Reed Elsevier and Corporate Responsibility - CECODES · Health and Safety > 34 ... Evolve.A portal site with more than 400,000 registered users providing ... 7 Our Corporate Responsibility

Reed Elsevierand CorporateResponsibility Our Performance in 2005

Corporate responsibilityis fundamental to Reed ElsevierAcross our four divisions – Elsevier (science and medical), LexisNexis(legal), Harcourt Education and Reed Business – we are committed tomaking consistent improvements in how we conduct our business andmanage our impact on stakeholders, including employees, customers,shareholders and governments. Each has influenced the steps we took in 2005 to become a better company. We were further aided by the United Nations Global Compact to which Reed Elsevier is a signatory. Its ten principles, encompassing human rights, labour and the environment, offer a framework for positive, ethical action for our own activities and those of our suppliers.

This report provides a review of our corporate responsibility approachcovering the five key areas of governance, marketplace, workplace,community and environment, our performance over the past year and goals for 2006. As one of the world’s largest media companies, it reflectsour interest in transparency and desire to be a market leader in all aspectsof our operations.

We made good progress in our corporate responsibility programme in 2005.We will work to advance our activities further in 2006.

Sir Crispin Davis, CEO

1 Chief Executive’s Introduction

2005IntroductionChief Executive’s Introduction > 1Our Business > 3Our Corporate Responsibility Approach

and Key Developments in 2005 > 72005 Summary – Key Corporate

Responsibility Achievements > 9Third Party Recognition > 11

Corporate GovernanceBackground > 12CR Governance Structure > 12Reed Elsevier Values > 13Code of Ethics and Business Conduct > 14Action on the UN Global Compact > 15Anticipating Trends in Company Law > 172006 Corporate Governance Objectives > 17

MarketplaceProducts and Services > 18Editorial Policy > 20Customers > 23Access > 24Supply Chain > 292006 Marketplace Objectives > 30

WorkplaceOur People > 31Communication > 32Health and Safety > 342006 Workplace Objectives > 35

CommunityRE Cares in 2005 > 36Special Projects > 37What We Give > 38Community Impact > 392006 Community Objectives > 40Help when it was needed most > 41

EnvironmentReed Elsevier and the Environment > 42Environmental Data Summary > 43Energy > 44CO2 Emissions and Green Energy > 46Water > 46Transport > 47Paper > 48Waste > 49Packaging > 50

EnvironmentEnvironment and the Supply Chain > 50Biodiversity > 51Environmental Campaigns > 52Environmental Knowledge within the Group > 532006 Environment Objectives > 53Environmental Case Studies > 54

Assurance > 55

AppendicesAppendix 1 Corporate structure > 56Appendix 2 Reed Elsevier and the United Nations

Global Compact > 58Appendix 3 Key CSR Issues for the Media Industry > 60Appendix 4 Sample Journal Editorial Policy > 61Appendix 5 Product Donation Policy > 63Appendix 6 Reed Elsevier Socially

Responsible Supplier (SRS) Group > 65Appendix 7 Sample 2005 Remediation Report,

Printer – Malaysia > 66Appendix 8 Charities we supported centrally in 2005 > 67Appendix 9 KPMG LLP Assurance Statement > 70

Reed Elsevier Independent Assurance of UK Environmental Data > 72

Appendix 10 GRI Index > 74

Contact detailsYour views are important to us. Please send your comments andquestions to [email protected] Or write: Dr. Márcia BaliscianoDirector, Corporate ResponsibilityReed Elsevier (UK) Ltd1-3 StrandLondon, WC2N 5JR United Kingdom www.reedelsevier.com

The Reed Elsevier Corporate Responsibility Report is available online. We print other key corporate documents. The 2005 Annual Review was printed on iRecycled Satin which is manufactured from 70% Forest Stewardship Council certified recycled fibres. The C02 emissionsproduced from the production and distribution of the Annual Review and other documents have been neutralised through forestry and energy friendly projects around the world.

Cover: Reed Elsevier supports Afrikids; here young Ghanian reader,Blessing, enjoys a story with the charity’s founder, Georgie Cohen

2 Index

Elsevierwww.elsevier.com

Elsevier is a world leading provider of scientific, technical and healthinformation for professional users. These include scientists and researchers,doctors, nurses and health practitioners, academics and students. Elsevier’s20,000 products and services include print and online journals, books, CDs,databases and portals. Elsevier’s innovative electronic products include itsScienceDirect platform, the Scopus database, the award winning scientific web search engine Scirus and MD Consult. Its world-renowned publicationsinclude Gray’s Anatomy, The Lancet, Tetrahedron and Cell.

Products include:

Thelancet.com. Subscription driven online sister publication to the leadingmedical journal whose archive dates back to 1823.

Evolve. A portal site with more than 400,000 registered users providing accessto vital texts, tools and resources for nursing students in the US.

Scopus. The world’s largest abstract and citation database of researchliterature. It indexes the bibliographic information of 15,000 titles from 4,000 different publishers and covers all scientific disciplines.

7,300 employees Sales in 180 countries

3 Our Business

Scopus. The world’s largest abstract and citation database of research literature. It indexes the bibliographic information of 15,000 titles from 4,000 different publishers and covers all scientific disciplines.

>

Revenue Adjusted Operating Profit

£m % £m %Elsevier 1,436 +8 449 +5LexisNexis 1,466 +13 338 +17Harcourt Education 901 +3 161 +2Reed Business 1,363 +5 214 +9Unallocated costs – – (20) –Reed Elsevier 5,166 +7 1,142 +8

*Growth percentages at constant rates

2005 Growth rates12 months to 31 December

LexisNexiswww.lexisnexis.com

LexisNexis is a global provider of authoritative legal, tax, regulatory, publicrecords, news and business information solutions, both online and in print.LexisNexis uses new advanced technology to allow law firms and businessesto customise products to the specific information needs and language of a country, jurisdiction or market, with seamless searching and linking.LexisNexis works with legal and business professionals across six continents,providing information solutions through some of the world’s most respectedand authoritative imprints, such as Martindale-Hubbell, Butterworths, Tolley,Juris Classeur, Matthew Bender, Abeledo-Perrot, Orac and LexisNexis.

Products include:

Applied Discovery. Leading electronic discovery services enable clients to search, organise, react and produce electronic documents.

Lawyers.com. Leading US online directory of legal services, providesinformation on more than 440,000 lawyers and their services.

Know Your Customer. Risk management tools provide important frauddetection and identity authentication services to law enforcement, homelandsecurity, commercial and legal customers.


4 Our Business

Lawyers.com. Leading US online directory of legal services, provides information on more than440,000 lawyers and their services.

>

2005 2004 %constant

£m £m changeRevenue 5,166 4,812 +7%Adjusted operating profit 1,142 1,066 +8%Adjusted operating margin 22% 22%Net interest expense (140) (132)Adjusted profit before tax 1,002 934 +9%

*Adjusted figures are stated before amortisation of acquired intangible assets and acquisition integrated costs

Adjusted profit and loss12 months to 31 December

Harcourt Educationwww.harcourt.com

Harcourt Education is a leading publisher serving the pre-kindergarten to Grade 12 school, assessment and trade publishing markets in the US. It also serves the primary and secondary school markets internationally. Its businesses provide a variety of books, print and electronic learningmaterials, as well as professional development and assessment programmes.In the US, Harcourt Education encompasses Harcourt School Publishers, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, and Harcourt Achieve, Professional and TradePublishers. Its testing business, Harcourt Assessment, serves both theschools assessment and clinical testing markets.

Products include:

TexasArts. Recently adopted basal programme for Grades 1–5 in Texasschools, the programme will be used by over 400,000 students.

Versant. Telephone and internet delivered language skills tests provideevaluations of speaking and listening proficiency in minutes.

Holt Social Studies. Leading basal programme for US Grades 6–12.


5 Our Business

Holt Social Studies. Leading basal programme for US Grades 6-12.

>

TexasArts. Recently adopted basal programme for Grades 1-5 in Texas schools, the programme will be used by over 400,000 students.

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Reed Businesswww.reedbusiness.com

Reed Business is a leading global business-to-business publisher andexhibition organiser, providing magazines, exhibitions, conferences, onlinemedia, directories and marketing services to business customers across six continents. Reed Business Information has a portfolio including leadingbrands such as Variety, EDN and Interior Design in the US; Community Care,New Scientist, Estates Gazette, totaljobs.com and Kellysearch in the UK;Elsevier, Boerderij, and Distrifood in the Netherlands. Reed Exhibitionsmanages 460 events globally in 52 industries, bringing together 90,000suppliers and 5.5 million buyers each year.

Products include:

Variety. The entertainment and media industry’s premier source of businessinformation celebrated its centenary in 2005.

XpertHR. Industry leading portal site providing data, legal information andnews to HR professionals.

totaljobs.com. One of the UK’s leading job boards, visited by one million jobseekers every month.


6 Our Business

Variety. The entertainment and media industry’spremier source of business information celebrated its centenary in 2005.

>

XpertHR. Industry leading portal site providingdata, legal information and news to HRprofessionals.

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Defining our Corporate Responsibility Agenda

and extensive external consultation. During the year, we completed over 31 CR-related surveys and held 42 meetings with members of the Socially ResponsibleInvestment (SRI) community and government. Wecommented on the UK’s Department for Environment,Food and Rural Affairs proposed environmental keyperformance indicators and contributed to a policy forumon competitive and sustainable business with EuropeanCommission Vice President Margot Wallström. We alsoengaged with Britain’s All Parliamentary Group onCorporate Responsibility.

In 2005 we made progress in each of the five areas –corporate governance, marketplace, workplace, community and environment – that comprise our corporate responsibility (CR) agenda. We define thatagenda in two ways: by reviewing the material issues that affect our company and by considering the views of employees, customers, shareholders, governments and civil society.

We review our CR agenda regularly. Twice each year our CR Forum meets to set goals and track our progress. The Forum is chaired by CEO Sir Crispin Davis who hasBoard responsibility for CR. The CR Director also makes a full presentation to the Board annually.

We play an active role in the Media Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR) Forum and serve on the steeringgroup, working closely with sector peers includingPearson, BBC, BSkyB and EMI. Together we have beenexamining how joint action might improve media literacy,especially public access and understanding of media – for example, the differences between fact, opinion andreportage – which can be limited by technological, financialor other barriers.

Our CR agenda is bolstered by ongoing dialogue: withemployees through such mechanisms as the Reed ElsevierCares section of our corporate intranet and feedback from colleagues working in the field; internal workinggroups like our Socially Responsible Supplier network;

7 Our Corporate Responsibility Approach and Key Developments in 2005

Composition of the CR ForumChairman CEO

Members: CR DirectorGeneral Counsel/Company SecretaryCorporate Relations DirectorHR DirectorCEO of International Business UnitGlobal Head of Production/PurchasingCorporate Audit Services DirectorCorporate Finance DirectorGroup Chief AccountantGlobal Supplier Management Director

Through the Reed Elsevier Pension Scheme statement of investment principles, investment managers use theirdiscretion to incorporate social, environmental, and ethicalconsiderations in their investment decisions. We also offer the Clerical Medical PP Evergreen fund for employeesto make tax efficient donations to their pension fund. The fund aims "to achieve long-term capital growth byinvesting in shares of companies throughout the worldwhose products, processes, or services contribute to the restoration and renewal of the earth's ecology or to a cleaner and healthier environment. The Reed ElsevierPension Investment Board has made a decision not toinvest in tobacco companies.

Our CR policy is also shaped by our membership inBusiness in the Community, Earthwatch, the LondonBenchmarking Group, the Corporate Responsibility Group,the Media CSR Forum, as well as involvement with the UKAll Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Responsibility,and Respect Table.

During the year, Board members helped promote our CR commitment. Speaking at the fourth AnnualInternational Corporate Counsel Conference in February2005, outgoing Chairman, Morris Tabaksblat, noted,“Corporate governance is the systems and controls, or the checks and balances if you will, that an organisationputs in place to ensure the transparency, integrity, andaccountability of its actions.”

As CEO Sir Crispin Davis indicated to all staff, "ReedElsevier maintains its global standing in publishing andother industries due to the excellence of its employees…Because of all they give, we believe we must givesomething back."

CR issues are relevant to our investments. In some placesin the developing world, for example, we make additionalCR considerations to ensure a market’s social andeconomic stability and protection of our copyrights. Suchevaluations are fundamental to the business case for ourinvestments. One example is our investment in Siperian,which provides customer data integration solutions to helpcompanies meet regulatory requirements, manage risk,and maintain privacy and information integrity.

8 Our Corporate Responsibility Approach and Key Developments in 2005

Promoting our Corporate Responsibility Agenda

2005 Summary – Key Corporate Responsibility Achievements

9 2005 Summary – Key Corporate Responsibility Achievements

Below is a summary of our key CR achievements in 2005.They are described more fully in the pages that follow.

1. Governance

2005 Objectives: Use the CR Forum to monitor CR risks,policy and programmes; continue to take proactive steps on CR legislation; promote the Code of Ethics andBusiness Conduct; active stakeholder engagement with key stakeholders; pursue new policy initiatives including a Record Retention Policy

Achievements• CR Forum used to monitor CR risks, policy,

and programmesTwo meetings held during the year; Forum set and reviewed objectives, policies and programmes

• Proactive steps taken on CR legislationSarbanes compliance including entity level controlsreview/templates; consultation with UK Department forEnvironment, Food and Rural Affairs on new corporateenvironmental key performance indicators

• Code of Ethics and Business Conduct actively promotedCompliance Committees for all RE divisions areunderway; more than 3000 employees receive direct and distance Code training; focus of new internal CR newsletter

• Active engagement with key stakeholders Strong involvement with UN Global Compact includingmembership on UK steering group; more than 40 meetings with SRI community and government;completed approximately 30 CR-related surveys

• New policy initiatives including a Record Retention Policy Launched and available to all employees on corporateintranet’s Policy Zone

2. Marketplace

2005 Objectives: Develop customer focus through value-added online services; initiate new policy initiativesincluding an editorial policy; active promotion of theSupplier Code of Conduct; wider roll-out of the SupplierEnvironmental Survey

Achievements• Customer Focus improved through value-added

online services All four divisions advanced existing online services anddeveloped new offerings. For example, Elsevier’s Scirusindexed 13 million patents from patent offices in the US, Japan, and Europe enabling clients to search moreeasily. And Harcourt Assessment launched StanfordLearning First, a US web-based classroom assessmentsystem for grades three through eight that is custom-built one state at a time to help states improve studentachievement in reading and mathematics.

• Introduced new policy initiatives including an RE editorial policyEditorial Policy developed with cross-business inputtaking into account existing editorial policies for specific RE publications and external best practice

• Actively Promoted the Supplier Code of Conduct;rolled-out the Supplier Environmental Survey more widelyA Socially Responsible Supplier Group was established;activities included comprehensive environmental surveyfor key suppliers and internal audit tool

3. Workplace

2005 Objectives: Tangible advance of Valuing our People through new Personal Development Plan (PDP)programme and roll-out of 1:1 coaching programme;progress Group Health and Safety Survey

Achievements • Tangible advance of valuing our people through

new PDP programme and roll-out of 1:1 coaching programme Focus at 2005 Senior Management Conference; more flexible and user-friendly PDP launched globally,so too 1:1 Coaching programme from September;updated RE Orientation site for new hires; 100 day survey;360 degree tool for manager feedback developed

• Employee diversity promotedImproved diversity data showing male/female split of employees

• Widened health and safety data collection and trainingPiloted health and safety survey covering 75% of RE keyfacilities with comparative data (2005 vs 2004) for the first time; expanded health and safety training, wellnessprogrammes and confidential counselling

4. Community

2005 Objectives: Grow and deepen RE Cares Programme in major business locations; expand to new locations;increase volunteerism by 10% from 2004

Achievements • Grew and deepened RE Cares programme in major

business locations Rolled out third annual global RE Cares Month;expanded RE Cares Challenge; initiated RE Caresregional meetings in US, Europe and Asia-Pacific

• Expanded community programmes to new locationsLaunched programme in India, China and Japan

• Increased volunteerism Increased by 33% from 2004

5. Environment

2005 Objectives: Advance environmental goals by keyfacility; introduce Green Teams in 50% of key facilities to engage employees in environmental awareness andactivities; use group-wide environmental survey data to focus on areas of improvement

Achievements • Appointed environmental coordinator

New environmental coordinator helped further RE environmental goals

• Advanced environmental goals by key facilityIn 2005, 51 key facilities set targets including a 1.2 million kWh energy reduction

• Introduced gREen Teams in 50% of key facilities to engage employees in environmental awareness and activities More than 50% of key facilities instituted gREen teams,helping to introduce recycling schemes, gREen days and environment-oriented volunteering, including the2005 environmental campaign: War on Waste

• Used group environmental survey data to focus on areas of improvementProvided detailed feedback to facilities on results;conducted internal audit of seven US sites; enhancedgroup environmental survey with improved coverage and methodology

Inadequate performance in any of the five areas abovecould have a negative effect on the operation of ourbusiness. However, these five areas also presentopportunities to demonstrate best practice performance,with the potential to improve the growth and profitability of our business and the perception of stakeholders.

Sources for this Report include the annual RE GroupCommunity Survey, Environmental Survey, and Health and Safety Survey; Socially Responsible Supplier groupinternal/external audits; and ongoing monitoring and auditprocesses including the senior manager self-assessmentquestionnaire. The latter asks business leaders to assesshow effectively they control risks, including the five areas of CR. Our data collection methods are reviewed byinternal audit, our accounting services department, and our“Infinity” global purchasing and production team. In 2005,we also consulted with the London Benchmarking Groupto improve capture of both the absolute value and worth of our cash and in-kind contributions.

10 2005 Summary – Key Corporate Responsibility Achievements

2005 Summary – Key Corporate Responsibility Achievements continued

Reed Elsevier is a member of FTSE4Good, the Per CentClub, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In 2005, we were highly commended for our CR activities in the UK National Business Awards, and we came firstamong commercial media companies in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index for thesecond consecutive year. We currently hold a AAA ratingwith Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, and we were namedone of the Global 100 Sustainable Companies at the 2005World Economic Forum in Davos.

