Governing Sustainability at Informa
Supplement to Sustainability Reporting
Last updated July 2024

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At Informa, we have an ambition to become achampion of sustainability within our business andacross the specialist markets we serve.
As part of our FasterForward programme, we havecommitted to a series of specific goals andactivities over a five year period, designed to help
us become an ever more sustainable, high impact
business and to support and accelerate change in
our markets.
We recognise that many stakeholders want tounderstand more about how we govern thisimportant topic and this document provides an
overview of our approach as a supplement toother sustainability reporting.

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents

2

1.

The importance of sustainability

3

2.

Governance structures

3

3.

Managing risk

44.

Focusing on the most material issues

5a.

Our current double materiality assessment (conducted 2023)

6b.

Material issues addressed under FasterForward

8

5.

Working with partners

96.

Supply chain engagement

10

7.

Policies and frameworks

11

8.

Transparency, honesty and integrity in sustainability reporting

11

9.

Data assurance

12

10.

Appendix

12a.

Environmental impacts

12i.

Energy Management:

12

ii.

Waste Management:

13

iii.

Water management:

13b.

Community:

13i.

Connecting the disconnected:

13

ii.

Economic contribution to host cities:

14

iii.

Value contributed to communities

14

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1. The importance of sustainability
Being a responsible and sustainable business contributes to Informa’s long-term success and is part ofthe benefits and value we can deliver to customers and other stakeholders. It forms part of our businessstrategy and is aligned to the company’s purpose and guiding principles, as well as being an importantmatter to many stakeholders too. As part of the FasterForward programme, Informa has committed to aseries of goals between 2020 and 2025, built on prior programmes, progress and investments.

2. Governance structures
Part of how sustainability is governed at Informa is through the structures put in place, which include
relevant specialist teams collaborating and reporting to senior management. Our current structure isshown below and a description of the role each team plays follows.

Function

Role

Sustainability
teamOversees strategy and reporting. The team provides strategic direction and enables
others in the business to be successful in their own sustainability ambitions, providing:
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Horizon scanning for emerging risks and opportunities related to sustainability
Ownership of the double materiality assessment process
Subject matter expertise and guidance to Group functions on meeting the
expectations of stakeholders on sustainability such as reporting
Support to business teams with embedding and improving sustainable
performance in their products, including the identification of new commercial
opportunities and customer engagement
Ongoing engagement with suppliers to help address sustainability challenges
Group-wide engagement programmes on sustainability issues such as volunteering
Data collection and reporting, in collaboration with other Group functions
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Informa PLC
Board

Monitors our approach to sustainability, including the FasterForward programme, andapproves significant sustainability programmes and initiatives as necessary.
The Board receives formal updates twice a year, including presentations from the Headof Sustainability covering FasterForward metrics, and discusses progress and relevant
issues regularly.

Executive
management

Actively involved in determining strategy, monitoring performance against targets andchampioning sustainability throughout the business.

Group
FinanceCollaborates with the Group Sustainability team. For example, our Climate Impacts
Steering Committee is co-chaired by the Group Finance Director and attended bymembers of the Group Finance and Sustainability teams.

Audit
Committee

The Audit Committee works with the Board to review, oversee and mitigate risks,
including sustainability-related risks.

Internal
Audit

Regularly reviews and provides internal assurance over targeted elements of oursustainability reporting

External
Audit

Provides third-party assurance over our sustainability data (see ‘Data Assurance’ section
below).

Working
GroupsSupport successful delivery of specific initiatives and areas of the business. For example,
there is a working group that leads the implementation of the Better Stands initiative.

Sustainability
champions

Organise and support local initiatives such as volunteering and Walk the World on a
voluntary basis alongside their day jobs.

Allcolleagues

Support and implement Informa’s sustainability programme: all colleagues have a roleto play.
To help colleagues understand their role, everyone receives training on Informa’s Codeof Conduct and key policies on joining, which includes content on our sustainability
programme, and there are ongoing engagement and awareness programmes during
the year through channels like the intranet, town halls, internal events and online
sessions.
In roles that have the most direct connection to sustainability programmes, specificsustainability objectives are increasingly part of performance appraisals.

