report with follow-
up actions is completed after each visit covering both 
commercial operations and labor standards. In 2018, 
our two printers in Malaysia and three printers in  
China were visited by our direct supply chain team.
We maintain a printer register to monitor the 
environmental performance of suppliers, which 
includes over 90% of our printers by value. We survey 
our global printers every two years to assess their:  
use of a recognized environmental management 
system; and measurement and reduction policies for 
water, ink, solvents, alcohol, energy, and waste. 
We continue to be concerned that the release of 
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in inks  
and solvents is managed effectively and reduced.  
We encourage our printers and operating companies 
to monitor reduction targets for VOCs.
Indirect procurement
Of the indirect suppliers paid in 2018, over 55% of  
our total spend (£910m) is with our top 100 suppliers,  
and approximately 870 suppliers account for 80% of 
our global spend (over £1.3bn). Our top 20 suppliers 
account for 33% of our total spend (£548m). These top 
20 suppliers are located in Australia, Brazil, Canada, 
China, India, Italy, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, 
Spain, the UK, and the US.
In September 2017, Pearson introduced a new, 
centralized approach to supplier due diligence and 
onboarding in the UK covering all categories of spend. 
The system provides centralized management that 
helps to facilitate audits of suppliers. 
In 2018, we expanded this onboarding system in the  
US and Canada, so that it now covers roughly 29% of 
our indirect suppliers. We will continue to complete  
the rollout across North America. 
As part of this expansion, we have incorporated 
additional due diligence questions across a range of 
non-financial risk issues, including modern slavery, 
safeguarding, anti-bribery and corruption, conflict of 
interest, sanctions, health and safety, sustainability, 
diversity, and accessibility.
Through the risk assessment, due diligence, and 
clarification process, we are working to ensure that  
our suppliers are in compliance with our requirements. 
Any questionable response or behavior demonstrated 
in their response prompts further discovery before 
approving or denying supplier engagement.
Build a sustainable supply chain

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In 2018, we vetted over 1,550 potential suppliers  
in the UK, US, and Canada utilizing contracts  
with updated terms and conditions to ensure  
supplier compliance with our social, ethical, and 
environmental policies. 
In 2019, we will require all active suppliers to complete 
our expanded third-party risk due diligence 
assessment so that we maintain standard levels  
of transparency across our supplier population  
and are better equipped to manage and mitigate  
our risk exposure. 
Contingent workers
In late 2017, we began to work with Allegis Global 
Solutions (AGS) to manage the relationships with our 
contingent workforce population in the US and UK, 
which we define as any individuals who are working  
at, or for, Pearson but who are not Pearson 
employees or suppliers and who are paid through 
means other than Pearson’s payroll. They include 
independent contractors and payroll agency 
employees. Our contingent workers frequently fill 
roles such as engineers, developers, exam graders, 
and project managers. Contingent workers make  
up 26% of Pearson’s workforce and represent 
approximately £55m of spend in the US and UK.
By entering into a relationship with an experienced 
service provider, we have been able to strengthen  
and standardize our processes to ensure that our 
contingent workers have the same protections as our 
regular employees. AGS ensures that contingent 
workers and the agencies that manage them receive a 
detailed supplier manual outlining how Pearson 
people policies apply to them, and AGS holds 
contingent worker agencies accountable for ensuring 
that workers are informed of these policies. AGS also 
ensures that we are in compliance with all relevant 
local regulations.
Supplier diversity 
Our supplier diversity program focuses on local,  
small, diverse businesses – such as those that are 
small, underutilized, or women-, minority-, LGBT-,  
or veteran-owned. Building strategic partnerships  
with diverse suppliers helps make us more 
competitive and in some cases reduces costs.  
It demonstrates our commitment to sustainability  
and diversity and inclusion, and it is important to 
ensure that we meet the needs and expectations of 
our customers, investors, employees,  
and communities in which we operate. 
We regularly support our Assessment and North 
America businesses with customers’ Request  
For Proposals (RFPs) that have supplier diversity 
requirements. We collaborate internally by locating 
and identifying qualified diverse suppliers to partner 
with to meet customer compliance regulations. 
This proposal development support is essential to 
maintaining our current customer contracts and 
winning new business. It also provides the 
opportunity for our diverse partners to provide 
meaningful subcontracting services to support our 
customers and learners. 
By the end of 2019, our goals are to: increase our  
spend with diverse suppliers; adopt a corporate policy 
on supplier diversity, and include supplier diversity 
language in our RFPs; and work with our prime (Tier I) 
suppliers to integrate diverse utilization goals and 
spend targets in order to increase our overall diverse 
spend with the Tier II suppliers that supply goods and 
services to Tier I suppliers.
Build a sustainable supply chain