According to a 2005 assessment by Vigeo, an independentcorporate social responsibility rating agency, our CRinitiatives demonstrated, “remarkable communityinvolvement best practice – in a sector with high performersin this domain – as well as elaborate policies and tools acrossmost domains under review, and strong developments inthe key area of responsible editorial policy.”

11 Third Party Recognition

Third Party Recognition

Corporate Governance –Background

We believe good governance is essential for the success of our business.

We support and comply with the provisions and principlesof governance set out in the UK Combined Code onCorporate Governance (the UK Code) and the DutchCorporate Governance Code (the Dutch Code).

We maintain standards of corporate governance anddisclosure as applicable to companies listed on the stockexchanges of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States.

In line with current best practice, information anddocuments which detail our governance procedures are available to stakeholders at www.reedelsevier.com. See Appendix 1.

As former RE Chairman, Morris Tabaksblat, stated at thestart of 2005, “Transparency, integrity and accountability is essential to ensure that the interests of the stakeholdersin an enterprise – that is providers of capital, customers,employees, suppliers, and civil society and government –are properly considered by management in arriving at decisions that ensure the economic continuity of theenterprise. Only in this way can all stakeholders haveconfidence in our role within the economic system in which we operate.”

12 Corporate Governance – Background/CR Governance Structure

Corporate responsibility structure within Reed Elsevier

“Excellence in corporate governance is not an add-on – it is fundamental to the way Reed Elsevier does business.”Steve Cowden, Company Secretary

Board

CEO andCR Forum

Business UnitCEOs

ChampionNetworks

Employees

Reed Elsevier Values

Innovation means we welcome and drive change. Inchallenging the status quo, we encourage our people to beentrepreneurial and to learn from mistakes. We constantlylook for new ideas and value 'out-of-the-box' thinking.

Customer Focus means we have a passion for understandingand exceeding our customers’ expectations. Acting withintegrity, we strive to be their indispensable partner.

Passion For Winning means we are determined to be thebest in order to outperform our competition. We focus onbeing a high energy, fast moving, decisive organisation that executes and delivers well, and sets aggressive goals.We hold ourselves accountable for outstanding results.

Boundarylessness means we embrace the global nature ofour business and encourage people to work collaborativelyacross business units, hierarchy, functions and geography.We seek to break down barriers between organisationsand encourage our people to support one another, and develop positive partnerships with customers and suppliers.

Valuing Our People means we put the highest priority onrecruiting, developing and retaining outstanding people. We recognise and reward achievement and empower staffat all levels to maximise their potential and contributionwithin a work environment based on respect and open and honest communication.

The Reed Elsevier values are the starting point for all we do. Customer Focus, Valuing our People, Passion for Winning, Innovation and Boundarylessness are the five guiding principles behind our activities. We monitor the progress of each division as it embeds the values in itsprocesses. Senior executives are assessed on their valuesleadership and all employees are evaluated on how wellthey are living the RE values as part of the annual PersonalDevelopment Plan process. A key mechanism for trainingon the RE values is the REorientation site, part of ourglobal intranet aREna. Here, prospective and existingemployees can learn more about the five values and explorewhat it is really like to work in a Reed Elsevier company.

At the annual RE Management Conference for the top 200 managers, which is hosted by CEO Sir Crispin Davis,awards are given to individuals who best exemplify each of the five Reed Elsevier values. As Sir Crispin noted at the 2005 ceremony, “The quality of our management teamat Reed Elsevier is better now than it has ever been and it is becoming increasingly hard each year to select just fivepeople as our winners.” Winners in 2005 included CEO ofRBI UK, Keith Jones, for exceptional leadership in Valuingour People. As Jones stated in an interview on his division’sinternet site, “These aren't fair weather values. They have to make sense in tough times just as much as whenmarkets are strong. I also think a company defines itself in the way it deals with making difficult decisions muchmore than the easy ones. Introducing RBI values wasn't a back-door route to cost control, it was part of planningour long-term future. We’ve made real progress as a company in that time, but we still have a lot to do – and the values will be a constant reminder of how we want to achieve our commercial ambitions.”

13 Reed Elsevier Values

Innovation means we welcome and drive change.

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Passion For Winning means we are determined tobe the best in order to outperform our competition.

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Furthering our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct

Our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct is a tangiblemanifestation of our values. It is disseminated to everyemployee. The Code is a guide to the way we go aboutachieving our business goals. It helps us behave in anopen, honest, ethical and principled manner. It covers such key topics as acceptance of gifts and entertainment,company political involvement, safety, human rights, and protection against retaliation if a suspected violation of the Code or of law is confidentially reported. The Codestipulates that bribery is illegal. Any employee whoengages in such activity will be subject to strict disciplinaryaction, up to and including termination of contract.

Our Code states that Reed Elsevier strictly prohibitsemployees from using corporate funds for any politicalcontributions except in the United States, where suchcontributions and activities are permitted if they complywith stringent reporting and disclosure regulations. In the United States, Reed Elsevier requires employees toobtain prior approval from the US General Counsel and theVice President of Government Affairs of Reed Elsevier Inc. for any and all proposed political contributions.

Along with the Reed Elsevier Values, compliance with the Code is part of the Personal Development Plan towhich every employee is subject. This highlights anytraining on the Code (or the values) that might be required.

The RE CR Forum has annual responsibility for reviewingthe Code to ensure this critical document follows currentbest practice and legislation. There are compliancecommittees for all four divisions and Reed Elsevier headoffice staff. In 2005, 1,025 employees attended live codetraining sessions, while an additional 2000 participated in an online training course developed with the technicalassistance of our LexisNexis division. We aim to increasetraining on the Code to 10,000 employees in 2006. This is a key CR governance goal.

We are taking steps to improve the system through whichcode breaches can be anonymously reported and arerolling out toll-free lines and web-based reporting systemsacross the globe. The service provider for these systemswill ensure materials are translated into all languagesspoken by RE employees. They also provide guidance on worker relations and ensure global programmescomply with relevant privacy laws: for instance France’sCommissions Nationale de l’informatique et des Libertés,or CNIL on whistleblowing procedures.

14 Code of Ethics and Business Conduct

Action on the UN Global Compact

The United Nations Global Compact links businessesaround the world with UN agencies, labour and civil societyin support of ten principles in the areas of human rights,labour, the environment, and anti-corruption. “Through the power of collective action, the Global Compact seeks to advance responsible corporate citizenship so thatbusiness can be part of the solution to the challenges of globalisation… [and] a more sustainable and inclusiveglobal economy.”

Since becoming a signatory, Reed Elsevier has soughtways to advance the principles of the UN Global Compact(UNGC) within the company and beyond. In the last year,RE took part in the 2005 Leaders Summit in Shanghai,China; played an active role in the UK Network SteeringGroup; contributed to its annual Network Conference held in Barcelona; participated in a pilot peer review of the key UNGC monitoring document, the Communicationon Progress; and shared information on its involvement with members of the Media CSR Forum.

http://www.unglobalcompact.org/See Appendix 2 for more details.

Human rights

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect theprotection of internationally proclaimed human rights

> Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Codeof Conduct

Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit inhuman rights abuses

> Review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code ofEthics and Supplier Code of Conduct

Labour standards

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom ofassociation and the effective recognition of the right tocollective bargaining

> Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Codeof Conduct

Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced andcompulsory labour

> Review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code ofEthics and Supplier Code of Conduct

Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour

> Review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code ofEthics and Supplier Code of Conduct; financial and othersupport for community projects like the Karuna Trustwhich is fostering educational support for children in India,thereby permanently removing them from child labour.

15 Action on the UN Global Compact

Action on the UN Global Compact continued

Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation

> Review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct; diversityprogrammes administered by our RE Human ResourcesManagement Council

Environment

Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionaryapproach to environmental challenges

> Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics; Supplier Code of Conduct; the RE Environmental Management System;consultation with NGOs like Earthwatch and governmentsincluding the UK’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greaterenvironmental responsibility

> Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Codeof Conduct and the RE Environmental ManagementSystem; promotion of environmental awareness throughcorporate intranet environmental section; employeeenvironmental campaigns; local gREen teams; support for external organisations like the UK’s Green Standardswhich promotes reuse of IT and electrical equipment

Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies

> Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct and the RE Environmental ManagementSystem; numerous RE publications that promoteenvironmental awareness and understanding like the“Journal for Nature Conservation;” “The Management of Solid Waste in Europe;” “Macroeconomic Analysis ofEnvironmental Policy;” and “Environmental Sustainability,a Virtual Journal”

Anti-corruption

Principle 10: Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery

> Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct; review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct; newdevelopments like toll-free lines and web-based systemsfor confidential disclosure on Code violations, includingcorruption, by employees

16 Action on the UN Global Compact

Anticipating trends in company law

Reed Elsevier has pursued advance compliance with US Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements including the Code of Ethics and Business Conduct that applies to all directors, officers and employees, and an additionalseparate Code for Senior Officers that also applies to Reed Elsevier’s CEO, Chief Financial Officer and the Group Chief Accountant. Both documents are available on the Reed Elsevier website, www.reedelsevier.com. We continued to implement the multiyear ICORR Projectand will comply with SOX Section 404 by December 31,2006. The project is producing additional benefits such asmore efficient business processes and improved controls.

Although the UK government’s final position on thecorporate requirement for an annual Operating andFinancial Review (OFR) was not clear by the close of 2005,we have included an OFR in each of the last three years as an integral part of our Annual Report. Our OFR providesforward looking statements on the outlook for RE overalland for our four divisions. It outlines key business risks facing Reed Elsevier which arise from the highlycompetitive and rapidly changing nature of our markets: the increasingly technological nature of our products andservices; the international nature of our operations; legaland regulatory uncertainties; the impact on publicly fundedcustomers of changes in funding; and by cyclical pressureson advertising and promotional spending in some of our businesses.

With effect from the 2005 financial year, under a regulationadopted by the European Parliament, the Reed Elseviercombined financial statements and the financial statementsof the two parent companies, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV, have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

17 Anticipating Trends in Company Law/2006 Corporate Governance Objectives

2006 Corporate Governance Objectives:• Use CR Forum to monitor CR risks, policy,

and programmes • Continue proactive steps on CR legislation• Increase training on the Code of Ethics and

Business Conduct to 10,000 employees• Promote active stakeholder engagement and

assessment• Initiate UN Global Compact country network

involvement in three countries

Marketplace – Products,Customers, and Supply Chain

If we offer must-have informationand services for our customers we meet their needs and ensure the strength of the company

Marketplace covers our products and how we producethem; our customers and how we engage with them. It is the foundation of our ‘licence to operate.’

Products and Services

Reed Elsevier’s businesses are dependent on customersbuying our products and services. It is therefore imperativethat price matches value. We aim to enhance existing, andto develop new, must-have products. The future strength of the company rests on our ability to offer indispensableglobal information that meets customer needs.

We are focusing on online products and services whichallow customers to cross-link, cross-reference, and searchinformation to an extent and scale never before possible.Through online, we gain wider distribution, expandedproduct ranges, competitive superiority and closerrelationships. CEO Sir Crispin Davis noted in a 2005interview with Britain’s Daily Telegraph, "Our first strategicpriority is to exploit the online opportunity. Five years ago, we had virtually no business online. Now our onlineservices business is worth $2.5 billion (£1.4 billion) a year –about 30% of our revenues. …Over the next five years thatcan rise to between 50% and 70%.” Between 2000 and2005 we have seen continued margin improvement in our online activities from 21% to 24%. We are harnessingnew tools, such as agile programming to allow stagedproduct development that involves customers in thecreative process.

18 Products and Services

Customer Value through Online – Examples from the RE Divisions

Elsevier: Scopus is a new all-science navigational product,addressing the needs of scientific researchers to findrelevant information from all sources available. To this end,the development and roll out of the product was customercentric. The team collaborated with over 300 researchersand librarians at 21 institutions worldwide at all stages ofthe design. By applying this methodology, Scopus was ableto successfully fill the gap between traditional abstract &index databases which can be hard to use and web searchengines which generate thousands of results, making ithard to distil relevant results quickly and efficiently.

The outcome is a unique, comprehensive and user-friendlydatabase containing abstracts and references encompassingmore than 15,000 titles from 4,000 different publishers.Functionality includes citation information and web andpatent searches, integrated with library services. As onecustomer and development partner noted: "Scopus reallysaves time and enables us to make more researchconnections. It’s not about searching; it’s all about finding.”

LexisNexis: LexisNexis Total Search v. 3.0 was released in 2005 to enable faster, more relevant integrated searchesof internal documents and LexisNexis content. It allowslawyers to find existing pleadings, depositions, dealdocuments, corporate filings and memoranda from firm authors, as well as trusted, authoritative andcomprehensive information from LexisNexis, all throughone search performed on the lexis.com interface.

It also provides legal researchers with the ability topinpoint relevant documents and then link from thosedocuments to a comprehensive collection of additional on-point materials, including LexisNexis case law,statutes, news, business and public records, and otherinternal documents.

Harcourt: Harcourt Assessment launched a new web-based product in 2005 that analyses the answers studentsgive in tests in order to help US teachers focus attentionwhere it is needed most. Stanford Learning First is a web-based classroom assessment system for grades threethrough eight. It is custom-built one state at a time andhelps states improve student achievement in reading and

19 Products and Services

Marketplace – Products,Customers, and Supply Chaincontinued

“I have always been impressed that Reed Elsevier through its publication CommunityCare takes a real interest in social care. The company has always allowed themagazine to develop an independent editorial policy. It is extremely important thatReed Elsevier is a good company and that it supports social care.”

Philip Cotterill, Director of Social Affairs and Health, Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council

mathematics. It consists of two components – formative(periodic) assessments called ClassLinks that are guided by each state’s content standards and summative (annual)assessments called ClassViews that are guided by theblueprints of statewide accountability tests. The ClassLinkscomponent includes an answer analysis feature that givesteachers immediate, standards-based feedback aboutstudent performance to help focus instruction on thosecontent areas where students are struggling. With mostassessments, wrong answers are highlighted but not thereason why the student answered incorrectly. ClassLinksprovides answer analysis that gives insight into a student’slevel of understanding. This allows teachers to developeffective instructional strategies to target areas wherestudents need help.

Reed Business Information: Reed Business UK launched a new website hotelesearch.com in 2005. The new serviceallows users to search a database of more than 40,000hotels all over the world and link straight to the hotels’ own contact details and websites. Hotels are searchable by name, location and region, and major chains such as Intercontinental, Hilton, Marriot and Le Meridien areamong the listings. Rather than charge users for access,the website takes advantage of RBI search’s establishedrelationship with search giant Google. Links to Googlecustomer websites are featured on hotelesearch.com andGoogle pays for them to appear, promoting their advertisersto a more specific audience. Hotelesearch.com offers majorhotel chains an important new vehicle for attractingvolume traffic direct to their web brand. For users, it solvesone of the frustrations of the web – not being able to get to hotel websites directly due to the diversions of onlineintermediaries and search placements.

Reed Elsevier and the Defence Sector

Reed Elsevier products and services touch on manysectors. In the case of our Reed Exhibitions division this includes defence. We know this is an area of concernfor some stakeholders and we are listening to them andtaking stock of their views.

Our position is that:

• The sale of equipment and services for national defenceis sanctioned and supported by leading governmentsaround the world and is recognised in Article 51 of theUnited Nations Charter

• Defence Systems & Equipment International (DSEi), an event organised on behalf of the British government,features a large range of life saving and life protectingequipment, including products for air ambulances, fire control and firefighting, and for search and rescue teams

• Reed Exhibitions defence portfolio accounts for less than 0.5% of the total revenue of Reed Elsevier

• No cluster munitions are allowed at the DSEi exhibition• The defence industry is necessary for upholding

national security

Editorial Policy

During the engagement work conducted by the Media CSRForum, stakeholders stressed the importance of editorialstandards. See the Media CSR Forum key issues documentin Appendix 4.

In 2005 we developed a group editorial policy to reinforcehigh editorial standards across all our divisions. It is basedon the RE Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, existinginternal editorial policy statements and external sources,including the American Society of Magazine Editors,Reuters, BBC, Wired, and the Council of Science Editors.

20 Products and Services/Editorial Policy


The RE editorial policy maintains:

“We have a responsibility to all our stakeholders, includingour authors and customers, to produce information of thehighest quality, which is original, accurate, comprehensible,fair, and timely and which avoids bias, defamation, conflictof interest, and which makes a clear distinction betweeneditorial and advertising or other content.

We allow our editors independence in their decisionmaking, free from external pressure in order to foster a free exchange of ideas. Where appropriate, we usemethods such as double blind, peer review to maintainconfidentiality and ensure standards for impartial,balanced output are maintained. We uphold copyright laws.

We work with our editors and authors, directly and througheditorial boards, to ensure awareness and compliance with our editorial standards. We provide clear instructionfor corrections, retractions or withdrawals and providemechanisms for reader and customer feedback.”

The RE editorial policy overarches editorial policies inplace at all four RE divisions. For example, all paperssubmitted to Elsevier's primary research journals undergopeer review. This means that once they are received fromthe author they are sent by the editor to a number ofspecialist researchers in the field. In the vast majority of disciplines, this is done anonymously – the author will not know who the peer reviewers are.

In some disciplines double-blind peer review takes place -the author will not know who the peer reviewers are, and the peer reviewers will not know who the author is.Peer reviewers comment on the content of the paper: isthe content new? How has the research been carried out? What was the experimental set-up? What are the results?

They will examine the analysis and scrutinise theconclusions. The peer reviewers' reports are then relayed to the journal’s editor who is also an independent expert in the field of research, not an employee of the company. A decision is made on whether to accept the paper, request revisions or reject it. The peer review system is the accepted way that papers are evaluated for publicationin all science, technology and medical journals whetherthey are commercially or non-commercially published.Maintaining the integrity of what we publish is paramountto scientific and medical discovery.