3. Managing risk
Sustainability-related risks are managed as part of our company-wide Enterprise Risk Management
framework. They include the principal risks of data loss and cyber breach and the ability to attract andretain talent, and the sub risk of climate change.
Together, these topics are among the material sustainability issues for our business and our stakeholders,
as well as the focus of our sustainability reporting.
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4. Focusing on the most material issues
A key part of our governance framework is our approach to identifying and focusing on the issues that are
most material to Informa. We regularly review what our material issues are and make updates where
necessary, based on changes to risk registers and sustainability frameworks, as well as inputs fromcolleagues, expert partners and industry groups.
We also take into consideration the material issues defined by sustainability frameworks and indicesincluding the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the S&P
Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA), ISS, MSCI and Sustainalytics and closely review their
publications and updates.
Our most recent double materiality assessment was undertaken in 2023. This was undertaken with thehelp of Carnstone, a specialist in media sector sustainability issues and the secretariat for the Responsible
Media Forum. It was done with reference to our broader Enterprise Risk Management framework that
identifies Informa’s principal risks and is discussed in more depth in our Annual Reports.
This double materiality assessment involved:
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a desktop review of group risk registers, existing materiality assessments, current sustainability
strategy, and requests for information from investors, regulations and customers;a review of public sources of information such as sustainability indices and reporting frameworks;
consideration of our role in supporting in delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals;
consideration of our global risks identified in our group-wide risk management frameworks as well as
Informa’s principal risks;interviews with internal and external stakeholders including investors, industry associations andgroups who know our customers;
an examination of what our peers and other leaders in the sustainability space are prioritising.

Previous significant inputs into our materiality assessment process have included:
A media sector-wide materiality assessment, published by the Responsible Media Forum, to which weheavily contributed (2018, updated in 2022)• A landmark materiality study on the environmental impacts of the events industry in North America,
undertaken by industry participants, who we helped to convene and to which we heavily contributed(published 2022, called “Finding the Future, Together”)• Our annual colleague survey as well as surveys by industry associations such as the Publishers
Association, Responsible Media Forum and UFI, the Global Association for the Events Industry• Interviews and workshops led by a third-party consultant with over 50 colleagues representing all
divisions, including our CEO and other senior executives.
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The FasterForward programme, launched in 2020, was created in alignment with our material issues andto address where we found additional opportunities for Informa to make a positive impact. These are:••5

To address the climate change and waste impacts from our business value chain: targeted throughthe Faster To Zero pillar
To create positive change in our markets and for our customers, as well as business growth, throughour products and content: targeted through the Sustainability Inside pillar
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To create a positive impact and legacy in our communities: targeted through the Impact MultiplierpillarOur Board reviewed and approved our FasterForward programme and its main areas of focus in 2020.
•

The 2023 assessment confirmed these continue to be our most material sustainability issues, and that theFasterForward programme remains aligned with this.
Other material matters identified by this assessment are also addressed by Informa through teams
dedicated to the relevant area. These include:
Our Human Resources team who has put time and investment into making life at Informa welcoming,
engaging, productive, rewarding and enjoyable, as well as delivering on the basics ofgood employment.
• Our central Health, Safety and Security team works to ensure the safety and security of our working
environments and venues.
• Our Compliance and Information Security teams are responsible for data privacy and cyber security
issues.
• Our central Enterprise Risk Management team and processes around the business to identify, trackand manage our principal risks as well as any identified risks.
Details on how these issues are managed can be found in our Annual Report.
•

a. Our current double materiality assessment(conducted 2023)
Following the work by Carnstone, we have revised our double materiality assessment into the following
grid. It has helped us retain confidence that our FasterForward sustainability programme along with
programmes such as Life at Informa and our Health, Safety and Security programmes are tackling thematerial issues for sustainability and associated risks from our Enterprise Risk Management framework .

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We intend to update this materiality assessment and publish the results in 2025.