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
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Governance
Appendix
Board oversight 
Our Chief Executive and our Board are ultimately 
accountable for everything we do as a company.  
The Board is deeply engaged in developing and 
measuring the company’s long-term strategy, 
performance, and value. 
Read more in our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Reputation &  
Responsibility Committee 
The Board’s Reputation & Responsibility Committee 
(RRC) provides important oversight of our 
Sustainability Plan. The RRC is a formal committee of 
the Board providing ongoing oversight and scrutiny 
across all of our responsible business activities. 
Read more about the RRC on p106 of the  
Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Governance
Our strong governance structures 
and internal systems are key to 
manage risks and embed 
sustainability, responsibility, and 
ethics across our business.
Operational responsibility leaders
Legal
Operations
Efficacy & 
Research
Product
Human  
Resources
Corporate 
Affairs & 
Marketing
Audit & 
Compliance
Responsible Business  
Leadership Council
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Sustainability & social 
innovation team
Board of Directors
Audit  
Committee
Nomination & Governance 
Committee
Remuneration 
Committee
Reputation & Responsibility 
Committee
Board committees
Pearson Executive Management (PEM)
	 Chief Executive 
 Chief Financial Officer
 Chief Technology and Operations Officer
 Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
 Chief Human Resources Officer
 Chief Legal Officer
 Chief Strategy Officer 
	 President Global Product
	 President North America
	 President UK and Core Markets
	 President Growth Markets
	 President Pearson Assessments
Global operations across Pearson
Sustainability governance at Pearson

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Responsible Business  
Leadership Council 
Our Responsible Business Leadership Council (RBLC)  
is an internal governance group of senior executives 
from across the business that helps to integrate 
sustainability throughout the company. Led by the 
Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, the RBLC meets in  
line with the RRC to provide guidance and input on 
sustainability strategy and activities. 
Key activities in 2018 included advising on: 
sustainability strategy and reporting; global 
standards and policies; risks and opportunities 
related to the efficacy agenda; values and culture; 
human rights; and initiatives including the 
Tomorrow’s Markets Incubator and Every  
Child Learning.
Risk management
Pearson’s goal in managing risk is to support  
the business in meeting its strategic and  
operational objectives. 
Our Annual Report describes our approach to risk 
management on p60-76, and a table mapping the 
material issues in the 2020 Sustainability Plan with 
principal risks can be found on p33.
See our Annual Report at:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Code of Conduct 
The Pearson Code of Conduct underpins our  
values by setting out the global ethical, social, and 
environmental standards of behavior we expect from 
employees, and we have a companion code for 
business partners. The Code was reviewed and 
refreshed in 2018, and included an interactive training 
course combined with the certification of the Code. 
We make sure everyone in Pearson is aware of the 
Code and confirms they understand and will  
comply with it. 
In 2018, we achieved our target of 100% completion 
by all employees. The Code is also assigned as part  
of the on-boarding process for all new Pearson 
employees. In 2019, we will do a complete review of 
the Code content and refresh the design of the Code. 
Employees and new hires will be asked to re-certify 
that they have read, understand, and agree to comply 
with our Code of Conduct. 
See also page 37 of our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Raising concerns 
We operate a free, confidential telephone helpline  
and website for anyone who wants to raise a concern, 
and we have a clear non-retaliation policy in place to 
encourage honesty and openness. Cases that pose 
significant risks to our business are reported to the 
Pearson Audit Committee with ultimate ownership  
by the Board. In 2018, 80 concerns (87 in 2017) were 
raised and investigated. Of them, 25 concerns (31%) 
related to human resources matters and 55 concerns 
(69%) related to financial irregularities or violations  
of our policies – none was classed in our highest  
risk category. We took appropriate steps to resolve 
these issues, mainly through employee training,  
policy improvements, or disciplinary action.  
In 2018, there were two terminations as a result  
of these investigations. 
Anti-bribery and  
corruption program
As part of our commitment to conducting business 
fairly, honestly, and lawfully, we have a zero-tolerance 
policy towards bribery and corruption of any kind. 
This includes compliance with all applicable anti-
bribery and corruption laws, including the US Foreign 
Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act 2010,  
as well as local ethics and bribery laws. We aim  
to work and partner only with those who share  
this commitment.