We also make use of editorial advisory boards to ensurethat both the review process and final content are fair and accurate. The responsibilities of editors are containedin formal editor contracts or, for associate editors, letters of agreement.

To maintain the integrity of our publications we havedeveloped a disclosure policy in cooperation with publishersand editors of many of our key publications. Authors arerequested to disclose any possible conflicts of interest.Clear disclosure of an author’s affiliation to industrial or government organisations may constitute sufficientdisclosure. Academic, non-profit, consulting, advocacy, and all other authors are asked to disclose all sources of financial and material support for the studies andmanuscripts submitted in an appendix section.

Elsevier hosts a website called Author Gateway,http://authors.elsevier.com/, which facilitates submissionand article tracking while also offering critical informationon copyright issues. There are also regular trainingprogrammes with external editors-in-chief, includingsemi-annual conferences, web-based forums andnewsletters.

21 Editorial Policy


Elsevier also has an errors and retraction policy whichdeals with authors who violate science publishing norms(including duplicate submissions). It provides guidelines on retracting or withdrawing material from circulation and makes clear, “…it is a general principle of scholarlycommunication that the Editor of a learned journal is solelyand independently responsible for deciding which of thearticles submitted to the journal shall be published. Inmaking this decision the Editor is guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by suchlegal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel,copyright infringement and plagiarism. An outcome of thisprinciple is the most sacred nature of the scholarly archive.However, very occasionally circumstances may arise wherean article is published that must later be retracted orwithdrawn completely. Such withdrawal from the scholarlyrecord must not be undertaken lightly and can only occur under exceptional circumstances.” See Appendix 4, Sample Editorial Policy

The editorial integrity of our products is tied to the health of the company and the success of our business. In recentyears, Reed Elsevier has outperformed its competitors inthe markets in which it operates, despite difficult tradingconditions. By holding our editorial staff to the higheststandards we attract the best authors and editors, amongthem, the Right Honourable Lord Justice Neuberger whobecame Editor-in-Chief of the UK’s Civil Court Practice2005 (‘The Green Book’). The Green Book is a completeguide to civil procedure in and out of court. It containsspecialist coverage of all areas, from consumer contracts to personal injury. Neuberger, who is responsible for modernising the civil courts, heads up a highlyauthoritative editorial team, including Consulting EditorThe Right Honourable Lord Justice Hooper and RabinderSingh QC of Matrix Chambers, a leading human rightsexpert. The authority that Neuberger adds to theremainder of the publication’s editorial team –

a combination of experienced and well-respected judges –boosts the Green Book’s credibility among judges andpractitioners. Neuberger explains his involvement,"Throughout my practice at the Bar, the Green Book wasan indispensable companion – an authoritative, reliable,

clear and informative compendium on the practice andprocedure of the courts, with invaluable guidance in my field of Landlord and Tenant law. I am particularlypleased to be closely involved with the new edition, which fully maintains the high standards of accuracy,comprehensiveness, concision and practicality of its predecessors, and also adopts a contemporary and user-friendly form of presentation."

As this area is more qualitative than quantitative, we cangauge success of our editorial activities through customerfeedback and engagement, and through the successfulsales of our products. A key performance indicator we can use to gauge editorial performance is whether therehave been any merited third-party complaints of seriousbreaches of editorial standards; over the last two yearsthere have been none.

Our publications regularly receive awards for theexcellence of their journalism. In 2005, these included: The French perfume industry award to Reed BusinessInformation (RBI) magazine Stratégies for an article delvinginto industry marketing practices; and the National

22 Editorial Policy


RBI US team celebrating winning the 52nd Annual Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award

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Business Journalism Awards won by RBI US publicationsBuilding Design & Construction and Furniture/Today. RBI UK secured eight places in the shortlist of theAssociation of Online Publishers Awards, winning theoverall title of Online Business Publisher of the Year;Elsevier’s Atlas of Clinical Ophthalmology 3rd edition won the British Medical Association’s medical book of the year award; and Elsevier’s Scirus received the BestDirectory or Search Engine Website WebAward for thesecond consecutive year from the Web Marketing Association.

During the year, ten Reed Elsevier authors were awarded2005 Nobel prizes; Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs andRichard R. Schrock in Chemistry; Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren in Physiology/Medicine; Roy J. Glauber,Theodor W. Hänsch and John L. Hall in Physics; andRobert J. Aumann and Thomas C. Schelling in Economics.

Customers

Our business requires satisfied customers to grow andprosper. As part of our web-based employee inductionprogramme, which incorporates information on the Reed Elsevier values and CR for new hires and long-standing staff, we put customers at the heart of thecompany’s vision and strategy: “Without customers we don’t have a business, and there is a way of doingbusiness that puts the customer at the heart of what we do. And this is exactly how we do business today. We are 100% customer focused. We spend extraordinaryamounts of time and energy assessing the changing needs of our customers using all methods of research.”

Such was the weight given to the RE value CustomerFocus in 2005, that each of our four divisions put into placedefinitive customer first programmes. At Reed Exhibitions,part of our Reed Business Information division, forexample, UK colleagues developed a value propositionprogramme to be more responsive to the customer. Thisprovides a practical process to link customer researchthrough competitive analysis to the development of internalproducts and external communications. Reed Exhibitions is undertaking extensive post-show research to understandbetter the target market and what differentiates its ownevents from competitors. Best practice and training hasbeen disseminated across 32 countries and 2000 staff,covering 400 annual events.

Each business unit has a customer service team thatregularly surveys customers for feedback on all aspects of product, sales and service; they also use independent,third-party resources. Our Harcourt Assessment division,for example, carried out a customer advantage study to helpstaff prioritise day-to-day activities. The team hired outsideconsultancy MHC to develop techniques that allow them to benchmark against others in the sector and to regularlyassess where they are now and where they would like to be.

Reed Business Information UK rolled out a deep customerinsight programme to improve customer retention byassessing the quality of customer relationships and the retention propensity of 500 customers in 10 markets.Among the useful tools available to all staff globally on the Customer First Resource Centre on the RE corporateintranet, is an RBI-UK interview guide to explore the realpressures customers are under, and a customer interview

23 Editorial Policy/Customers


hints and tips sheet which explains the importance ofpreparation and follow-up. In addition, RBI-UK undertook a root and branch review of its customer data capabilities. It found a need for a new customer and product datarepository. Data from each of the main operational systems(subscriptions, advertising sales, access management,marketing and finance) is being loaded into a prototypesingle customer view.

The Elsevier Library Connect programme exploresimportant issues concerning the dissemination of information to librarians (the division's primary

consumers), through advocacy, events, and resource-sharing. The programme aims to give librarians practicalassistance; present the human face of the company;communicate the division's 'added value;' and provideaction rather than simply words. The programme consistsof Library Connect Seminars; Library Connect Roadshows;Library Connect Events; and Library Connect activity (in-booth presentations, usability testing, and editor sessions) at industry shows. In 2005, 84 librarians, representing 76 institutions in 26 countries, contributed to the LibraryConnect Newsletter and practical assistance pamphlets. In 2005, the print quarterly Library Connect Newsletterreached over 15,000 librarians globally. In 2005, LibraryConnect events, involving several thousand librarians,occurred around the world including in Brazil, China, India, Iran, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

At LexisNexis, a Continuous Customer WelcomeProgramme designed around tailored communications at key trigger points in the first year of a customer's life (e.g., assigning user IDs, receipt of first invoice) waslaunched in 2005. There were 22 programme’s covering 17 markets around the world, and the strategic objective

was to enhance customer intimacy by focusing attention onthe relationship with customers in the first year. In additionLexisNexis inserted customer satisfaction questions forinclusion in all customer surveys. Customer satisfactionresearch was also conducted in 14 markets through theLexisNexis Global Competitive Assessment survey. In orderto align senior executives with customer focus goals, anExecutive Call program was initiated. The objective was to create closer ties between senior management andcustomers, and to better incorporate market feedback into future decisions on products and strategies. Over 330customer visits have been recorded in the Reed ElsevierCustomer First intranet site.

When we are alerted to a customer problem we moveswiftly to rectify problems. In 2004 we discovered that there was potentially fraudulent access to informationabout US customers at LexisNexis’ Seisint division. The incidents arose from the misappropriation by thirdparties of IDs and passwords from legitimate customers.We notified law enforcement authorities and assisted them in their investigations, while also working with customers to enhance security procedures – including enhanced ID and password administration. We expressed regret to individuals affected and assisted them with ongoingcredit monitoring and practical support to ensure that any identity theft was quickly detected and addressed. Of approximately 300,000 individuals breached only one individual submitted a financial loss. This wasapproximately $150.

Access

We consistently make our products, which are often of considerable social and economic value, available to those who cannot afford them.

24 Customers/Access


The RE product donations policy outlines our support forin-kind donations. It reads, “Destroying or remainderingproduct costs the company millions of dollars each year.When certain products no longer have commercial viability,they may remain in great demand by qualified, deservingrecipients on a local or international level. When and where appropriate, we encourage business units to seekdomestic outlets or those in the developing world forsurplus or non-saleable product to registered charities.Donations should be useful and not an excuse to dumpunwanted material. Business units, with relevantmanagement approval and control, may also decide to make donations of new or commercially viable material for educational or humanitarian purposes.” See Appendix 5, Product Donation Policy

Each of our four divisions makes product donations apriority. In 2005, Elsevier launched a campaign called A Book in Your Name to celebrate the 425th anniversary of the original Elsevier company and the 125th anniversaryof the modern firm. The programme allowed every Elsevieremployee to donate an Elsevier book to a library in adeveloping country, linking individual action to a collectiveeffort to share scientific and medical knowledge around theworld. An advisory panel of eminent librarians worked to select the ten recipient libraries. Titles were from

Elsevier’s core collection to ensure relevance for students,researchers and practitioners, chosen by an advisory panelof librarians and others. In recognition of the outstandingsupport for the programme, Elsevier made an additionalcorporate gift to ensure that each of the ten librariesreceived the full core collection of 670 essential titlesrecommended by Elsevier’s Science and Technology and Health Sciences publishing unit.

In total, the retail value of Elsevier's book donation was nearly $1 million. The programme was popular with employees. One said, "This is the best outreachprogramme Elsevier has ever embarked on. I say thisbecause the books that are being donated will not onlyhelp to educate, they will save lives." A recipient at theUniversity of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania said, "For sometime our university has been facing a shortage of readingand reference materials. I am overjoyed that Elsevier is donating medical and health books to our library.” A recipient at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, inEcuador said, "It is a great privilege for us to have been selected to receive your invaluable donation… I want to thank you very much.”

Staff worked overtime to get a total of 30,000lb of booksready for shipping from Elsevier’s Linn warehouse in Missouri. The task involved all staff in the facility, from inventory picking to packing. The Linn team fixedcommemorative anniversary bookplates to the inside coverof every title. These bookplates included a special 425-125anniversary logo, which serves as a lasting recognition of the donation on behalf of Elsevier employees.

25 Access


A Book in Your Name celebrated the 425th/129th anniversary of Elsevier.

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During the year, LexisNexis announced a programme toprovide legal research to the prison libraries in all AlaskaDepartment of Corrections (DOC) facilities. The installationof legal information terminals allows the state to complywith court mandates requiring inmates to have access tothe law while saving approximately $200,000 per year onstaffing, maintenance, security and law book subscriptions.The Alaska DOC installed 58 secure terminals in 12 in-statefacilities (serving 3,600 prisoners) and one out-of-statecontract facility (serving 800 prisoners). Inmates use theseto access LexisNexis legal research via a tightly controllednetwork. By innovative use of its information technologyinfrastructure, the Alaska DOC has created the firstinternet-based legal research solution for a prison byconnecting a secure, centralised server to LexisNexiscontent over the internet. This allows the DOC to accesscurrent LexisNexis content without permitting inmatesaccess to outside web sites, e-mail or any other part of the internet. LexisNexis helped the prisons cut costswithout impinging on the rights of inmates in their care.

Harcourt donated 10,000 children’s books to the SanAntonio Public Library Foundation’s 2005 Born to Readinitiative. Babies born in the county receive a literacy bagfilled with two books and other items geared to makechildren lifelong readers. Harcourt also supplied 40,000additional books at discounted prices. The head of the San Antonio Public Library Foundation estimated that the programme would, “…educate more than 25,000 newparents about the value of reading to their children from an early age, and… provide them the tools they need to do so successfully.” The division also responded to a call for books from Feed The Children, tasked with rebuilding1,100 schools destroyed by the tsunami in Indonesia. In all, Harcourt collected and donated more than 50,000lb of books for affected schools.

In California, our Harcourt and Elsevier divisions,demonstrating Reed Elsevier’s boundarylessness, provide non-sensitive products to The Bookman,www.thebookman.org , a regional charity which recirculatesbooks to people who would not normally have access tolibraries. In 2005, Reed Elsevier built on gifts in the twoprevious years with new funding for computer equipment. In order to reach readers and researchers in thedeveloping world, we work through US-based Sabreorganisation, www.sabre.org, and UK-based Book AidInternational, www.bookaid.org , to whom we have donatednearly a half a million books over the last three years. In some areas of the developing world, limited financialresources prevent libraries and other institutions frompurchasing the books they need. Through rigid distributionchannels, Book Aid International and Sabre Foundationensure that donations are delivered without disruptingsales of local booksellers, thereby leaving local economiesunhindered in the recipient countries.

We continue to monitor the progress of our UN project, the Health InterNetwork Access to Research Initiative(HINARI) programme. In 2005, this enabled researchersrepresenting 1800 institutions in 105 countries in thedeveloping world to conduct more than 1 million freeelectronic searches of 700 Elsevier scientific journals in2005 – a growth of more than 35% over the previous year.HINARI, launched in 2002 with a group of other majorpublishers, is designed to strengthen public healthservices by providing public health workers, researchersand policy makers access to high-quality, relevant andtimely health information via the Internet. It aims toimprove communication and networking. Local, non-profitinstitutions, including national universities, researchinstitutes, professional schools of medicine, nursing,pharmacy, public health and dentistry, teaching hospitals,

26 Access


government offices and national medical libraries are all eligible. Countries with GNP per capita below $1,000qualify for free access while institutions in countries withslightly higher income per capita pay a nominal annual fee. In the year we added all our journals of librarianship to help promote good practice in the field. A formal review of the HINARI programme will be completed in 2006 anddistributed to participating publishers.

Elsevier also works in conjunction with the UN’s Food andAgricultural Organisation, the World Health Organisation(WHO), Cornell’s Mann Agriculture Library, the RockefellerFoundation, and other major scientific publishers on theAccess to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA)project. Here, Elsevier made 185 journals accessible todeveloping countries on a free and discounted basis tosupport agriculture and food research. The programme has seen explosive growth – an 80% increase in the use ofthe Elsevier product in 2005 over the previous year, whichconstitutes more than 70,000 searches. Elsevier is helpingthe WHO move toward an Athens authentication system,which Elsevier has implemented in its own products, forHinari and Agora, which will provide a more reliable level of secure access. We are also part of the steering group for the 2006 launch of Online Access to Research in theEnvironment (OARE) which will give developing worldinstitutions access to earth sciences material.

We are also concerned with how disabled users can access our products and services. Our online recruitmentcompany, totaljobs.com, has more than one million uniqueusers across 30 different industry sectors and over 180,000profiled registered jobseekers, and is a leader in this area.The site is fully accessible to disabled candidates. While 6% of jobseekers in the UK have disabilities and are able and willing to work (Disability Rights Commission), 8% of totaljobs.com's audience has a disability. A promotingdiversity feature is a permanent part of the site indicatingthat we believe every jobseeker who applies for a jobthrough our site should have their application assessedfairly. And because we attract a diverse job seekingaudience, we encourage every employer who posts avacancy with us to use selection processes which are fair,and ensure the best person is selected for the job based on skills, experience and qualifications. There is furtherinformation on diversity for both jobseekers and employers.

We believe it is important for our authors to have access tocontent they generate on their own personal or institutions’web site. For example, at Elsevier, no permission is requiredfor authors to revise and post the final version of their work more widely, provided that the posting contains a link to the home page of the journal in which the article was published, and that the posting is not used forcommercial purposes.

27 Access


Reed_CR 2005_FC-30 16/4/06 12:11 am Page 27

RE and BAI: Books for Readers in the Developing World

For over five years we have partnered with Book AidInternational (BAI) finding ways to build on our mutualstrengths – Book Aid’s knowledge of and passion forproviding books to the developing world and Reed Elsevier’sproduction of critical, cutting-edge publications in diversefields from science and technology to education, legal, and business.