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b. Material issues addressed under FasterForward
Our FasterForward programme addresses many of the areas identified above as material issues for thecompany, as well as material issues for the environment and society. Below is an overview from a doublemateriality perspective. To see FasterForward in full, go to informa.com/sustainability where you will alsofind reports that detail our progress.
Impacts on Informa

Impacts on the environment & society

Faster to zero:
Climate change

The impacts of climate change on
Informa are described in our Climate
Impacts report and quantified in our
Annual Report. These range across both
physical and transition risks.

Informa's business activities generate
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Our
work to reduce these emissions is
described on our website and annual
sustainability report.

Faster to zero:
Waste

Waste management is an important
issue that we are working to address
and improve for the benefit of many
stakeholders.

Our activities necessarily generate somewaste. When waste ends up in landfill, it
releases GHG emissions and cancontaminate the soil and water.

Waste from our events is usuallyhandled by venues and is part ofInforma’s wider value chain.
Sustainability
InsideProviding sustainability content creates
growth opportunities for our brands
and creates more connection with ouraudiences, presenting Informa as apartner in them helping solve theirchallenges.

Thanks to our content, our customers candrive a more sustainable future for their
specialist markets having a greater impact
on the world.

ImpactMultiplier:Connecting the
Disconnected

Expanding our customer base result inbigger audiences and revenues.

More people have access specialist
knowledge and connections, which canfurther their personal development andcareer.

A diverse speaker, exhibitor andattendee base brings a broader
audience experience and knowledge,
increasing our value and interest.
Supporting diverse audiences isincreasingly important to ourstakeholders who also want to accessthose audiences.

ImpactMultiplier:
Economic

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Economic value created in host cities
helps build and maintain strong
relationships within local communities

Our events provide economic
opportunities for people and businesses
in our host cities.

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impact on hostcitieswhere we run our business andenhances relationships with host cities.

ImpactMultiplier: Valuecontribution tocommunitygroupsCharitable contributions can be a cost
to Informa but can also help build andmaintain strong relationships within
local communities where we run ourbusiness.

Our cash, in-kind and induced donations
benefit a wide range of non-profit
organisations, community groups andindividuals.

ImpactMultiplier:
Savingcustomers
more carbon
than we emit

The more effectively Informa canconvene our audiences and create
efficient uses of their time andaudience, the higher our Net Promoter
Score and likelihood to return are, as
well as a higher opportunity to pricebased on the value delivered to andperceived by customers.

Bringing a whole industry under one roof
reduces the need for our attendees totravel to different places to achieve thesame goals. This saves them time andmoney and reduces carbon emissions.

Our other material issues are actively addressed by other company programmes, including our AllInforma
diversity and inclusion initiative and comprehensive information security programmes.

5. Working with partners
We know that mutually beneficial partnerships are integral to our long-term success, and our approach is
to focus on building partnerships with community groups and trade associations that make the most of
our unique skills, resources, and knowledge: where we can contribute uniquely to society through ourcore business operations.
Working in partnership is also an important part of how the global community will build a moresustainable future, as is highlighted in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG17). We seek to form
strategic partnerships with organisations who want to achieve mutually compatible aims. What this looks
like varies between our businesses and brands. Some examples are provided each year in our
Sustainability Reports and Annual Reports.
We are a member of a number of trade associations around the world and focus our partnerships on asmall number of global, large media, publishing or events trade associations so that we can maximise our
impact.
Within several main trade associations, we have helped lead the work on sustainability and align our
industry with the Paris agreement, including by open sourcing much of our approaches and data.
Examples of our partnerships include:••9

We have worked with the Joint Meetings Industry Council to develop the Net Zero Carbon Events
initiative.
We are a founding signatory of the Responsible Media Forum’s Media Climate Pact (which includes a2040 net zero target).
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As a member of the Publishers Association’s Sustainability Group, we helped create and signed up to
the association’s Climate Action Pledge (which includes a 2050 net zero target).
To address emissions from our digital products, we helped create the Digital Impact (DIMPACT) project
to better measure and manage emissions of digital content. These industry commitments are
consistent with our own climate ambitions and cover all of our main activities around the world: live
events, publishing and digital content.

••

Informa’s Head of Sustainability oversees our involvement with the sustainability committees and working
groups of these trade associations. Progress is reported to the Board formally twice a year.
As a member of these committees, we are able to monitor the activities of these trade associations inrelation to climate change and work with peers and suppliers to reduce emissions and make our industry
more sustainable.