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Over the past several years, Pearson has steadily 
committed greater resources to strengthening and 
improving our global compliance office and our 
anti-bribery and corruption (ABC) program. We have 
an ABC Policy in place, which was revised in 2018 
along with our Third Party ABC and Due Diligence 
Policy, and Sanctions Policy. All of these were rolled 
out globally during our first Corporate Compliance 
and Ethics Week in November 2018. 
Alongside the Third Party ABC and Due Diligence 
Policy, we commenced the rollout of a global ABC 
third-party due diligence program. We implemented a 
new due diligence system and completed due 
diligence on all in-scope third parties in South Africa 
(including the Rest of Africa), the Middle East, India, 
Mainland China and Hong Kong, Asia Pacific, Brazil, 
Hispano America, Italy, and Central and Eastern 
Europe. We visited the offices located in these regions, 
met with key stakeholders and relationship owners, 
conducted due diligence on all third parties we  
deemed ‘in scope’ for due diligence, trained staff on 
how and when to conduct due diligence for all new 
engagements, and introduced remedial measures  
or terminated relationships where required. During  
the course of this exercise, in excess of 20,500 third 
parties were screened, which includes all of our  
testing centers globally. 
Work will continue in 2019 where we will focus our 
efforts on Western and Central Europe, the UK, the 
US, and Canada, as well as our VUE business. We are 
also working with our global procurement teams on 
the launch of our new global procurement system,  
to embed the due diligence process in the system  
as a prerequisite to the on-boarding of any new 
supplier (see p51).
In 2018, we also published our Global Conflict of 
Interest Policy and rolled it out globally, and we 
launched our SpeakUp campaign with a revised  
Raising Concerns and Anti-Retaliation Policy. An 
annual declaration process for potential, perceived,  
or actual conflicts of interest will be rolled out with 
our Code of Conduct beginning in 2019.
We have established a network of local compliance 
officers (LCOs) in our geographies and businesses to 
advise and guide business partners on conducting 
business fairly, honestly, and lawfully, and establish 
appropriate internal controls. We have introduced 
and rolled out to many of our geographies and 
businesses a system and tool automating the request 
and approval process for gifts and hospitality. 
In 2018, through our LCO network, we provided 
training and raised awareness of our Anti-Bribery  
and Corruption Policy, and conducted ABC risk 
assessments in businesses in three parts of the  
world in those places in the world that have higher  
risk according to Transparency International’s 
Corruption Perceptions Index.
See also p74 of our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Public policy
Government officials around the world make daily 
policy decisions that have a direct impact on 
education and our business, and our government 
relations teams are responsible for tracking political 
and legislative trends. The teams develop and 
maintain relationships with key government 
representatives, associations, membership 
organizations, and third-party institutions to help 
inform policy discussions. These relationships ensure: 
that we are able to work in partnership on shared 
agenda items; that our company is well positioned 
and represented; and that our work is fairly and 
accurately conveyed. 
In all our engagements with government, we act in 
accordance with multinational, national, state, and 
local laws and regulations, and are guided by our 
corporate values and Code of Conduct. 
Pearson expressly prohibits the use of company funds 
for making political contributions. Pearson does not 
make direct contributions or donations to political 
parties or candidates anywhere around the world,  
nor do we operate a Political Action Committee.  
During 2018, we contributed to policy discussions  
on issues including workforce training, intellectual 
property, the Sustainable Development Goals,  
refugee education, education and technology, teacher 
development, and improving learning outcomes.  
For more information on how we engage in the  
global dialogue on global issues, see p30.