Together we have debated, brainstormed, and developedcreative projects to exploit these mutual strengths. We consistently assess our progress through ongoingdialogue and feedback sessions. We have experienceddynamic results and there are continued, excitingprospects for the future

Successes include:• Nearly 500,000 books donated from all four of our

divisions over the last three years, disseminated to schools and libraries in the developing world,particularly Sub-Saharan Africa

• Employee engagement programmes like 2005 Bring a Book Week, during our annual Reed Elsevier CaresMonth, saw nearly 7,000 books donated from staff, with a financial contribution from the company to pack and ship them overseas

• In support of the Reed Elsevier Cares mission ofeducation for disadvantaged young people, grants for special projects, including in 2003 £10,000 for thepurchase of African published books to support literacyand learning among child refugees and/or childrenaffected by conflict; between 2004 and 2005 £31,000

to support an innovative library developmentprogramme in Sierra Leone and Namibia

• Cause-related marketing activities: our ReedExhibitions division, for example, gives BAI free space at the annual London Book Fair, giving the show afavourable association with a leading book charity,promoting BAI to potential donors, and putting BAI underthe same roof as their other book industry supporters

• Brokering relationships to leverage the strengths ofBAI and Reed Elsevier – we brought BAI together witha US book partner, Sabre Foundation and awarded,through our science division’s Elsevier Foundation, a joint grant of $25,000 ($12,500 for each organisation)to address information and learning needs by givingsupport for scientific, technical and medicalcommunities in sub-Saharan Africa. From 2005 wehave a logo in every Elsevier book amalgamating theBook Aid International, Sabre and Elsevier logos withthe slogan ‘Working together to grow libraries indeveloping countries’ with contact details for all three organisations

• Spreading best practice – we have actively supported a programme with customers encouraging use of ourproducts and services in a responsible manner; ratherthan discarding LexisNexis and other legal products thatare no longer useful, UK ‘Magic Circle’ law firms are nowdonating them to Book Aid for dissemination to librariesand other worthy institutions in the developing world

• Developing staff potential – Our ties with BAI havehelped empower staff to develop new aspects of theirwork and leadership skills, from warehouse personnelwho direct the book donation programme to supportstaff who help lead Bring a Book Week

• Creating opportunities to engage with media industrycolleagues, like those at Pearson, who also support BAI

• In 2005, the RE-BAI partnership was one of the LBG’s“First Eleven,” a publication highlighting best practicefrom the 2004-2005 LBG returns

28 Access


Supply Chain

We uphold RE values in our supply chain by requiring oursuppliers to meet the same high standards we set for ourown behaviour. Our Supplier Code of Conduct, built aroundthe UN Global Compact, lays out standards related to childlabour, involuntary labour, wages, coercion and harassment,non-discrimination, freedom of association, and health andsafety. It also precludes retaliation stating, “Suppliers mustnot tolerate any retaliation against any employee who makesa good faith report of abuse, intimidation, discrimination,harassment or any violation of law or of this Code of Conduct,or who assists in the investigation of any such a report.”The Supplier Code incorporates a subcontracting provisionto help suppliers spread best practice through their ownsupply chain, which requires, subcontractors to enter into a written commitment with the Supplier to comply with the Supplier Code. The Supplier Code makes clear thatwhere local industry standards are higher than applicablelegal requirements, we expect Suppliers to meet the higher standards.

In 2005 we established a formal network called the SociallyResponsible Supplier (SRS) group comprised of colleagueswith expertise in such areas as manufacturing, paperpurchasing, data conversion and archiving, magazine pre-press and print on demand.

The SRS group terms of reference indicate its aims: • maintain a master supplier database with

comprehensive information including Codeversioning/signing, initiative tracking, audit dates,remediation plans and compliance

• set and review internal and external audit guidelines• establish policies and undertake relevant initiatives

including a supplier environmental and paper survey

The terms of reference also clarify that internal andindependent external audits are performed on a regular basis.High risk suppliers as determined by the SRS InitiativesGroup, such as those operating in areas where humanrights, labour, environmental, or other abuses have beenknown to occur, are audited every two years. Suppliers withrepeat Code violations are audited annually. Results arecommunicated to suppliers along with any remediationrequired; remediation target dates are agreed and follow-up audits are performed to ensure issues identified havebeen resolved. See Appendix 6.

We have a rolling programme of external supplier assessment,which is carried out by independent auditor ITS. Since we began to work with ITS in 2002, nearly all of our keysuppliers in high risk areas have undergone externalaudits. Our Supplier Code states that, “…failure to complywith any Reed Elsevier term, condition, requirement, policyor procedure… may result in the cancellation of all existingorders and termination of the business relationshipbetween Reed Elsevier and Supplier.”

29 Supply Chain


“RR Donnelley continues to be proud to partner with Reed Elsevier in supportingsound global business practices that ensure a safe, environmentally friendly workplacefor all of our employees. This will remain a core corporate focus as our businesstogether expands around the world.”

James Mauck, President, Asia, RR Donnelley

As part of our external audit programme, ITS produces aCorrective Action Plan Acknowledgement Report (CAPAR).This summarises the findings of audits and any correctiveplans that both the auditor and factory manager believe is reasonable to ensure compliance with the Code andlocal laws. This is signed and dated by both parties. Forexample, ITS helped supplier Quebecor Peru develop aplan to improve health and safety conditions and followthrough to deliver it. See Appendix 7 for a sample 2005Remediation Report.

The SRS group created a master database of suppliers(nearly 300 at the close of 2005) to track compliance with SRS initiatives, conducted a paper survey of paperproviders and an environment survey for all others, and developed an internal audit checklist for colleaguesvisiting suppliers. See details of the results in theEnvironment section.

Celebrating Good Partners: UPM Changsu

Reed Elsevier has an increasing presence in China, not only through our own direct operations but also through suppliers. Among them is paper mill UPMChangsu operating on the outskirts of Shanghai.

UPM, a Finish paper producer, maintain a state-of-the-artfacility concentrating on fine and specialty papers. It was opened for inspection to RE staff during 2005. UPM has invested over $1 billion to ensure that the 830personnel are working under the best conditions whileengaging in environmentally sound practices which have garnered ISO 14001 and 9001 certifications.

According to UPM's Chemical Pulp PurchasingPrinciples, "The use of certified wood as raw material is emphasised in the process of purchasing pulp andselecting pulp suppliers. UPM also expects that thesupplier companies will have a certified chain-of-custodymonitoring system, which can trace the wood all the way from the forest to the pulping process." Each pulpsupplier providesa signed confirmation about the woodorigin and its legality once a year.

They can certify that pulp from Finland and Canadacomes from PEFC and CSA (CSA has been endorsed by PEFC) certified forests. Where pulp has come from Indonesian acacia plantations, where no nationalcertifications exist, they have conducted internal andexternal audits to ensure that only accepted acacia fibreis used, certified according to the Indonesian national LEI standard. They also have regular third party fibre lengthinspection of the Indonesian chemical pulp to verify itoriginates from acacia plantations only.

2006 Marketplace Objectives:• Continue Customer Focus through value added

online services• Create new processes to encourage customer

feedback• Roll-out of group editorial policy• Expand socially responsible supplier network to new

categories, including data converters and shippers

30 Supply Chain/2006 Marketplace Objectives


31 Our People

Workplace – Valuing our people

an environment of open communications, collaboration and information sharing across our businesses and geographies.”

Our labour and employment policies and practices arecompliant with the principles of the United Nations GlobalCompact regarding fair and non-discriminatory labourpractices. As stated in our Code of Ethics, “Reed Elsevier isan equal employment opportunity employer. It is committedto providing a work environment where employees andapplicants for employment are treated with respect anddignity and without regard to race, colour, creed, religion,national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status,age, disability, membership or application for membershipin uniformed services, veteran status, the seeking ofworkers’ compensation benefits, or any other categoryprotected by law. Consistent with this policy, Reed Elsevierprohibits discrimination or harassment of any kind basedon any of these protected characteristics.”

We therefore seek to build a workforce which reflects thediversity of our customers and communities. Overall the RE workforce is 57% female based on a sampling of 75% of our key facilities, which generate more than 75% of RE turnover. The gender split among managers andsupervisors in the Group is approximately 48% femaleversus 52% male. In 2005, our senior management groupcomprised 15 nationalities, with women occupying 22% ofthese positions. The Reed Elsevier NV Supervisory Board in 2005 contained one female; a second female will join the Board in 2006.

Our people

Our workforce is over 36,000 strong, highly skilled andincludes a large proportion of graduates. Their focus is on developing and delivering essential information and data exactly where and how our customers need it. Our professional customers increasingly expect information to be available online and we have almost 6,000 IT specialists and developers working to createproducts that suit customers’ working environments. More than 8,000 editorial staff make sure our content is of the highest quality.

Approximately 10,000 specialist customer service staff and sales people focus on helping customers choose the right product to meet their needs.

Reed Elsevier seeks to be an employer of choice known forits best practice in retaining and recruiting the best staff. If we fail to keep or attract good people, the production and delivery of our products will suffer and we will notachieve our objectives or meet the expectations of ourstakeholders. Consequently one of the five Reed Elseviervalues is Valuing our People.

As we state in the careers section at www.reedelsevier.com,“Our strategic priorities have included a number ofinitiatives designed specifically to develop our employeebase such as: continued upgrading of our managementthrough attracting, developing and retaining the very besttalent; establishing a culture that respects individuals,values diversity and fosters innovation; and encouraging

Specialist customer service staff and sales people focus on helping customers choose the right product to get the most from the service they are using

<

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32 Our People/Communication

Workplace – Valuing our people continued

Through the REspond survey of all employees, we ask staffto assess how they believe we are living up to our values.Despite our businesses having experienced tough marketconditions, most employees felt in the last survey that ReedElsevier performed better than in previous years. We usedthe information, particularly feedback on areas forimprovement, to make effective changes. These includedrolling out a 1:1 coaching programme, which was launchedat the 2005 annual senior management conference hostedby the CEO. The theme of the conference, which focuses on a different RE value each year, was Valuing Our People.By December 2005, 804 employees had completed theprogramme. Yet another new initiative was development ofa strategic leadership programme at Harvard Universitywhich engaged over 60 senior managers in the year.

The overall response to the last full survey in 2003 wasexcellent, with 79% of employees participating. In order toincrease participation in the 2006 survey, we will donate$0.50 to Save the Children for each survey completed within the first two weeks of its circulation.

A section of the RE Intranet, ‘Crispin’s Open Door’ allowsemployees to share any concerns through a confidentialemail direct to the CEO. Confidentiality also applies tofeedback sessions that the CEO holds with employees indifferent parts of the world.

In the year, other new developments included a 100 daysurvey for new hires, the development of a new graduaterecruitment programme, and a 360 degree tool formanager feedback.

Gender of employeesFemale Male Total Female Male

Employees 15,917 12,028 27,945 57% 43%Managers/Supervisors 2,367 2,551 4,909 48% 52%

Our staff/works councils in Europe, the United States andelsewhere help to engender positive labour/employeerelations. Our legal teams, which report to the GeneralCounsel and Corporate Secretary, keep abreast of statutoryobligations that may be introduced or vary according tojurisdiction. Our CR Director makes presentations for thebenefit of staff, and in 2005 addressed the Dutch WorksCouncil, and employee groups in among other locations,Australia, China, France, the United Kingdom and theUnited States.

Our Human Resources Management Council is made up ofthe most senior members of the RE HR community. Everyother month, the Council meets to discern, address, andbenchmark the key workplace issues facing the company.The senior HR team, led by a new Group Director of HumanResources, undertakes an organisation talent review twiceeach year to identify advancement opportunities for currentstaff and develop the in-house bench strength that will helpdrive the business forward.

Communication

Approximately every 18-24 months we conduct the REspondglobal employee opinion survey. It helps us to continueeffective workplace policies and address any weaknesses.CEO Sir Crispin Davis presents the survey results to allemployees and, together with his senior team, takes stepsto address areas of concern.

“Central to being a member of Reed Elsevier is that the company ensures I am properlyequipped to do what is required of me. Reed Elsevier believes that its people are its most important asset and for that reason they make sure I can perform at my best. I can be confident that I am always at the forefront of modern management and business practices. I really do feel that Reed Elsevier practises its corporate Value of“Valuing our People” by ensuring I have the confidence to be the best that I can be.”

Mike Booth, Strategic Operations Director, LexisNexis South Africa

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33 Communication


Sample Training Spend – LexisNexis US

LexisNexis US 2005 ($) % Change 2004 ($)Direct Spend 3,838,000 8% 3,556,000Tuition Reimbursement 1,367,000 6% 1,295,000TOTAL 5,205,000 7% 4,851,000

A confidential grievance procedure is stipulated in the ReedElsevier Code of Ethics and Business Conduct: “ReedElsevier will investigate all reports of suspected violationsof law or the Code, including anonymous ones. Employeesmust cooperate in the investigation of reported violations.Reed Elsevier will not disclose the identity of anyone whoreports suspected violation or who participates in a relatedinvestigation unless the employee submitting the reportauthorises such disclosure or such disclosure is requiredby law, regulation or legal process. Retaliation in any formagainst an individual who in good faith reports a violation ofthe Code or of law, even if the report is mistaken, or assistsin the investigation of a reported violation, is itself a seriousviolation of this policy and of law.” Toll-free and web-basedconfidential reporting lines will be rolled out in 2006 andshould make it easier for employees to express anyconcerns.

We also seek to provide positive social outlets for staff to engage with one another including through the Reed Elsevier Cares community programme and optionaloutings – frequently there is a crossover between the two.For example, during our global RE Cares Month, whichoccurs annually in September, colleagues at ElsevierPhiladelphia along with their friends and families played acompetitive game of sponsored golf to generate relief fundsfor the Red Cross.

Our internal audit teams make workplace issues a key partof their ongoing evaluations. Workplace issues are includedas a central component of the annual self-assessmentquestionnaire for senior business leaders.

The global intranet, aREna, allows management and staffto share news and information across geographic andfunctional boundaries in keeping with the Reed Elseviervalue, Boundarylessness. Each day, aREna features thelatest Group and industry news and provides staff withaccess to the LexisNexis search engine from aREna so they can gain information on the company or others. The site includes forums from all areas of the companyincluding Finance, Strategy, Pensions and CR.

Every employee in the company takes part in the annualPersonal Development Plan programme (PDP). This wasimproved in 2005 with online distribution, a simpler formatand instructions. It reviews staff/management performanceand identifies opportunities for recognition andadvancement. The two-way dialogue of the PDP allows staffto review present work and consider future goals. It is theprimary tool for assessing and planning employee training.

Our businesses invest heavily in the capabilities and futurepotential of their employees. LexisNexis US is exemplary: in 2005, overall training spend on the division’s workforce of 13,400 increased by 7% from $4.8 million in 2004 to $5.2 million.

Almost 6,000 IT specialists and developersworking to create products that suit customers’working environments

<

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34 Communication/Health and Safety


means that we go beyond minimums to ensure the wellbeing of staff.

Communication on health and safety issues is part of thiscommitment. We have established a new Health and SafetyChampions network to discuss procedures and bestpractice. Health and safety Champions throughout theGroup use visual materials, training, and policy documentsto get their messages across to employees. For example,the Health and Safety policy at Reed Elsevier’sheadquarters sets out management’s responsibility to“…ensure effective communications to employees onprocedures, safe operating methods… reports of hazards,faulty equipment and ideas for improvement.” All local stafftake part in rolling health and safety training, and flyerscontaining useful health and safety information areregularly posted in key office areas. Staff also have accessto an external, confidential counselling service fordiscussing personal issues that may be troubling them andwe provide ongoing wellness opportunities, including BUPAWellwoman/Wellman Screenings and flu shots. Services,like online and personal work station assessments, are alsoavailable to homeworkers, and are replicated throughoutthe Reed Elsevier Group. Our US insurer in 2005 providedcomplimentary health and safety assessments for anumber of US offices. We consult with staff on health andsafety issues through staff and work councils in our globalbusinesses.

In 2005, US weekly magazine Computerworld, consideredthe voice of information technology (IT) management,selected LexisNexis as one of the top workplaces for ITprofessionals. The award is part of an annual best place towork survey. Companies are ranked by categories such as benefits, diversity, career development, training andretention. LexisNexis was singled out for its efforts toattract and retain a strong talent pool. The company wasalso named in Training magazine’s annual Top 100 for thepast two years in recognition of its commitment toemployee development and innovative classroom and online training initiatives. Such innovation extends acrossall of Reed Elsevier’s divisions. Reed Business Informationand RE head office employees in the UK, among others,have access to Skillport, a comprehensive range of e-learning solutions for staff from one of the mostexperienced e-learning providers – Skillsoft. Businesscourses covering hundreds of subjects across 15 differentlanguages are on offer, with course durations ranging from 30 minutes to 12 hours.

Health and Safety

The importance of employee health and safety is addressedin the Reed Elsevier Code of Ethics. This commits us toprovide a safe workplace for all employees. The CEO isresponsible for health and safety on behalf of the Board.However, policy is managed by each business unit througha network of health and safety managers who report tobusiness unit CEOs, usually through the human resourcesor facilities function. The Code states that, “…in addition,there are laws and regulations that impose responsibility on Reed Elsevier to safeguard against safety and healthhazards.” However, the essence of Valuing our People

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35 Health and Safety/2006 Workplace Objectives


RE Group Health and Safety Survey

We conduct an annual Group Health and Safety Surveywhich accounts for more than 75% of our key facilitieswhich account for more than 75% of turnover. In 2005, we increased employee coverage in the survey by 14% to33,024 from 28,355 in 2004. Data covers both work relatedincidents – a work related event which resulted in areported injury, generally resulting from a hazard and/or an unsafe act, e.g., an accident caused by faulty workequipment – and work related illnesses, e.g., repetitivestrain disorders.

2005 2004Fatalities 0 0Number of work related incidents and illness 387 421Incidence rate (cases per 1,000 employees) 11.7 14.8Frequency rate (cases per 100,000 hours worked) 0.8 1.0Severity rate (lost days per 100,000 hours worked) 2.3 2.3

There were no fatalities in 2005. During the year, thenumber of work related incidents and illnesses dropped by 9% from 421 to 387. Of these incidents 311 were minorcuts, bruises, sprains, trips/slips and scalds and theremaining 76 were work related illnesses, mainly related to repetitive strain and/or identified work related stress.Although the number of incidents and illnesses whichresulted in days lost was down from 107 in 2004 to 76 in2005, the actual number of days lost was up slightly from984 in 2004 to 1,174 in 2005, not including any job transferor restricted work days.

In order to provide normalised comparisons we haveprovided incidence rates (number of incidents and illnessesx 1,000/number employees), frequency rates (number ofincidents and illnesses x 100,000/number of hours worked)and severity rates (total days lost x 100,000/number ofhours worked). We calculated the hours worked based uponan average of 220, 7 hour working days in the year. Both theincidence and frequency rates were down by 27% between2004 and 2005. Severity stayed constant and we will beexploring a 2006 health and safety campaign to help reducethis rate going forward.

2006 Workplace Objectives

• Broader Group roll-out of 1:1 coaching programme• Conduct Group employee opinion survey and

develop action plan based on results• Progress Group Health and Safety Survey

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36 RE Cares in 2005

Community

projects and using their two days. With your support, I’msure we will get there.” In fact in 2005, the results of theGroup Community Survey showed volunteerism increased byover 40%. The goal in 2006 is a 10% increase in the Two Daysprogramme from a 2005 level of approximately 5000 days.