6. Supply chain engagement
We work with key business partners and suppliers on relevant and material sustainability matters, with afocus on the activities that have the greatest impacts. These are often driven by the nature of therelationship and service delivered. Our most significant, scale relationships in this regard are the use of
paper and timber in our print publications and the stands built by exhibitor-appointed contractors at our
events, and the hiring of event venues and other procurement activities related to our events.
Supply chain partner

How we work with them

Printers

We only use vendors who can give evidence thatthey are using sustainable paper. We conduct
desk assessments to check that all paper used byour suppliers is accredited by the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) or similar. We also sendan annual packaging and sustainability
questionnaire to suppliers to ensure continued
compliance.

Venues, caterers and general contractors

Through our Fundamentals programme, we work
to reduce energy use and waste at events andenhance the sustainability of the food & beverage
options. We also regularly engage on topics suchas health and safety.

Logistics providers

There are very few areas where we directly engage
logistics partners or move physical productHowever, we recognise it is part of our broader
value chain and actively work to reduce the impactof logistics and transportation through our normal
engagement with customers and partners onsustainability, and programmes like Better Stands.

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Exhibitors and their contractors

As part of our Better Stands programme, we
conduct onsite checks to assess whether
exhibitors use disposal or reusable stands.

Other suppliers

We are working to identify the procurement
activities outside of the above areas that generate
GHG emissions and intend to engage with themost significant suppliers in these areas on
emissions reduction programmes.

7. Policies and frameworks
Our approach to sustainability and broader business governance is underpinned by a set of policies
including Informa’s Code of Conduct and Sustainability Policy. All are available on our website.
In reporting our sustainability performance, we follow the guidance provided by several frameworks,
including the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), SASB and GRI.
Our SASB and GRI reports are available on our website.
Like many companies, Informa has been tracking climate change as an emerging risk. We align with andare with TCFD’s 11 disclosure recommendations. Our climate impacts report is available atinforma.com/climateimpacts and within our Annual Report.

8. Transparency, honesty and integrity in sustainability
reporting
We seek to present a fair reflection of our work on sustainability. We use the reporting principles from the
GRI guidance (GRI 101 – Foundation document) to ensure that our sustainability reporting is accurate anddoes not make unsubstantiated claims about our environmental or social impacts, avoiding what issometimes called greenwashing. These principles are: accuracy, balance, clarity, comparability, reliability
and timeliness.
To meet these requirements,
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We focus on our most material issues
We are transparent about our reporting methodology
We report based on accepted sustainability frameworks such as GRI, SASB and TCFD and alsoseek to present information that is important and material. We do not overemphasise issues thatare immaterial to the company or have limited relevance to stakeholders
We provide at least annual updates on progress against our commitments in our sustainability
reports
We seek independent verification of our data

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9. Data assurance
Each year, Informa’s internal audit team reviews a selection of externally reported data from theSustainability Report. To further increase our data accuracy and in response to stakeholder requests, we
introduced external assurance over a selection of our data in 2019. We engaged Bureau Veritas toundertake a limited assurance engagement using the ISAE 3000 assurance standards. In 2023, Bureau
Veritas also provided assurance over our double materiality assessment process.
Their conclusion and a summary of the work they performed is included within their assurance statement
which is available on our website at: www.informa.com/sustainability/sustainability-reports.

10.

Appendixa. Environmental impacts
i. Energy Management:•

In our offices:

Energy consumption at our offices account for most of our scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions. As part of ourscience-based target to reduce our scope 1&2 emissions by 55% by 2030 from a 2017 baseline, we areworking to reduce the carbon footprint from our energy consumption at our offices and are purchasing
electricity from renewable sources and through investment in energy efficiency measures in our offices. As
part of our compliance with the UK ESOS legislation, we conduct regular energy efficiency audits at ourlargest UK offices.
We have introduced a balanced working model, where the majority of colleagues balance their time
between working in an office and working remotely, each week. This has enabled us to consolidate ouroffice space and lower our offices’ energy consumption. In addition, we use an established global process
to purchase Energy Attribution Certificates (EACs) from renewable electricity producers. This allows us tomatch electricity usage with certificated renewable electricity generation and creates additional incentives
for power generation companies to invest in renewable power.
We report on our progress in reducing our emissions from offices and on the percentage of our electricity
consumption that comes from renewable sources.
•