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Public policy activities are overseen by the Board’s 
Reputation & Responsibility Committee.
See also p66 of our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
Taxation
Our approach to tax is guided by our corporate 
values, and by our Code of Conduct. Our tax principles 
have been published on our corporate website since 
2014. These were reviewed and refreshed during 2017  
and they guide our global tax strategy at Pearson, 
which applies to all our businesses.
We believe in the importance of transparency in  
regard to our tax affairs and voluntarily disclose 
information on the tax we pay on business profits  
and the contributions we make to public finances in  
the countries in which we operate. We are one of the 
few FTSE100 companies to publish a standalone tax 
report. The report also includes our approach to  
tax governance, risk management, attitude to tax 
planning, and being transparent with the UK and  
other tax authorities.
Read our tax report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/about-pearson/our-position-
on/tax.html
This is important as tax contributions – from 
individuals as well as businesses – are fundamental to 
a healthy society. These contributions are the 
lifeblood that funds vital public services, including 
education, as well as investment in infrastructure to 
fuel economic growth and promote a more equal 
society. We believe that, as a large, publicly listed 
company, we have an ongoing responsibility to 
enhance awareness and provide transparency on  
our position on tax.
This approach was acknowledged when we were 
awarded the 2018 PwC Building Public Trust Award  
for Best Tax Reporting in the FTSE 350.
See also p71 of our Annual Report:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html

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About this report
Our 2018 Sustainability Report covers data from  
1 January to 31 December 2018, and it was released  
on 29 May 2019.
Our reporting frameworks
We have applied relevant international reporting 
standards and frameworks, including the Global 
Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, UN Global 
Compact (UNGC) Ten Principles, and the  
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This report has been developed in accordance with  
the GRI Standards and serves as our UN Global 
Compact Communication on Progress.
Our GRI/UNGC/SDGs content index details  
how we are meeting these requirements.
www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-
com/one-dot-com/global/Files/
sustainability/2018-reports/2018_Content_
Index.pdf
Assurance
Our environmental data (p47 and in the performance 
data table), and our data on social contributions  
(p45 and in the performance data table) were assured 
by independent external assurance providers  
Corporate Citizenship. 
Statements are available for download at:  
www.pearson.com/corporate/sustainability/reporting-
policies.html
Contact us
This report has been prepared by Pearson’s 
sustainability and social innovation team in 
consultation with other key departments within 
Pearson. We welcome your thoughts and feedback. 
Please email sustainability@pearson.com with any 
questions or comments.
To view this report online, visit:  
www.pearson.com/sustainability
Appendix
Pearson’s 2018 Annual Report includes a summary  
of the issues covered in this report and, as required  
by 2013 amendments to the UK Companies Act, 
comprises a separate strategic report with disclosures 
on human rights, gender diversity, and greenhouse  
gas emissions.
Performance data and targets
Our performance data and targets overview provides 
an overview of key metrics and performance data,  
a summary of targets in this report, and table to 
navigate where in this report we discuss progress  
on last year’s targets.
View our performance data and  
targets overview:
www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-
com/one-dot-com/global/Files/
sustainability/2018-reports/2018_
Sustainability_Performance_Data.pdf