RE Cares in 2005

Our businesses offer a range of activities to engageemployees in their local communities from reading supportprogrammes to charity fundraising initiatives to donationsof time and services. Over the year we saw an upsurge inactivity among our employees due to natural disasters thatbeset so many parts of the world. Staff worked quickly andinnovatively to make positive contributions.

A growing network of nearly 150 RE Cares Championsmakes RE Cares effective on the ground. There are RE Cares Champions in 110 offices – an increase of 10% in 2005 – at all levels of the business from business leaders to sales, treasury, secretarial and editorial staff.Central support for RE Cares Champions includes regionalmeetings, which occurred in North America, Europe andAsia Pacific in 2005. Attendees share best practice, gaincommunity-related training, and help set goals and thecommunity agenda for the year ahead. Other supportincludes webcasts, regular conference calls, file-sharing,and one-to-one meetings, and internal presentations. RE Cares Champions help track our progress through

Community represents an integralpart of how Reed Elsevier doesbusinessOur community commitment is highlighted in our Annual Review, company intranet and external website. It also features in public and internal statements by senior management.

Our global community programme, Reed Elsevier Cares,has as its mission, “to play a positive role in our local and global communities, primarily through employeeinvolvement.” We focus on education for disadvantagedyoung people and community initiatives of importance to local employees.

Launching RE Cares Month 2005, CEO Sir Crispin Davissaid, “This is the special time when, in the midst of a busyyear, we spotlight our commitment to the communitieswhere we live and work. I am enormously proud ofcontributions by staff across the Group who participate inbusiness-sponsored volunteer activities throughout the year and who pursue their own community interests in the Two Days programme, which allows employees up totwo days off for community initiatives that matter to them. I encourage managers throughout the business to lead byexample: to get involved and give support to tireless ReedElsevier Cares Champions and community planning groupswho bring the RE Cares programme to life for wide staffand community benefit. …Community is a key part of ourCorporate Responsibility agenda and this year we hope toincrease volunteerism by 10%. In 2004 we had just over5000 volunteers participating in business sponsored

LexisNexis South Africa employees engaging with local charity TREE

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Employee volunteeringNumber of employees

>

04

05

5,093

7,509

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37 RE Cares in 2005/Special Projects

Community continued

submitted and all those carried out were profiled on aREna.RE Cares Champions choose the winners considering therelative number of employees engaged and the potentialshort term and long term benefits. Harcourt Orlando wonthe top prize for their Gift for Teaching project whichinvolved 12% of employees, each of whom committed 20 hours to assembling 500 preschool learning kits fordisadvantaged young people in local Orange County.

Each September we hold RE Cares Month to highlight theimportance of community to Reed Elsevier. RE Cares Month2005 began with a video showing staff involved incommunity activities around the world. There were morethan 100 activities involving over 1,000 employees aroundthe world. These activities included Elsevier UK’s efforts forChildline (a free and confidential 24-hour helpline for youngpeople), quiz nights and the raffle of an extra week’sholiday. Colleagues at Elsevier Amsterdam participated inthe Dam-tot-Damloop race to raise funds for organisationsincluding Oxfam, CliniClowns and the Reading & WritingFoundation. At LexisNexis Hong Kong, staff assisted theHong Kong Cancer Fund by selling pink silicon wrist bandsin aid of breast cancer awareness. At LexisNexis inCharlottesville, Virginia, a record 109 employees signed upfor projects ranging from classroom reading to landscapingto aid local charities. During RE Cares Month 2005,Harcourt Assessment launched a new volunteerprogramme to give employees the opportunity to volunteerfor various community activities alongside seniormanagers. RBI-US staff at Variety in Los Angeles competedas the V Team in a triathlon to raise funds for the ElizabethGlaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation; while RBI-UK Boardmembers raised money for Tadsworth Children’s Trust bywashing employee’s cars.

the RE Cares road map, an internal guide to gauge thedepth and spread of the community programme bybusiness unit and geographic location across the Group.

In 2005, the RE Cares programmes reached new locationsincluding China and India. Colleagues worked with Navjyoti,a charity working in poor villages on the outskirts of NewDelhi. They worked in a local school and visited parents inAbheypur village, Gurgaon where child marriage,alcoholism and high drop out rates are a concern. They shared the importance of education to improvingemployment opportunities and living standards.

Communication is a core component of the programme andRE Cares on aREna has become one of the most visited partsof the corporate intranet. More than 100 new RE Cares newsstories were submitted by staff across the Group in 2005.New features on the site included a Champions Corner withuseful information for RE Cares Champions includingproject ideas, health and safety tips, and activity report forms.

Special Projects

In 2005, we held the second RE Cares Challenge toencourage staff teams to work together to build skills and relationships while making a difference in localcommunities around the world. Business units across the Group submitted ideas for new or extended business-sponsored volunteer activities advancing the RE Caresmission of education for disadvantaged young people. At stake were seven top prizes ranging from $10,000 to $2,500. Up to 10% of the award could be used foradministrative expenses with the balance for thebeneficiary. Over 25 RE Cares Challenge projects were

As Elsevier and other Reed Elsevier companies develop and grow in the Asia-Pacificregion, our employees are becoming aware of social responsibilities through the Reed Elsevier Cares programme. Many employees from the Reed Elsevier Group havecollaborated and volunteered their time and efforts for this programme, and it has now gained momentum in Singapore, India, Japan and Australia. We hope to mirror this exciting contribution to society in other countries across Asia Pacific.

Kim Chan, Human Resources Director, Elsevier Singapore

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38 Special Projects/What We Give

Community continued

What We Give

We provide opportunities for staff across the Group tonominate charities for funding from a central budget forregional and developing world projects that support the RE Cares mission of education for disadvantaged youngpeople. Last year Reed Elsevier Cares national championsallocated approximately £275,000 to more than 45beneficiaries, adding to the contributions made by

In addition to community projects undertaken throughoutthe year, global staff engaged in special holiday activities. In 2005, Reed Exhibitions Germany employees createdChristmas in a Shoebox (Weihnachten im Schuhkarton) with employees decorating and filling boxes with fun andpractical items for boys and girls. Reed Exhibitions paid toship the boxes to families in Armenia, Bosnia, Bulgaria,Kosovo, Croatia, Lithuania, Moldova, Pakistan, Poland,Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine,Russia and West Jordan. RBI-Italy raised nearly $1000 by selling a wide range of new and used items at an in-house holiday market to raise funds for AIMPS Onlus, an association that helps children suffering from a rareillness affecting early growth.

In another show of Boundarylessness, 30 employees from the New York City based offices of RBI, Elsevier,Harcourt, LexisNexis and Reed Elsevier Corporate hosted a Reed Elsevier Publishing Day at Public School 123 inHarlem, where 20% of students live in temporary housingor shelters. The full day event featured interactive speakingand reading events; volunteers shared their skills byhelping the children edit a mock magazine; discussed jobsin the industry; brainstormed an ad campaign; and createdresumés. Volunteers also participated in a group activitywith the children to raise awareness of conflict resolutionand school bullying. RBI-US is carrying forward theinitiative with the launch of a school newspaper producedby the children.

A New York employee reads to local schoolchildren during the Reed Elsevier Publishing day

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Elsevier and LexisNexis Singapore employeesparticipating in the 2005 Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign during RE Cares Month

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We encourage staff to use their expertise, such aswebsite and graphic design skills and publishing know-how, to help others outside the company. LexisNexis UKworked with students at an inner city school to producea book of environmental poems called Tiger in theUndergrowth. It began with a foreword from CEO SirCrispin Davis who noted, “In the true spirit of our ReedElsevier value Boundarylessness, this collection hasinvolved employees at all levels of the business fromeditors to production, marketing, sales, PR, andaccounting specialists. They have helped the childrenedit, design, proof, layout, market, and launch theirwork, with proceeds benefiting their schools. In theprocess, our employees have been touched by thecreativity of these bright young people, while thestudents have gained practical experience which willserve them well in the future.”

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39 What We Give/Community Impact

Community continued

As part of our LBG disclosure, the value of our short-termand ongoing charitable activities totalled £3.7 million. This equates to approximately 1% of our pre-tax profit and allows Reed Elsevier a continued presence in thePercent Club.

2005 saw a 50% year on year rise in community giving, due in part to disaster relief and special programmes likeElsevier’s Book in your Name to celebrate the division’s425-125 year anniversaries. It is unlikely that giving will be sustained at this level in 2006.

Community Impact

In accordance with the LBG model, we monitor the shortand long term benefits of the projects with which we areinvolved. As part of our giving, we ask beneficiaries toreport regularly on their progress and achievements. The resulting information is added to the RE Cares section of aREna in order to raise staff awareness.

Among reports in 2005 was a summary of interim results at Training and Resources in Early Education (TREE), acentre supported by LexisNexis South Africa colleagues in the KwaZulu-Natal province where the division’s headoffice is based. The £15,000 project, agreed by RE CaresChampions, supported 60 children under the age of five by allowing TREE to invest in human resources training and materials. Local employees contributed by makingbooks and toys, engaging in painting days, and donatingitems including beds, blankets, and clothes. Some 85% ofSouth African children receive no pre-primary educationaccording to TREE and the centre provides this along withfood and shelter.

Reed Elsevier business units. See Appendix 8 for a listing of the charities we supported centrally in 2005.

This sum is represented in the full results of the 2005 RE Group Community Survey (GCS) carried out by ouraccounting services department in conjunction with globalRE Cares Champions. The methodology, reviewed by RE internal audit, is based on the London BenchmarkingGroup (LBG) model, to which Reed Elsevier is a contributor,and divides our aggregate pool of giving into short termcontributions, ongoing charitable gifts, and commercialinitiatives of direct business benefit. In 2005, weimplemented recommendations made by LBG on ways to improve data collection.

The total of cash and in-kind donations (products, services,and time) for 2005 was £6 million. Taking into account themarket cost of time, products and services, this representsa value of nearly £12 million, which breaks down as follows:

1. Short-term charitable gifts of £2 million with value of £3 million

2. Ongoing charitable gifts of £2 million with leveragedvalue of £3 million

3. Commercial support e.g., cash sponsorships; access to products like LexisNexis online services for low-income law school students, of £2 million with leveraged value of £5 million

Community Involvement – Amount and Value>

2004

■ Commercial initiatives■ Ongoing charitable gifts■ Short term charitable gifts

2005

6,131,824

7,926,440

4,413,440

11,612,931

Amount

Value

Amount

Value

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40 Community Impact

Community continued

We are also concerned with the business benefits of ouractivities. For example, staff behind Reed Exhibition’s (RX)flagship, World Travel Market, created the Just a Dropwebsite, www.JustADrop.org, six years ago as part of anappeal to the global travel and tourism industry. WorldTravel Market (WTM) is a business to business one weekexhibition and event, held annually in November in London.More than 5,000 exhibitors representing all major industrysectors from 192 destinations worldwide participate andmore than 45,000 industry professionals attend. Since thelaunch in 1998, Just a Drop has become a registered charityraising more than £600,000, garnering the support of the international travel and tourism industry worldwide. It provides clean water and health education programmesto save the lives of thousands of children and families. The programme has helped build WTM’s brand equity as a primary business to business event for the internationaltravel and tourism industry. The environmentally andcommunity-minded staff behind WTM have added anenvironmental awareness day to the show, an idealshowcase for Just A Drop. Staff report this home-growncharity has helped motivate and enhance team building and leadership.

Where appropriate, we consider and involve communities in decisions on new site locations. In 2004 our LexisNexisdivision in Ohio decided for strategic business reasons toopen a new data centre in the state. The LexisNexis teamdiscussed implications with a wide array of groups – fromlocal and state government to local schools. In order toreach out to the Springfield-Clark County community where the centre is located, staff involved local children in the opening and provided financial support to theirschools through the Cares programme.

“Reed Elsevier is one of AfriKids’ most valued donors. Its clear understanding of what is needed for effective development work is reflected in its intelligent funding priorities and thorough monitoring of the work they sponsor. The generosity of Reed Elsevier as a company and the staff as individuals is surpassed only by their personal dedication and genuine care for the communities they support.”

Georgie Cohen, Director and Founder, AfriKid

2006 Community Objectives:

• Grow and deepen RE Cares programme in majorbusiness locations

• Continue to spread RE Cares programme to newmarkets

• Drive a 10% increase in Two Days usage

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41 Help when it was needed most

Community continued

Help when it was needed most

Asian Tsunami

Reed Elsevier businesses raised close to $2 million for tsunami relief efforts through company donations,matching gift schemes, employee and businessfundraising and in-kind support. RBI-UK publicationCaterer & Hotelkeeper was exemplary, helping to raise£300,000 for UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’scharity by holding UNICHEF. As part of UNICHEF, morethan 200 restaurants, pubs and contract caterersdonated a percentage of their takings for the day to acollection for tsunami victims. The idea began with a callfrom a Michelin-starred chef to the magazine’s editor,who used the publication to promote UNICHEF to theindustry. A large volume of restaurants signed on, frombig chains and fine dining eateries to a tea shop on anisland off the coast of Scotland.

Hurricanes Katrina and WilmaReed Elsevier businesses donated and helped raisemore than $750,000 for hurricane relief efforts. Staff andmanagement worked quickly to devise innovative forms of aid. Among them was a cross-business endeavour by US legal staff focusing on copyright and related issues ofimportance to our business. They reached out to affectedGulf Coast musicians to offer direct legal services. For example, they assisted nine New Orleans musicianswith mortgage, insurance, and copyright issues andprovided support to the Jazz Foundation, the pre-

A LexisNexis Australia employee volunteering in Banda Aceh

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Devastation left by the earthquake in Pakistanwhere Learning for Life is offering assistance to local schools

<

eminent social service and philanthropic organisation forthe jazz community. For a Jazz Foundation auction, RBI-US donated three summer internships at the winners’choice of publications – Variety, Publishers Weekly, orBroadcast News – and subscriptions to Variety. ReedElsevier staff were the first to offer legal services inconjunction with bodies like FarmAid and the AmericanAssociation of Corporate Counsel Pro Bono Programs.

Asian Earthquake

Across the Group, RE Cares Champions agreed a grantof approximately $26,000 to assist UK charity, Learningfor Life, with emergency relief and school rebuilding inPakistan. Over the last two years, Reed Elsevier hascontributed nearly $40,000 to the small London-basedcharity working to bring educational opportunity to ruralcommunities and urban slums. Of the 39 schools whichLearning for Life has in the region, 24 were eitherdestroyed or seriously damaged by the South Asianearthquake. With over 1,000 children in Mansehra,Balakot, Battagram and Abbotabad, Learning for Life hasbeen working closely with partner, Sarhad Rural SupportProgramme (SRSP), the largest agency in the affectedregion, to conduct damage assessment, participatoryrural appraisal and construction. Learning for Life andSRSP have provided winterised tents and labour todistribute food and medical treatment and to reconstructfallen schools. With a focus on sustainable communitydevelopment, local villagers will take the lead role inrebuilding their communities.

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42 Environment

Environment

In 2005, in core environmental impact areas we achievedreductions both in absolute terms (e.g., gas, heavy fuels,C02 emissions) and on a normalised basis (e.g., total energyand water usage) despite an increase in the size of our business and number of employees as illustrated by a 7% overall growth in revenue.

We are committed to reducing our environmental impact,whenever possible, by limiting resource use and byefficiently employing sustainable materials andtechnologies. We require our suppliers and contractors to meet the same objectives. In this we are guided by the Reed Elsevier Environmental Management System(EMS) which outlines our environmental obligations to:

• Meet our responsibility as a global leader in our sectorand manage the environmental risks of our activities

• Ensure we are compliant with environmental legislation • Measure our continual improvement against

environmental targets • Realise cost savings and improve profitability • Support the wishes of employees concerned that we

minimise our environmental impacts

Input into our EMS and environmental activities comesfrom ongoing dialogue with stakeholders. These includeemployees, government departments and agenciesincluding the UK’s Action Energy and DEFRA,environmental charities and NGOs such as Earthwatch and Green Standards, and specialists including Trucost and Business Eco. We also learn by participating inenvironmental benchmarking activities like the annualBusiness in the Environment (BiE) Index.

We recognise that Reed Elsevierand its businesses have a directimpact on the environment,principally through the use ofenergy and water, the generation of waste, business travel, and in our supply chain through paper use, transportation and print andproduction technologies.

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43 Environment Data Summary

Environment continued

reliability and transparency of our environmental reporting,as requested by the RE Board, we engaged KPMG LLP to conduct a first external review of environmental data. We chose the UK for the first review as it is a primarylocation for all our business units and houses our headoffice. Results of this activity can be found in Appendix 9.

There were no breaches of international, national or otherenvironmental regulations in the period.

Environmental Data Summary

Environmental Summary (Absolute Numbers)

(KPIs) Key Performance Indicators 2005 change 2004Total Energy (mWh) 229,461 -1% 231,367Energy – Direct Carbon Emissions (CO2/Tonnes) 78,378 -8% 85,052Water (m3) 1,690,661 1% 1,668,141Transport – Direct Carbon Emissions (CO2/Tonnes) 47,810 1% 47,214Production Paper (metric tonnes) 146,335 2% 142,939Waste – Recycled (percentage) 71% 16% 55%

The 2005 Group environmental survey template wasreviewed by RE internal audit. Data was collected throughthe RE accounting services department from data suppliedby RE Environmental Champions. Unless otherwise stated,results are based on more than 75% of our key facilitieswhich account for more than 75% of our turnover and arecompared against 2004 data.

The heads of our four business units are accountable forensuring we comply with RE environmental policy andrelevant government regulations. The CEO, with the CR Director, reports annually to the Board on companyenvironmental performance, objectives and targets. Ourenvironmental targets remain a 10% reduction in energyconsumption and a 10% reduction in water consumption by 2008, from a 2003 baseline. We are making progress:

Environmental Target ResultsStill

% change needed toTarget – reduction 2003-2005 achieve target

Energy -10% -3% -7%Water -10% -6% -4%

In 2005, we exceeded our target to increase waste recyclingby 10% from the year previous.