In our products:

At our events, we have invested in innovative solutions to decrease our energy consumption. Through our
Better Stands programme, we work with exhibitors to switch from disposable stands to reusable stands,
therefore reducing the amount of energy used to make, transport and dispose of disposable stands. We
also seek to buy renewable electricity for more than 80% of the venue electricity use we are responsiblefor.
Within our Taylor & Francis business, we continue to invest into our digital books platform supporting
customers’ continuing shift towards ebooks and other digital formats. The move towards on-demandprinting, nearer to customer markets, also helps us to reduce the energy needed to print, store and ship
our products.
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ii. Waste Management:
Waste from our direct operations is relatively small and we encourage colleagues and landlords to recycle.
To reach our goals of halving our waste by 2025 and becoming a zero-waste business by 2030, we havefocused on the most significant source of waste in our operations: the waste generated at our events, inparticular from exhibitors who commission single-use exhibition stands. We conduct assessments ofstands at a large number of our events and, following these assessments, we incentivise and work withexhibitors to move to non-disposal stands as part of our Better Stands programme. We train a broad
range of colleagues who are exhibitor-facing on Better Stands to make roll out as effective as possible.
Within Taylor & Francis, our largest source of waste comes from the disposal of unused and unsold books
and journals. These are ordinarily sent for pulping and recycled. We’ve implemented a number of
initiatives to reduce the amount of publications disposed of: some books are donated, we print in smaller
runs based on improved sales forecasts and we’ve expanded our print on demand capabilities, which help
us to only print what’s needed and print as close as possible to the customers, therefore reducing theneed for shipping products.

iii. Water management:
Most of our largest offices have LEED or BREEAM ratings and incorporate a number of energy, waste andwater efficiency measures. The nature of Information Services sector in which we operate means that we
do not heavily rely on water. We do however monitor and report on the water consumed at our offices
and events.

b. Community:
Our positive impacts on the world are multiplied when we improve access to knowledge, contribute
economically to our host cities and invest in our communities.

i. Connecting the disconnected:
This programme aims to find ways to connect those who traditionally have struggled to access knowledge
and networks through our products and in the customer markets we work in.
This can be for many reasons. We focus on improving:

13•

Accessibility: We all have different abilities, physical and mental attributes. By considering these in
the design of our products, we reach and connect more people.

•

Social equity: By welcoming and actively including people from traditionally underrepresented
communities, including women, LGBTQIA+ communities, minority ethnic communities and somereligious communities, we aim to create more opportunities for more people to engage with our
products.

•

Understanding: By considering factors such as language, technical terminology and theexperience and levels of education of audiences, we aim tomake our products more accessible.

Informa PLC | Governing Sustainability
informa.com/sustainability•Access to resources: We work to design our products to improve accessibility for those withdifferent levels of resource including visas to travel, an internet connection, and buying power.

Initiatives vary by division, brand and country and include everything from specialist networking sessions
to scholarships, discounted access, characteristics of the event, targeted outreach and partnerships with
relevant social groups.

ii. Economic contribution to host cities:
Our commitments don’t stop at our office and event doors. We want to build and maintain strong
relationships within local communities where we run our business.
When thousands of people gather in one city to attend one of our events, the local economy is boosted bytheir spend with local businesses and it creates investment opportunities with local industries who exhibit.
Our economic impact calculations include Informa’s spend on local suppliers as well as event attendees’
and visitors’ spend on hotels, local transportation and food. We also take into account the percentage of
spend that stays with local business and recirculates through the local economy. The calculations are
based on a model developed for Informa by a third-party consultant, Little Blue Research.

iii. Value contributed to communities
As well as the economic impact of our events, we also contribute value to local community groups throughdonations of cash and products, giving exposure to community groups, sharing skills through volunteeringand by being a catalyst for fundraising activities.
We measure our contributions where practical but some things we do just because they are the rightthings to do.

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