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Key stakeholders
When we developed our 2020 Sustainability Plan,  
we worked with a leading sustainability organization  
to identify and prioritize our key stakeholders, and we 
continue to strive to find the most effective channels 
for interacting with each of these groups.
We participate in a number of multi-stakeholder 
initiatives that provide valuable opportunities  
to engage and collaborate with stakeholders  
across sectors.
WHO THEY ARE
OUR ENGAGEMENT
Employees
Shareholders
Learners
Educational institutions  
& educators
Employers
Governments  
& Regulators
We have over 24,000 
employees in over  
70 countries around the  
world, who are a driving  
force behind our success.  
As brand ambassadors,  
it is critical that they continue  
to embody our purpose  
and values, and help us 
continuously be better.
We have a broad range of 
investors who entrust their 
capital with us. Investors 
increasingly seek better 
information and more reliable 
data about how we are 
addressing sustainability.
Our learners are in school, 
higher education, vocational 
training, and continuing 
professional education.  
They have different 
nationalities and backgrounds, 
and their learning needs are 
just as diverse. They expect 
modern, engaging, and 
personalized educational 
experiences that allow them  
to be successful at every  
stage of their lives.
We work with teachers, 
instructors, and educators 
across all stages of education. 
In a cost-conscious 
environment, educators  
are focused on delivering 
high-quality educational 
experiences that set their 
students on a course to a 
better career and life for  
them and their families.
Employers, trade associations, 
and industry bodies are looking 
for education systems to help 
drive innovation, tackle the 
global skills gap, and contribute 
to long-term economic growth 
by ensuring that learners are 
better prepared to succeed in 
their careers. Increasingly, 
employers want their future 
employees to have the 
knowledge and skills to address 
social and environmental 
challenges. See p26.
Local, state, and national 
governments set standards 
that address students’ needs, 
close skills gaps, and meet the 
demands of the workforce. 
They also set policy to help 
drive sustainable growth and 
ensure that learners have 
access to affordable education 
and training opportunities.
In 2018, we invited all of our 
employees to take part in a 
survey to better understand 
where we can continue to 
improve. We also held town 
halls with senior leaders and 
global conversations with  
our CEO. We are working to 
develop talent, drive diversity 
and inclusion, ensure greater 
employee engagement, and 
spur innovation. See p40.
We communicate with our 
investors regularly, including  
at our financial results, our 
Annual General Meeting,  
and at investor meetings and 
conferences around the globe. 
We respond to requests for 
environmental, social, and 
governance information from 
investors and raters, including 
the Dow Jones Sustainability 
Index (DJSI) and FTSE4Good.
We regularly talk to and  
survey learners to understand 
how learning is evolving,  
and changing demographics, 
attitudes, and buying 
behavior. We also have 
conversations through  
social media and often  
involve our students in 
internal and external  
panels at conferences.
We collaborate with educators 
on thought leadership and 
product development.  
We aim to provide more 
engaging ways to connect 
educators with their students. 
For example, the move to 
digital enables more timely 
feedback on student  
progress to help set them  
up for success.
Through assessments and 
qualifications, online learning, 
and professional badging, 
among other solutions,  
we are supporting the efforts 
of industry to prepare workers 
for the jobs of today and of the 
future. We have listened to 
employers and are designing 
products that meet their 
needs of industry. See p21.
We are committed to building 
strong relationships with 
political and educational 
leaders. We do not make 
policy. Instead, we share  
best practices, inform the 
policymaking process, and 
forge Innovative partnerships 
aimed at increasing student 
access, affordability,  
and success.

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Business partners & 
suppliers
Communities
International, non-
governmental & non-
profit organizations
Media
Parents
From technology providers  
to suppliers, channel partners 
to our authors, we have a 
broad range of partners.  
We believe that working  
with partners who share  
our commitments to best 
practice and international 
standards for human  
rights and environmental 
stewardship strengthens  
our value chain and reduces 
our business costs and risks.
Educational opportunities  
and outcomes are closely 
linked to the prosperity  
of local communities and 
global development. Our 
communities around the  
world are interested and 
engaged in how we are using 
our products, services, and 
community investments to 
reach the learners who need  
it most and the steps we are 
taking to have a positive 
impact on society and  
the environment.
We listen carefully to the 
insights of organizations 
working to improve  
education for vulnerable  
and marginalized groups,  
as well as those looking  
at the impact of business  
in society.
The media and journalists 
play an important role in 
analyzing and reporting on 
business and corporate 
behavior, education, and 
sustainability. They also help 
us to raise awareness about 
our business, share  
our stories, and engage  
other stakeholders.
Parents want to see their 
children succeed in school  
and in life. Research shows 
that, while parents want to 
help their children progress  
in school, some struggle to 
understand how federal,  
state, and local policies  
and curriculum, and factors 
beyond academics have an 
impact on their child’s 
academic progress.
We build bilateral 
relationships with partners 
and suppliers. Our suppliers 
agree to our Business Partner 
Code  
of Conduct and terms of 
business, which outline  
our expectations for 
responsible business 
practices. We conduct due 
diligence and regularly engage 
in dialogue, training, audits, 
and remediation with our 
suppliers when needed.  
We collaborate with industry 
working groups to improve 
sustainability in our supply 
chain. See p49.
We partner with organizations 
working to improve education 
for vulnerable, marginalized 
groups, and those focused  
on the impact of business on 
society and the environment. 
We also encourage employees 
to get involved through 
volunteering and giving.  
See p45.
In addition to maintaining 
bilateral relationships,  
we participate in multi-
stakeholder initiatives that  
aim to strengthen global 
education systems. These 
relationships allow us to share 
experiences, capabilities,  
and perspectives; respond 
quickly to opportunities and 
criticisms; and help shapethe 
global education debate.  
See p30.
We work to help the media 
understand who we are as  
a company and how we are 
working to improve lives 
through learning and  
advance the UN Sustainable 
Development Goals.  
We maintain bilateral 
relationships, respond to 
media requests, and develop 
external materials for 
traditional and social media.
Pearson sponsors the Parent 
Toolkit, which is produced  
by NBC News, to support the 
needs of parents. The Parent 
Toolkit is a free resource 
designed to help parents 
navigate a student’s 
educational journey from 
pre-kindergarten through  
high school and beyond.  
Learn more at:  
www.parenttoolkit.com
Key stakeholders
More information is also available in our Annual Report: www.pearson.com/corporate/ar2018.html
WHO THEY ARE
OUR ENGAGEMENT