Our network of Environmental Champions includesproperty directors, facilities managers and heads ofproduction and distribution. They are charged with carryingout the RE EMS. In 2005, we also brought an EnvironmentalCoordinator on board – an existing staff member in theGroup with extensive environmental expertise – to helpcarry forward our environmental objectives. And we set upgREen Teams to pursue environmental improvements atthe local level. Meanwhile our Environmental Championscompleted environmental goal setting documents outliningtheir steps to reducing environmental impact in core areas.To support them in their work, we held North American,European and AsiaPacific environmental meetings,reviewing the year’s environmental objectives, sharing bestpractice, and gaining insight from outside experts includingan attorney specialising in environmental law. To add to the

“We are pleased to play a role in support of Reed Elsevier’s environmental initiatives. LexisNexis, as a TotalSolutions provider, operates essentially as a ‘clean industry’, however we do recognise the global importanceof ensuring that best practices are employed whenever possible to minimise our environmental impacts byreducing resource consumption and waste. To this end, we have been successful in making significantimprovements to our processes and mechanical operations across LexisNexis facilities in North America”.

Teri Rybolt, Vice President, Corporate Services and Real Estate, LexisNexis – North America

Reed_CR 2005_31-55 15/4/06 11:50 pm Page 43

44 Energy


Energy

We achieved an overall reduction of 1% in absolute totalenergy usage with a drop from 231,367 mWh in 2004 to229,461 mWh in 2005. We are continually working to makeour reporting more transparent. Therefore, in 2005, wecompared our energy consumption against the change in our underlying revenue at constant rates to provide anormalised picture in accordance with DEFRA/Trucostreporting guidelines. This allows us to gauge energyconsumption relative to business development.

Underlying revenue growth figures are derived from the RE Annual Report and have been externally audited.Constant rates do not show company acquisitions and are comparable year on year. Between 2004 and 2005 we experienced a 5% increase in underlying revenue atconstant rates and added this rate to 2004 figures.Therefore as our business has expanded, energy usage has decreased by 6% from 242,935 mWh in 2004 to 231,367 mWh in 2005 on a normalised basis.

Energy Breakdown

Electricity

78% of the energy we use comes from purchasedelectricity. In 2005, absolute electricity use stayed constantat 0%: 179,877 mWh in 2005 vs 180,014 mWh in 2004. When normalised against underlying revenue at constantrates there is a 5% decrease over the same period.

Normalised Data(Underlying revenue

growth at constant Absolute Usage rates 5%)

Usage (mWh) 2005 % change 2004 % change 2004Electricity 179,877 0% 180,014 -5% 189,015Gas 47,810 -2% 48,539 -6% 50,966Heavy fuel 1,649 -39% 2,688 -42% 2,822Gas oil 126 0% 126 -5% 132Total Energy 229,461 -1% 231,367 -6% 242,935

Energy Usage

■ Electricity usage■ Revenue normalisation (5%)

179,877mWh2005

189,015mWh2004

Electricity UsageIncluding normalisation of 5% underlying revenuegrowth at constant rates

>

We consistently look for ways to reduce our energyconsumption. At LexisNexis’s Halsbury House facility inLondon upgrading a heating, ventilation and airconditioning (HVAC) unit resulted in a 28% decrease inelectricity use from 3,340 mWh in 2004 to 2,402 mWh in 2005. Elsevier in Rockville, Maryland saw a 7% reductionby changing the settings on programmable thermostats.We also encourage no-to-low cost improvements such as double sided printing, replacing old independent fax,printing and scanning machines with single multi-functional devices, using low energy flat panel monitors,and setting equipment to energy-saving modes at all sites.

In 2005, our Harcourt Austin facility received the AustinEnergy Commercial Green Building Award for achieving a high standard of sustainable design and construction that promotes electricity savings and other environmental

Reed_CR 2005_31-55 15/4/06 11:50 pm Page 44

Facility Type

Although offices comprise 89% of our facilities, they are not responsible for a corresponding amount of energy use.In 2005, our non-office operations – including datacentres,warehouses, printing and manufacturing operations – wereresponsible for 23% of our total energy consumption.

Facility Type Breakdown

Total energy use in non-office operations at absolute ratesincreased by 3% from 52,086 mWh in 2004 to 53,737 mWhin 2005. In comparison, office operations have shown adecrease of 2% in absolute total energy use, reducing from179,281 mWh in 2004 to 175,724 in 2005.

benefits. In the year, the facility also was awarded anEnergy Star label by the United States EnvironmentalProtection Agency (one of only eight in Austin).

Gas

We achieved a 2% decrease in absolute gas use movingfrom 48,539 mWh in 2004 to 47,810 mWh in 2005. Whennormalised against underlying revenue at constant ratesthere was a 6% decrease over the same period.

Gas is primarily used to heat facilities, so weatherconditions are a contributing factor in usage changes. For example, Harcourt’s Bellmawr, New Jersey warehousewas able to lower its thermostats because of warmertemperatures in 2005, achieving an 11% decrease in energy use to 2,010 mWh in 2005 from 2,305 mWh in 2004.

Other Energy Usage

We use heavy fuel/diesel oil at four of our operations. We reduced absolute usage 39% from 2,688 mWh in 2004 to 1,649 in 2005 by buying only the minimum amount of fuel necessary and avoiding the need to run heavy fuel-intensive back-up generators. Elsevier Germany’sKusterdingen facility alone saw a 62% drop in fuel use from 252 mWh in 2004 to 96 mWh in 2005.

45 Energy


Gas UsageIncluding normalisation of 5% underlying revenuegrowth at constant rates

>

■ Gas usage■ Revenue normalisation (5%)

47,810mWh2005

50,966mWh2004

■ 2005 Office■ 2005 Non office

Gas oil

Heavy fuel

Gas

Electricity

Total Energy 175,724 mWh (Office)53,737 mWh (Non office)

126 mWh (Office)0 mWh (Non office)

290 mWh (Office)1,359 mWh (Non office)

40,893 mWh (Office)6,916 mWh (Non office)

134,415 mWh (Office)45,461 mWh (Non office)

Reed_CR 2005_31-55 16/4/06 12:09 am Page 45


Total Energy Usage of non-office operationsIncluding normalisation of 5% underlying revenuegrowth at constant rates

>

05

1,055

04

824

03

656

02

542

01

405

00

328

99

214

98

154

97

114

Data Searches at our US LexisNexis DatacentresMillions

>

Comparison by Facility Type

When normalised against 5% underlying revenue growth at constant rates, the energy use of non-office operations is down by 2% from 54,690 mWh in 2004 to 53,737 mWh in 2005.

As we expand online services we help shift the consumptionpattern of our customers away from more traditional printcopies, electricity consumption – particularly at ourdatacentres – will increase. This is evident at LexisNexis US datacentres. Total energy usage at absolute ratesincreased 4% from 27,421 mWh in 2004 to 28,612 mWh in 2005. Over the same period, the number of clientinformation searches at the datacentres increased by 28% and by 825% since 1997.

Energy – Direct CO2 Emissions(metric tonnes)

>

78,3782005

85,0522004

Total Water UsageIncluding normalisation of 2% growth in Full TimeEmployees (FTE)

>

■ Water usage■ Revenue normalisation (5%)

1,690,661m32005

1,701,504m32004

CO2 Emissions and Green Energy

In 2005, all UK facilities switched to green energy (primarilyhydro-generation from utility Scottish and Southern).Although we would have achieved a small reduction of 1% in CO2 emissions without this development, it spurredan additional 7% reduction. Green energy now accounts for10% of our use, a savings of 7,984 metric tonnes of directCO2 in 2005.

WaterAbsolute total water usage rose 1% from 1,668,141 m3 in2004 to 1,690,661 m3 in 2005.

Water use is led by drinking and sanitation needs. Between2004 and 2005, a 2% increase in full time employees had a direct impact on water use. On a normalised basis,comparing water usage against employee numbers, therewas a 1% decrease over the period: 1,701,504 in 2004 vs1,690,661 in 2005.

Non-office Office2005 2004 2005 2004

(mWh) % (mWh) (mWh) % (mWh)Electricity 45,461 5% 43,351 134,415 -2% 136,663Gas 6,916 7% 6,493 40,893 -3% 42,046Heavy fuel 1,359 -39% 2,242 290 -35% 446Gas oil 0 0% 0 126 0% 126Total Energy 53,737 3% 52,086 175,724 -2% 179,281

Comparison verses facility type

46 Energy/CO2 Emissions and Green Energy/Water

■ Total non-office energy usage■ Revenue normalisation (5%)

2004 54,690mWh

53,737mWh2005

Reed_CR 2005_31-55 15/4/06 11:50 pm Page 46

47 Water/Transport


Rail and car journeys taken by our employees also have an environmental impact. US rail travel decreased by 20% in 2005 due to increased rates and a correspondingreduction in the cost of flights. Our US car fleet increased in 2005 due to acquisitions. This led to an increase of 12%in car fleet CO2 emissions. We will expand data collectionon our direct travel impacts over the next year to otherareas of the world.

Transport – US Rail and Car Fleet Travel Emissions(CO2/Tonnes)

2005 % 2004Rail Travel 15 -20% 19Car Fleet 5,192 12% 4,633Total 5,207 12% 4,652

We have made reducing our transport impact the focus ofour 2006 environmental campaign and we will beintroducing travel plans at key facilities. We aim to reduceour direct CO2 emissions by 2% by 2008 based on a 2004base line.

Many offices are already making improvements. In 2005,Elsevier’s FDC Reports office in Chevy Chase, Maryland wasrecognised for submitting the Outstanding Traffic MitigationPlan for their traffic district by local government. The facilitymakes information on public transport options available toemployees; offers bike racks and showers; participates in a Metro Fare Share programme (subsidised metro farecards); and subsidises parking for employees who carpool.They also participate in the Maryland State Commuter TaxCredit for Employers and in the flexible benefits programmethat allows pre-tax treatment of parking/publictransportation costs borne by employees.

In 2005, Elsevier’s UK head office held a bike week. This included free breakfast for anyone who cycled in towork and a Dr Bike Clinic to help maintain bikes. RBI

We are seeking ways to limit water use to reduce impact onthe local environment. At Elsevier’s Linn distribution facilityin Missouri, 100% of wastewater is funnelled to an on-sitelagoon/reservoir and stored for fire protection. HarcourtAustin is using a device from firm Accuwater that uses localweather information to control irrigation and reduce watercosts and consumption. LexisNexis Dayton is pilotingwaterless urinals in combination with a campaign thatexplains to employees why water conservation matters.Several facilities including RBI-UK Haywards Heath, havemoved from bottled water to water machines. While thiswill increase water consumption, it has the environmentalbenefit of reducing plastic use and transportationemissions.

Transport

We consume resources through business travel. To gaugeour impact we gather US and UK data accounting forapproximately 75% of the company by turnover. The data isprovided by our travel companies World Travel BTI and TheTravel Company.

Between 2004 and 2005, CO2 emissions from our air travelstayed reasonably constant with a 0% increase at 41,661CO2/kg. The total number of flights taken has decreased by1% from 154,149 in 2004 to 152,073 in 2005. Short haulflights accounted for 70% of distance travelled in 2005, anincrease of 5% from the previous year.

Transport – US/UK Air Travel Emissions (CO2/Tonnes)

2005 % 2004Short haul 32,280 5% 30,636Long haul 10,323 -13% 11,925Total 42,603 0% 42,562

*Conversion factors from DEFRA Guidelines for Company Reporting on GreenhouseGas Emissions Annexes, updated July 2005

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48 Transport/Paper


Norcross, Georgia is rewarding employees who carpool and use public transportation by teaming up on Cash forCommuters with the Atlanta Clean Air Campaign. Thosewho drive on their own are encouraged to try a commutingalternative such as carpooling, telecommuting, publictransit, walking or bicycling to work. Staff can earn $3 perday and up to $180 over three months. The programmeincludes a guaranteed ride home covering the cost of a taxi in the event of an emergency.

Technology: A New Way to Travel

As well as standard video conferencing, we have installedNemo real-time collaborative meeting rooms in ourAmsterdam, London, and New York offices. This new video,audio and data service has reduced the number of shortand long haul trips colleagues would normally make. We held 418 meetings via Nemo in 2005 avoiding 3,588hours of flying time and 266 CO2 /tonnes.

What We Saved Using Nemo real-time collaborative meeting rooms

Journeys 721Kilometres travelled 2,377,676Flight hours 3,588CO2 /tonnes 266

Paper

Production paper

Consumption of production paper increased by 2% from142,939 metric tonnes in 2004 to 146,335 metric tonnes in2005. Normalised against underlying revenue growth atconstant rates there was a 2% decrease in the period:150,086 metric tonnes in 2004 vs 146,335 metric tonnes.

Although we still produce significant quantities of physicalproduct, including journals, magazines and books, weexpect a longer term decrease as the shift to onlinecontinues.

Office paper

We used 959 tonnes of office paper in 2005, based onfigures from 84% of our operations by business turnover.We will compare this with 2006 figures and aim to indicatepercentages of recycled content.

Certified paper

65% of paper we purchase from key suppliers is certified to meet the standards of the FSC (Forest StewardshipCouncil), PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of ForestCertification schemes), CSA (Canadian StandardsAssociation) or SFI (Sustainable Forest Initiative). Somesuppliers like UPM supplied us with 100% certified paper in 2005 (24,532 metric tonnes). We are not able to switch to fully certifiable content because a significant portion ofwork under contract is on paper specified by others.

■ Paper production usage■ Revenue normalisation (5%)

146,3552005

150,0862004

Total Production Paper Usage(metric tonnes)Including normalisation of 5% underlying revenuegrowth at constant rates

>

Reed_CR 2005_31-55 15/4/06 11:50 pm Page 48

49 Waste


Recycling %>

712005

552004

792005

602004

622005

512004

712005

532004

Total

Toner cartridges

IT equipment

Office paper

Waste

In 2005, we recycled 71% of our three primary office items:toner cartridges, IT equipment and office paper.

Waste was the focus of our 2005 environmental campaignand we established a group campaign to reduce, reuse and recycle equipment and products, spurred on by ourEnvironmental Champions Network and newly establishedgREen Teams. We were able to introduce recyclingschemes to more facilities, which contributed to therecycling of 71% paper; 79% toner cartridges and 61% ITequipment. In 2005 we also recycled 85% of our cardboardand packaging, along with other items such as tin cans,CDs and mobile phones.

Recycling depends on localised systems and in somecountries in which we operate such schemes are not yet in place.

We are helping to close the recycling loop by purchasingrecycled goods. For example, 81% of office paper used byRBI-US in 2005 was recycled and 13% of its spend withsupplier Office Depot is through the company’s Green Book,which contains environmentally preferable products.

We have local and regional schemes to pass on technicalequipment and office furniture to charities and those inneed. In the UK we have signed up to Green Standards’Waste to Wonder campaign, redistributing or recycling 29metric tonnes of IT equipment in 2005 – a 20% increaseover the previous year. Equipment was cleaned, softwarewas added and it was then shipped as part of a ‘School in a Box’ to Morocco, among other countries. Staff at RE headquarters engaged in their own School in a Boxprogramme linking Green Standards with the charityAfriKids. In addition to company equipment donations, theyraised funds and secured staff contributions of key itemsfor children’s centres in rural Ghana, currently supportedthrough the RE Cares programme.

In the UK, we worked with Vodafone in 2005 to recyclecompany and personal phones through Fonebak whileraising funds for charity. Fonebak donated approximately £5 per handset to RE’s chosen beneficiary, the WoodlandTrust.

In 2006, we will expand reporting to include the weight ofwaste produced and disposed of in order to give a clearerpicture of the impact of our waste generation and itsenvironmental impact. We have also set a target to improverecycling of key items by a further 5% on a 2005 baseline by 2007.

A ‘School in a Box’ for Ghana<

Reed_CR 2005_31-55 16/4/06 12:14 am Page 49

50 Packaging/Environment and the Supply Chain


Respondents

Environmental survey 62%Paper survey 85%

Of suppliers that completed the 2005 environmental survey:

There is Board level responsibility for environmental issues 80%An Environmental Management System (EMS) is in place 80%Externally report on environmental impact 64%

We also requested information about chemical use,hazardous waste handling, steps being taken to reduceenvironmental impact and whether reduction targets havebeen set. While we discovered no breaches to the Code, we will follow up with respondents in a number of areas.

Of those suppliers that completed our paper survey, all hadan established environmental policy and environmentallycertified facilities. We also requested information onbleaching processes and steps being taken to reduceenvironmental impact.

In both surveys, we requested information aboutenvironmental fines or prosecutions. Six reported previousfines but outlined steps that had been taken to bringfacilities into compliance.

We plan to conduct the environmental and paper survey onan annual basis so we can report more fully on these areas.In 2006, the SRS database will extend to data converters,media providers and freight forwarders.

Packaging

We provide information on UK packaging waste in line withthe government’s Producer Responsibility Obligations(Packaging Waste Regulations 1997). As a member of theBiffpack compliance scheme led by Biffa Waste Services,we track the amount of our obligated packing generated inthe sale and transport of our products. In 2005, we used1,018 tonnes of paper and plastic packaging.

UK Packaging Data (metric tonnes)

Paper Plastic Total2005 832 186 1,018

Environment and the Supply Chain

Reed Elsevier holds its suppliers to the same standard ofconduct it sets for itself. Suppliers must adhere to all laws,embody and promote best practice in business operations,treat employees well and respect the environment, asindicated in the ten principles of the United Nations GlobalCompact to which Reed Elsevier is a signatory. Theseprinciples are reflected in our Supplier Code of Conduct,which we ask key suppliers to sign and to post prominentlyin the workplace.

At the end of 2005, we had 290 key suppliers, including pre-press, printers, paper and CD manufacturers, as part of our Socially Responsible Suppliers (SRS) database. We asked each of them to complete an environmental or paper survey as appropriate. This was reviewed by theSRS Initiatives Group, which includes the Reed ElsevierEnvironmental Coordinator.

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51 Biodiversity


Internal and independent external audits by ITS areperformed on a rolling basis – high risk suppliers areaudited every two years and those where breaches haveoccurred are audited annually. Results are communicatedto suppliers along with any remediation required.Remediation target dates are agreed and follow up auditsensure resolution of outstanding issues.

We work collaboratively with suppliers to review keysustainability issues through internal and external audits.We encourage our suppliers to drive socially responsibleactivities forward in their own supply chain and we seekways to highlight their best practice activities.

Biodiversity

Our operations undoubtedly have an impact on the localenvironment and biodiversity, primarily through waterextraction, road and building works and facilitiesmanagement. At sites where we have responsibility forland, we seek ways to increase biodiversity. For example, at Harcourt in San Antonio, Texas, we have planted localspecies of plants which require less irrigation and havecreated a natural preserve with minimal landscaping andfine gravel walking trails.

In 2005, we have also been involved in several localenvironmental projects:

Earthwatch – Reed Elsevier is a member of Earthwatch’sCorporate Environmental Responsibility Group (CERG),which aims to define and instil good practice in areas likeresource management, biodiversity, ecosystems andclimate change. In August 2005, five RE employees wereselected to volunteer alongside local teachers on anEarthwatch project monitoring the mammal population ofWytham Woods in Oxfordshire. The project generated usefulscientific research, improved the volunteers’ understandingof environmental issues and allowed teachers new learningto take back to the classroom.

Colorado Rivers & Trails Clean Up Day – In 2005, a numberof employees from RBI-US Highlands Ranch, Colorado,cleaned up Commons Park in downtown Denver on theSouth Platte River. Volunteers replaced and upgradedbeaver wrap around cottonwood trees, pruned tree limbsand removed trash to help transform the 20-acre park, a haven to local wildlife.

“Reed Elsevier’s partnership with Earthwatch supported five employees and three teachers in contributing to‘Monitoring British Mammals’ research. The company has also shown commitment to supporting goodenvironmental practice through its operations by harnessing the company’s core competencies to promotesustainability, and is a valued member of Earthwatch’s Corporate Environmental Responsibility Group.”

Chris Perceval, Corporate Development Manager, Earthwatch Institute (Europe)

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52 Environmental Campaigns


gREen Teams

Under the auspices of our Environmental Championsnetwork, in 2005 we established gREen Teams in 50% of key facilities. gREen Teams comprise employeevolunteers with an interest in environmental issues. They help us reduce our environmental footprint on a local basis, communicate information to colleagues, andpursue related events and other prerogatives.

gREen Days

To celebrate World Environment Day on 6 June 2005,environmental events were held by gREen Teams at Reed Elsevier offices around the globe. Speakers from the local community gave presentations; staff engaged in ‘switch off the lights’ campaigns and providedenvironmental information sessions. Employees werechallenged to make environmental reduction pledges to, for example, reuse plastic bags and switch off computersand other energy consuming items. On a site run by theUK’s Environment Agency, Reed Elsevier was among thetop 10 organisations in pledges. Colleagues set a goal ofusing 800 fewer plastic bags, 4,026.7 kg of carbon dioxide,and 114,915 litres of water.

Clean Fuels

Elsevier organises the yearly Grove Fuel Cell Symposiumwhich is Europe’s flagship event for the fuel cell industry. In 2005, the event opened with a display in Trafalgar Squaredesigned to raise the profile of fuel cells as alternativesources of energy. Fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity and heat via an electrochemical

Environmental Campaigns

The gREen Room

The gREen Room is a popular part of our corporate intranetsite, aREna. It offers comprehensive environmentalinformation including the results of the RE GroupEnvironmental Survey, the latest on environmentaltechnology and techniques, and extracts from in-house and external environmental publications. There are contact details for Environmental Champions, question and answer sections and news stories from gREen teamsacross the Group.

The gREen Room also outlines steps the company andemployees can take to better environmental performance.For example, the waste section promotes, “electronicproduction and housing content on shared drives andsending announcements, memos, and the like via e-mail.”Through the gREen Room we also initiated our 2005 War on Waste campaign which featured a poster designed byour Hollywood magazine, Variety.

“During 2005, Elsevier continued to contribute to the group aims and build on previous environmentalachievements. Particular successes include publishing a global environmental site on Non Solus, our Elsevierintranet, which includes examples of best practice and guidelines for energy and waste management in the workplace. This site is a valuable resource which enables our offices worldwide to advance theirenvironmental goals in line with the group’s goal setting programme and focus on areas of improvement. We are particularly encouraged by our achievements in establishing local Green Teams and are expanding them into markets such as China and India.”

Anna Moon, Global Publishing Support and Properties Director, Elsevier

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53 Environmental Knowledge within the Group/2006 Environment Objectives


reaction. The process is silent and the only by-product iswater. Given growing awareness of air pollution caused bybuses and other vehicles, public transport was a key focusof the exhibition. The event also showcased other potentialuses for the technology like residential heating and portablefuel cell batteries for laptops and other items. We invitedenvironmental NGOs with which we work, like Trucost,Green Standards, and Earthwatch, to take part.

Environmental Knowledge within the Group

Reed Elsevier produces a wide range of environmentrelated publications and resources for customers. It is ourcontribution to environmental knowledge. We share thisinformation with our employees through the gREen Room.They include from Elsevier:

Journals and Magazines

• ReFocus – international renewable energy magazinewww.re-focus.net

• Journal for Nature Conservation • The Management of Municipal Solid Waste in Europe• Macroeconomic Analysis of Environmental Policy • Journal of Arid Environments, communities and

organisms • Virtual Journal of Environmental Sustainability• Environment & Technique

2006 Environment Objectives:

• Continue to advance environmental goals by key facility

• Introduce gREen Teams in 75% of key facilities• Develop transport policies at all four divisions• Run an ISO 14001 pilot• External auditing of environmental data pilot

• Environment Science and Policy• Environmental Sustainability (A Virtual Journal)• Environmental Research• Journal of Environmental Management

Books

• Developments in Environmental Modelling (Book Series)• Developments in Environmental Economics

(Book Series)• Introduction to Environmental Management

(Book, 1991, by P.E. Hansen)• Concise Encyclopaedia of Environmental Systems

(Major reference work, 1993, by P.C. Young)• Environmental Pollution and Control

(Book, 1997, by J. Jeffery Peirce)• International Environmental Law Digest

(Book, 1993, by A.O Adede)

Other RE divisions also produce environmental content.Reed Business publishes New Scientist(www.newscientist.com); Reed Exhibitions’ Spearheaddivision organises environmental shows like OI 06(http://www.oi06.com/), the world’s largest marine scienceand ocean technology exhibition; Harcourt developsenvironment-related educational materials such as Holt’sEnvironmental Science (Student Edition and One StopPlanner); and LexisNexis produces environmental legalinformation such as Tolley’s Environmental Law andProcedures Management.

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54 Environment Case Studies


Reed and Reeds

Working with Royal Parks and the London BiodiversityPartnership, Reed Elsevier established a reed bed inLondon’s St James’s Park in 2005 to stimulate growth in fish, wildfowl and plant populations. As part of ReedElsevier Cares Month, 40 UK employees from across theGroup helped plant the reed bed over three days. Onesenior manager who used one of her Two Days to jointhe project said, “It was wonderful to spend a day outsidebuilding something we knew would be of real benefit tothe environment for many years to come. Our groupincluded people from five different Reed Elsevierlocations so we also got the chance to hear about whatour local colleagues do, an added bonus.”

Reed beds are areas of shallow water that provide idealconditions for the common reed, the UK’s largest nativegrass. They form a natural habitat that provides shelter,nest-sites and food for a wide variety of wildlife, includingsome of the rarest species. Reeds also play an importantrole in cleaning the environment in which they grow andare valued for the proficiency with which they removepollutants from air and water.

The cross-business volunteer opportunity was madepossible following a donation from Reed Elsevier in 2004and 2005 to the Royal Parks. An extensive outreachprogramme to local children is planned.

Making Environmental Issues Fun – Win a Goat!

The gREen Room ran a competition to coincide with World Environment Day in June 2005. Respondents were asked to answer the question: on average, only 7.5% of office waste reaches recycling facilities, but whatpercentage could actually be recycled? The answer couldbe found on a page in the gREen Room: 70% (source:http://www.brebookshop.com). The competition had over600 entrants and five goats were donated in the name ofwinners to a developing world community throughOxfam.

It was a great way to build awareness of the importance of World Environment Day and helped drive traffic to thegREen Room.

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55 Assurance

Assurance

For information on how our report aligns with GlobalReporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, see Appendix 10.

Key Contact

Dr. Márcia BaliscianoDirector, Corporate [email protected] StrandLondon WC2N 3JRUnited KingdomTel: +44 (0) 20 7166 5633

While Reed Elsevier does not have external review of all elements in the CR Report, its contents reflect theindependent views of a host of stakeholders consulted onan ongoing basis. This is the essence of our assuranceprocess. In summary, evidence of reporting requirements,communication, data collection, and independent reviewinclude:

• CEO Responsibility for CR matters before the Board• The RE CR Forum• The RE Code of Ethics and Business Conduct• CR process review by RE internal audit• RE Self-Assessment Questionnaire • RE Supplier Code of Conduct• ITS external supplier audit services• RE Supplier Environment Survey• RE Paper Supplier Survey• REspond Global Employee Opinion Survey• RE HR Management Council• RE Group Health and Safety Survey• Health and Safety consulting services• RE Group Community Survey• RE Group Environment Survey• The London Benchmarking Group• KPMG LLP• Earthwatch• UK Action Energy• RE Donations Policy • Networks of: RE Cares Champions; RE Environmental

Champions; Health and Safety Champions; Infinity GlobalProduction and Distribution Initiative members; SociallyResponsible Supplier network; customer service teams;works and staff councils; legal teams; RE AccountingServices; RE Communications and the RE CR Department

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56 Appendix 1

Appendix 1 – Corporate structure

than Reed Elsevier PLC) have a 47.1% economic interest in Reed Elsevier. Holders of ordinary shares in ReedElsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV enjoy substantiallyequivalent dividend and capital rights with respect to their ordinary shares.

The Boards of both Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed ElsevierNV have agreed, except in exceptional circumstances, torecommend equivalent gross dividends (including, withrespect to the dividend on Reed Elsevier PLC ordinaryshares, the associated UK tax credit), based on theequalisation ratio. A Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary share pays dividends in sterling and is subject to UK tax law withrespect to dividend and capital rights. A Reed Elsevier NVordinary share pays dividends in euro and is subject toDutch tax law with respect to dividend and capital rights.

Corporate Governance

Compliance with codes of best practice: The Boards ofReed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV have implementedstandards of corporate governance and disclosure policiesapplicable to companies listed on the stock exchanges ofthe United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the UnitedStates. The effect of this is that a standard applying to onewill, where practicable and not in conflict, also be observedby the other.

The Boards of Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NVsupport the principles and provisions of corporategovernance set out in the Combined Code on CorporateGovernance issued in July 2003 (the “UK Code”) and theDutch Corporate Governance Code issued in December2003 (the “Dutch Code”). Save as explained below, ReedElsevier PLC, which has its primary listing on the LondonStock Exchange, has complied throughout the period underreview with the UK Code, and Reed Elsevier NV, which hasits primary listing on Euronext in Amsterdam, has compliedthroughout the period under review with the Dutch Code.

The ways in which the relevant principles of corporategovernance are applied and complied with within ReedElsevier PLC, Reed Elsevier NV, Reed Elsevier Group plcand Elsevier Reed Finance BV are described below.

Corporate structure

Reed Elsevier came into existence in January 1993, whenReed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV contributed theirbusinesses to two jointly owned companies. Reed ElsevierGroup plc is a UK registered company which owns thepublishing and information businesses, and Elsevier Reed Finance BV is a Dutch registered company whichowns the financing activities.

Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV have retainedtheir separate legal and national identities and are publiclyheld companies. Reed Elsevier PLC’s securities are listed in London and New York, and Reed Elsevier NV’s securitiesare listed in Amsterdam and New York.

Equalisation arrangements

Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV each hold a 50%interest in Reed Elsevier Group plc. Reed Elsevier PLCholds a 39% interest in Elsevier Reed Finance BV, withReed Elsevier NV holding a 61% interest. Reed Elsevier PLCadditionally holds an indirect equity interest in ReedElsevier NV, reflecting the arrangements entered intobetween the two companies at the time of the merger,which determined the equalisation ratio whereby one Reed Elsevier NV ordinary share is, in broad terms,intended to confer equivalent economic interests to 1.538Reed Elsevier PLC ordinary shares. The equalisation ratio is subject to change to reflect share splits and similarevents that affect the number of outstanding ordinaryshares of either Reed Elsevier PLC or Reed Elsevier NV.

Under the equalisation arrangements, Reed Elsevier PLC shareholders have a 52.9% economic interest in Reed Elsevier, and Reed Elsevier NV shareholders (other

Reed Elsevier PLC

Reed Elsevier Group PLC

Reed Elsevier NV

Reed Elsevier Finance BV

50%

5.8%

39% 50%

61%

In order to safeguard the agreed board harmonisation, the Articles of Association of Reed Elsevier NV provide that appointments of Board members other than inaccordance with nominations by the combined Board, shall require a 2/3rd majority if less than 50% of the share capital is in attendance. Given the still generally low attendance rate at shareholders meetings in theNetherlands, the Board believes that this qualified majorityrequirement is appropriate.

On appointment and at regular intervals, directors receivetraining appropriate to their level of previous experience.This includes the provision of a tailored inductionprogramme, so as to provide newly appointed directors with information about the Reed Elsevier businesses andother relevant information to assist them in performingtheir duties. Non-executive directors are encouraged to visit the Reed Elsevier businesses to meet directors andsenior executives.

All Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV directors aresubject to retirement at least every three years, and areable to then make themselves available for re-election byshareholders at the respective Annual General Meetings.

As a general rule, non-executive directors of Reed ElsevierPLC and members of the Reed Elsevier NV supervisoryBoard serve on the respective Board for two, three yearterms, although the Boards may invite individual directorsto serve up to one additional three year term.

57 Appendix 1

Appendix 1 – Corporate structure continued

The Boards

The Boards of Reed Elsevier PLC, Reed Elsevier NV, Reed Elsevier Group plc and Elsevier Reed Finance BV each comprise a balance of executive and non-executivedirectors who bring a wide range of skills and experience tothe deliberations of the Boards. All non-executive directorsare independent of management and free from anybusiness or other relationship which could materiallyinterfere with the exercise of their independent judgment.

All directors have full and timely access to the informationrequired to discharge their responsibilities fully andefficiently. They have access to the services of therespective company secretaries, other members of Reed Elsevier’s management and staff, and its externaladvisors. Directors may take independent professionaladvice in the furtherance of their duties, at the relevantcompany’s expense.

The Boards of Reed Elsevier PLC, Reed Elsevier NV andReed Elsevier Group plc are harmonised. All the directorsof Reed Elsevier Group plc are also directors of ReedElsevier PLC and of Reed Elsevier NV. The Reed ElsevierPLC and Reed Elsevier NV shareholders maintain theirrights to appoint individuals to the respective Boards, inaccordance with the provisions of the Articles of Associationof these companies. Subject to this, no individual may beappointed to the Boards of Reed Elsevier PLC, ReedElsevier NV (either members of the Executive Board or the Supervisory Board) or Reed Elsevier Group plc unlessrecommended by the joint Nominations Committee.Members of the Committee abstain when their ownreappointment is being considered.

58 Appendix 2

Human rights

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect theprotection of internationally proclaimed human rights page 9-10; 12-18; 29; 31; 32; 50Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct

Principle 2: Make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses page 9-10; 13; 14; 17-30; 55Review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct

Labour standards

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining page 9-10; 13; 14; 29; 31Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct

Principle 4: The elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour page 13; 14; 29; 31Review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct

Principle 5: The effective abolition of child labour page 13; 14; 15; 29; 31; 67Review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct; financial and other support for community projects like the Karuna Trust which is fostering educational support for children in India, thereby permanently removing them from child labour.

Principle 6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation page 13; 14; 29; 31; 55Review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct; diversity programmes administered by our RE Human Resources Management Council

Environment

Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges page 10; 14; 29; 36; 37; 50-54Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics; Supplier Code of Conduct; the RE Environmental Management System; consultation with NGOs like Earthwatch and governments including the UK’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Appendix 2 – Reed Elsevier and the United Nations Global Compact

59 Appendix 2

Appendix 2 – Reed Elsevier and the United Nations Global Compact continued

Principle 8: Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility page 10; 14; 29; 50-55Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct and the RE Environmental Management System; promotion of environmental awareness through corporate intranet environmental section; employee environmental campaigns; local gREen Teams; support for external organisations like the UK’s Green Standards which promotes reuse of IT and electrical equipment

Principle 9: Encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies page 10; 14; 29; 50-55Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct and the RE Environmental Management System; numerous RE publications that promote environmental awareness and understanding like the “Journal for Nature Conservation;” “The Management of Solid Waste in Europe;” “Macroeconomic Analysis of Environmental Policy;” and “Environmental Sustainability, a Virtual Journal”

Anti-corruption

Principle 10: Businesses should work against all forms of corruption, including extortion and bribery page 9; 14; 17; 20; 31; 33; 34Incorporated in RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct; review and auditing of compliance with RE’s Code of Ethics and Supplier Code of Conduct; new developments like toll-free lines and web-based systems for confidential disclosure on Code violations, including corruption, by employees

60 Appendix 3

• Informing public opinion• Audience needs reflected in output• Human rights• Citizenship• Treatment of freelancers• Digital divide• Entertainment and gaming• Intellectual property and copyright• Regulatory compliance and self-regulation• Transparent ownership• Education• Privacy• Plurality• Integrity of information• Piracy/theft• Charitable issues promoted• Social and environmental issues promoted• Data protection• Health, safety and security

• Freedom of expression• Media literacy• Culturally diverse output• Creative independence• Transparent and responsible editorial policy• Valuing creativity• Impartial and balanced output

Source: KPMG LLP (UK)

• Investing in andsupporting staff

• Corporate governance• Community investment• Customer relationships• Supply chain integrity• Environmental

management

Common issues with distinctimplications for media

Unique CSR issues for media

CSR issues common to all sectors

Appendix 3 – Key CSR Issues for the Media Industry

Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that no part of the work has been published previously in printor electronic format and the paper is not underconsideration by another publication or electronic medium.All in-press or submitted works that are pertinent to themanuscript under consideration by the journal (includingthose cited in the manuscript under consideration) mustaccompany the submission. Related manuscripts that have been submitted elsewhere during the period ofrevision must accompany revised manuscripts. Failure toprovide copies of related manuscripts under considerationelsewhere may delay the review process and may begrounds for rejection. Under no circumstances will anypaper be considered that contains any data that have been submitted for publication elsewhere.