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
60
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Material issues
With our 2020 Sustainability Plan and approach to 
reporting, we focus on the issues that matter most to 
our business, our learners, and all of our stakeholders 
(see p59-60 for more about our stakeholders).
We undertook a comprehensive materiality 
assessment in 2015, following best practice  
outlined by the international reporting standard,  
the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
Based on consultation and an analysis of the areas 
that are most important to our stakeholders, we 
identified a shortlist of 19 issues that are most 
relevant to the sustainability of our business.  
Through further consultation with senior leaders 
at Pearson, we narrowed these down to nine issues 
we believe are most material at this time.
To determine materiality, we took into account: 
 The degree of influence and immediacy of 
opportunity we have to tackle the issues 
 The risk posed to our business, considering what 
steps we are already taking to address the issues 
 The relative impact of the issues on maintaining  
or building our reputation and business success.
Following the 2015 process, we made minor 
adjustments to our material issues in 2016 to reflect 
input from our stakeholders. We continuously 
evaluate the relevance of our material issues and  
we refresh our analysis when appropriate.
LOW
Stakeholder concern
HIGH
LOW
Business impact
HIGH
Data privacy 
and security
Corporate 
governance
Security, health,  
and safety
21st century skills
Girls’ and women’s  
empowerment  
and equality
Lobbying and public 
policy
High-stakes testing
Learner  
expectations
Economic 
empowerment
Competitiveness  
of digital products
Access
Literacy
Digital infrastructure
Academic quality
Affordability
Progression
GHG emissions and 
climate change
Education for sustainable 
development
Disruptive  
distribution models
	 Nine material issues 
	
in our Sustainability Plan and reporting
Degree of control
	 High	
	 Medium	
	Low 
Materiality matrix

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
61
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Our material issues are broken into 
four categories:
Corporate functions
Competitiveness of digital products
The potential impact on the business and learners  
if digital products are not perceived to be, or 
experienced as, leading in applicability, convenience, 
price, or other elements of overall competitiveness  
and functionality.
Data privacy and security
Ensuring personal information about our customers 
and learners is kept safe and secure, with appropriate 
systems and procedures in place to prevent privacy 
breaches and information loss.
Security, health, and safety
Ensuring the safety and security of all employees, 
learners, and suppliers (including through policies  
and practice, training, monitoring, and disclosure).
Corporate governance
Establishing a framework and set of processes 
promoting ethical conduct, transparency, and 
accountability to our stakeholders. 
Societal issues
Economic empowerment
Education is an important source of economic growth. 
Providing a quality education helps increase learners’ 
earning potential, allowing them to improve their 
standard of living, and providing an economic value 
that extends to future generations.
Education industry
Access
Ensuring equitable access to our products for all 
learners, including those with disabilities and  
special needs.
Affordability
Offering products and services that are affordable  
to different income groups.
21st century skills
Providing products and services that equip learners 
with the skills and competencies – such as creativity, 
entrepreneurship, and critical thinking – needed for 
success in the 21st century.
Environmental issues
GHG emissions and climate change
Managing and mitigating our greenhouse gas and 
climate emissions throughout our value chain.

Pearson Sustainability report 2018
62
Introduction
Reach more 
learners
Shape the future  
of learning
Be a trusted 
partner
Governance
Appendix
Designed and Produced by Friend www.friendstudio.com  
Print Pureprint Group, a Carbon Neutral company
This report has been printed on Edixion Challenger Offset  
which is FSC® certified and made from 100% Elemental  
Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp. The mill and the printer are both  
certified to ISO 14001 environmental management system  
and registered to EMAS the eco management Audit Scheme.
Photo credits: David Keith (p11), Brinker International (p12)  
and Save the Children/Ahmad Muhsen (p18), CAMFED (p24).
CBP00019082504183028

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