Authorship

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring thatall appropriate contributors are listed as authors and thatall authors have agreed to the manuscript’s content and its submission to Cell. In a case where we become awareof an authorship dispute, authorship must be approved inwriting by all of the parties.

Conflict of Interest

Cell requires all authors to disclose any financial conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the resultsor interpretation of their manuscript. Authors must declareany such conflict in the cover letter accompanying themanuscript and in the Acknowledgments section of themanuscript itself. The corresponding author will be askedto sign a form on behalf of all the authors regardingpotential conflicts of interest at the time of acceptance. As a guideline, any affiliation associated with a payment orfinancial benefit exceeding $10,000 p.a. or 5% ownership ofa company or research funding by a company with relatedinterests would constitute a conflict that must be declared.This policy applies to all submitted research manuscriptsand review material. Examples of statement languageinclude: AUTHOR is an employee and shareholder ofCOMPANY; AUTHOR is a founder of COMPANY and amember of its scientific advisory board; This work wassupported in part by a grant from COMPANY.

Studies Involving Humans and Animals

For manuscripts reporting studies involving humansubjects, statements identifying the committee approvingthe studies and confirming that informed consent wasobtained from all subjects must appear in theExperimental Procedures section. All experiments on livevertebrates or higher invertebrates must be performed inaccordance with relevant institutional and nationalguidelines and regulations. In the manuscript, a statementidentifying the committee approving the experiments andconfirming that all experiments conform to the relevantregulatory standards must be included in the ExperimentalProcedures section. The editors reserve the right to seekcomments from reviewers or additional information fromauthors on any cases in which concerns arise.

Distribution of Materials and Data

One of the terms and conditions of publishing in Cell is that authors be willing to distribute any materials andprotocols used in the published experiments to qualifiedresearchers for their own use. Materials include but arenot limited to cells DNA, antibodies, reagents, organisms,and mouse strains, or if necessary the relevant ES cells.These must be made available with minimal restrictionsand in a timely manner, but it is acceptable to requestreasonable payment to cover the cost of maintenance and transport of materials. If there are restrictions to the availability of any materials, data, or information, these must be disclosed in the cover letter and theExperimental Procedures section of the manuscript at the time of submission.

Nucleic acid and protein sequences, macromolecularstructures determined by x-ray crystallography (along withstructure factors), and microarray data must be depositedin the appropriate public database and must be accessiblewithout restriction from the date of publication. An entryname or accession number must be included as the lastparagraph of the Experimental Procedures section in thefinal version of the manuscript. Microarray data should beMIAME compliant (for guidelines see http://www.mged.org/Workgroups /MIAME/miame.html).

61 Appendix 4

Appendix 4 – Sample Journal Editorial Policy(excerpt) from Cell Press

In addition to the information that must be deposited inpublic databases as detailed above, authors areencouraged to contribute additional information to theappropriate databases. Authors are also encouraged todeposit materials used in their studies to the appropriaterepositories for distribution to researchers.

Open Archive

Cell Press papers are freely available starting 12 monthsafter publication.

62 Appendix 4

Appendix 4 – Sample Journal Editorial Policy (excerpt) from Cell Press continued

Destroying or remaindering product costs the companymillions of dollars each year. When certain products nolonger have commercial viability, they may remain in greatdemand by qualified, deserving recipients on a local orinternational level.

Because product donations may have tax and marketimplications, they should be approved by relevantmanagers. No product donations must ever compromisethe commercial interests of the company or, to the extentpossible, create any adverse liabilities.

However, when and where appropriate, we encouragebusiness units to seek domestic outlets or those in thedeveloping world for surplus or non-saleable products toregistered charities. Donations should be useful and not an excuse to dump unwanted material.

Business units, with relevant management approval andcontrol, may also decide to make donations of new orcommercially viable material for educational orhumanitarian purposes.

All donated physical products should be clearly stamped or labelled, ‘Donated by [Reed Elsevier or business unitname]: Not for Resale.’

All donations should be recorded and reported in theGroup Community Survey, which catalogues ReedElsevier’s giving, conducted by the accounting servicesgroup annually.

Additional Information

Sampling of donation partners for hardcopy product

Australian Legal Resources International (ALRI):LexisNexis Australia works with Australian LegalResources (www.alri.org.au), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation whose mission is to promotehuman rights and good governance within developingcountries. Reed Elsevier has made donations to supporttheir book programme through which they donate legaltexts, computerized legal information retrieval systems,and other materials to various institutions in developingand transitional democracies, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, including Bangladesh, Fiji, East Timor,Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

Book Aid International (BAI): LexisNexis, Harcourt,Elsevier, and Reed Business in the UK are among the largest donors of books to Book Aid International(www.bookaid.org.uk). We have donated nearly 500,000books over the last three years. BAI works in more than 40 countries around the world and supplies carefullytargeted books each year to public libraries, schools,universities, refugee camps, hospitals and NGOs. Over85% of its resources are directed toward 13 countries insub- Saharan Africa and work with local partners toensure resources go where they are needed most, tobeneficiaries without adequate books for their readers, nor the budget to buy them. More than half of its output is focused directly on children’s education. BAI alsosupports the local book chain through African bookpurchase schemes. Reed Elsevier has previously awardeda grant of £10,000 for the purchase of African publishedchildren’s fiction to support literacy and learning amongchild refugees and/or children affected by conflict inEthiopia, Kenya and Somaliland. The Elsevier Foundationawarded Book Aid International (as a complement to their gift to the Sabre Foundation) a grant of $12,500 toaddress information and learning needs by giving supportfor Scientific, Technical and Medical communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

63 Appendix 5

Appendix 5 – Product Donation Policy

The Bookman: The Bookman (www.thebookman.org),supported by Elsevier and Harcourt in San Diego, isdedicated to distributing free books to those in needwithout access to library facilities or who cannot afford topurchase books, including inner-city children, prisoners,the homeless, residents of public shelters, teen drop-incentres, and retirement homes. We have made grants toadvance their work in 2003, 2004, and 2005, decided uponby National RE Cares Champions. The Bookman is a501(c)(3) organisation.

Sabre: A primary US-based beneficiary of non-sensitivematerial distributed to the developing world is Sabre(www.sabre.org). The divisions have developed a workingrelationship with the organisation and the ElsevierFoundation has previously supported their mission throughcash donations. Sabre Foundation is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3)organisation under the US Internal Revenue Code, and isregistered as a Private Voluntary Organization with the USAgency for International Development. Since its inceptionin 1986, Sabre’s Book Donation Programme has shippedmore than five million new books and CD-ROMS valued atover $150 million to more than 60 countries. The keystoneof Sabre’s book programme is that it is demand-driven.Rather than trying to send as many books as possible,regardless of demonstrated need, Sabre gives its overseaspartners the opportunity to select books and CD-ROMsfrom detailed inventory offering lists that are sentelectronically. Only titles and quantities specificallyrequested by its partners are shipped by Sabre. Thosetitles are new, high-quality, up-to-date books selected bySabre from the offerings made by donating publishers. Inthe selection process, Sabre’s rule-of-thumb is thatsomething which is of no value in the US is usually equallyvalueless overseas. The schools, universities, libraries andindividuals that benefit from Sabre’s Book DonationProgramme are not regarded as the recipients of aid forwhom “any book is better than no book at all” – they areregarded instead as clients with limited resources.

Sampling of donations of non-hardcopy product

Agora: Elsevier works in conjunction with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like the Food andAgricultural Organisation of the United Nations, Cornell’sThe programme has seen explosive growth an 80%increase in the usage of Elsevier product in 2005(constituting more than 70,000 searches) from theprevious year. Elsevier is helping the WHO to move towardan Athens authentication system (which Elsevier hasimplemented in its own products) for Hinari and Agora,which will provide a more reliable level of secure access.We are also part of the steering group for the launch in2006 of Online Access to Research in the Environment(OARE) which will provide developing world institutionswith access to earth sciences material.

HINARI: Elsevier is a primary supporter of the HealthInternetWork Access to Research Initiative (HINARI). which enabled researchers representing 1800 institutionsin 105 countries in the developing world to conduct morethan 1 million free electronic searches of 700 Elsevierscientific journals in 2005 (a growth of more than 35% over the previous year). HINARI, launched in 2002 with agroup of other major publishers, is designed to strengthenpublic health services by providing public health workers,researchers and policy makers access to high-quality,relevant and timely health information via the Internet. It further aims to improve communication and networking.Local, non-profit institutions (including nationaluniversities, research institutes, professional schools –medicine, nursing, pharmacy, public health, dentistry,teaching hospitals, government offices and nationalmedical libraries) are eligible; countries with GNP percapita below $1000 qualify for free access whileinstitutions in countries with slightly higher GNP per capita pay a nominal annual fee. In the year we added all our journals of librarianship to help promote goodpractice in the field. A formal review of the HINARIprogram will be completed mid-2006 and distributed toparticipating publishers.

December 2005

64 Appendix 5

Appendix 5 – Product Donation Policycontinued

Mission

Reed Elsevier holds suppliers, including pre-press,printers, paper manufacturers, data converters, mediaproviders and freight forwarders, to the same standard of conduct it sets for itself: adhere to all laws to whichsubject and embody and promote best practice in businessoperations, treatment of employees and respect for theenvironment, as indicated in the ten principles of theUnited Nations Global Compact to which Reed Elsevier is a signatory. These principles are reflected in our SupplierCode of Conduct (“Code”) which we ask key suppliers tosign and to post prominently in the workplace (keysuppliers are those constituting at least $1 million in sales or 25% or greater of annual supplier categoryspend). To monitor compliance, we regularly conductinternal and external audits of key suppliers and reviewtheir environmental and other performance information.Suppliers in violation of the Code or its parts will besubject to remediation agreements; failure to rectify non-compliance can lead to contract termination.

Activities

Among its activities, the RE SRS Initiatives Group

• maintains a master supplier database withcomprehensive information including Codeversioning/signing, initiative tracking, audit dates,remediation plans and compliance

• sets and reviews internal and external audit guidelines• establishes policies and undertakes relevant initiatives

including a Supplier Environmental and Paper Survey

Each supplier receives the Code and additional associateddocuments as part of any Request for Quote (RFQ) orRequest for Proposal (RFP). Upon contract signing,suppliers are required to meet Code requirements andparticipate in monitoring activities like the SupplierEnvironmental and Paper Survey, as appropriate and as requested.

Internal and independent external audits are performed ona regular basis. High risk suppliers as determined by theSRS Initiatives Group, such as those operating in areaswhere human rights, labour, environmental, or otherabuses have been known to occur, are audited every twoyears. Suppliers with repeat Code violations are auditedannually. Results are communicated to suppliers alongwith any remediation required; remediation target datesare agreed and follow-up audits are performed to ensureissues identified have been resolved.

March 2006

65 Appendix 6

Appendix 6 – Reed Elsevier SociallyResponsible Supplier (SRS) Group

Audit Date: 4 January 2005Report #: MAL-0329-01

Non Compliance Actions taken to comply Follow-up action1 First Aid box to be assigned to a First Aid box assigned to the person and Continually monitor

responsible person his/her name attached to the box

2 Exit door to be opened outwards Corrective action taken Completed

3 Yearly fire drill exercise Completed fire drill exercise for 2005; Fixed as a yearly eventpresently planning for 2006 fire drill

4 Posting of Reed Elsevier Code of Reed Elsevier Code of Conduct posted. To continue to replace in Conduct on notice board In addition to Mandarin, a Bahasa Malaysia case of wear and tear

translation will soon be completed

66 Appendix 7

Appendix 7 – Sample 2005 Remediation Report, Printer – Malaysia

What We Gave in 2005 – Developing World

ADOPT – £2,500 to fund cardiac surgery for oneunderprivileged child in Uttaranchal, India. The charity will organise free heart check-up camps in differentvillages and towns in the state to detect and identifychildren with cardiac risk.

AfriKids – £4,500 to fund the running costs of the AfriKidsAcademy in Bolgatanga, Ghana for the first year. The Academy will provide improved educational facilities which will be available to all schools and families in thearea, including a head teachers’ forum, adult education,micro-finance schemes, a child rights programme and an outreach programme. Suggested by LexisNexis UK and Reed Elsevier UK. www.afrikids.org

American Red Cross – £28,679/$50,000 on behalf of employees to the Katrina Red Cross relief fund.www.redcross.org

Book Aid International – £16,600/$28,941.64 to promote areading culture among communities in Sierra Leone andNamibia. Funds will be used to make books available topeople who cannot afford them by supporting communityand school libraries. www.bookaid.org

Facing History and Ourselves – £2,500/$4,405 tounderwrite a Worldwide Access to Educational Resources(WATER) Kit project. This will encourage a dialogue aboutrespect, responsibility and the value of diversity and ethnicdifferences among children in South Africa, Rwanda,Colombia, Czech Republic, England, Germany, NorthernIreland and Lithuania. www.facinghistory.org

Fundación de las Americas – £10,000/$17,625 to build the first high school at the US/Mexico border. This willpromote bi-national community development and give aidto disadvantaged children. Suggested by Elsevier London.www.americasfoundation.net/index

Gifts 4 a Smile – £5,000 to help cover the costs of aChildren’s Play Bus which will visit areas of Sri Lankaaffected by the tsunami. By means of sports, games,drama and creativity, the children will be able to exploretheir difficult experiences. Suggested by RBI Netherlands.www.gifts4asmile.nl

GOAL – £10,000 to support GOAL’s programme, cateringfor the basic needs of almost a quarter of a million peoplein Western Sudan, displaced as a result of conflict.http://www.goal.ie

God’s Golden Acre – £5,562 to support the 2006 schoolingof 12 children in residence at Bethel High School inKhayelihle, South Africa. Funds will go toward the schoolfees of children with no sponsors, their school uniforms,equipment and stationery. Suggested by RBI Netherlands.www.godsgoldenacre.nl

International Red Cross – £17,205/$30,000 on behalf of employees following the Asian tsunami. www.icrc.org

Just a Drop – £5,370/$10,000 on behalf of employeesfollowing the Asian tsunami. www.justadrop.org

Karuna Trust – £7,500/$13,217 to provide educationalsupport in order to remove children from child labour, and support gender awareness to counter discriminationagainst girls in Pune, western India. Suggested by Reed Elsevier London. www.karuna.org

Learning for Life – £14,911/$26,000 to assist withemergency relief and school rebuilding in Pakistanfollowing the South Asia earthquake. Over the last twoyears, Reed Elsevier has supported the organisation, a small London-based charity working in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan with local partners to provide educationand training in remote, rural regions and in urban slums.www.learningforlifeuk.org

Save the Children – £17,205/$30,000 on behalf of employees following the Asian tsunami.www.savethechildren.org

67 Appendix 8

Appendix 8 – Charities we supported centrally in 2005

Save the Children Netherlands – £5,000/$8,809 for thepurchase of library boxes and manuals in support of the‘reading for children’ project in Kabul, Afghanistan.Suggested by Elsevier Netherlands.www.savethechildren.nl

Sister Cecilia Home – £2,500 to support 26 girls and their families at a boarding school in Bosnia. The studentsare from Serbian (Orthodox), Croatian (Catholic) andBosnian (Muslim) families. Funds will be used to cover the costs of their education and stationery. Suggested byRBI Netherlands.

Spurgeons Child Care – £3,080 to support a school for 350children in Kibera Slub, Nairobi, the largest slum in Africa,where the majority of orphans have lost their parents toAIDS. The funds will go toward providing material for localwidows to make uniforms, food for at least one meal a day,running water, basic medicines and educational [email protected]

Teachers without Borders – £5,000/$8,809 for a trainingconference for teachers in the Great Lakes Region ofAfrica. The charity aims to give teachers professionaldevelopment and aid their involvement in peace-buildingand reconciliation. Suggested by Harcourt Orlando.www.teacherswithoutborders.org

UNICEF – £17,205/$30,000 on behalf of employeesfollowing the Asian tsunami.

University of Cape Town Trust – £10,000/$17,625 for abursary programme that will give one talented buteconomically disadvantaged South African student a worldclass education over three years in science, commerce, the humanities or law. Suggested by LexisNexis UK.www.uct.ac.za

What We Gave in 2005 – Regional Projects

Asia Pacific:Youth Off The Streets – £5,000/$8,809 to establish a centrein Sydney based on an alternative-learning model whereyoung disadvantaged people can gain skills and benefitfrom mentoring. Suggested by LexisNexis Asia Pacific.www.youthoffthestreets.com.au

The Netherlands:Stichting SAM – £3,125 to support dolphin-assisted therapy for children with Downs Syndrome and autism-related disabilities. Dolphin-assisted therapy can offer animportant link in the educational curriculum of disabledchildren. Suggested by Elsevier Netherlands.www.stichtingsam.nl

UK:The Challenger Trust – £3,000 for the piloting of anEnterprise and Outdoor Activities residential course in the UK for 27 disadvantaged children. Suggested by Reed Elsevier London. www.challengertrust.org

Cystic Fibrosis Trust – £1,500/$2,644 to help fund the costof the redesign, rewrite and reprint of their educationalbooklet, ‘A Guide for Feeding Infants’ – available to parentsand carers across the UK. Suggested by LexisNexis UK.www.cftrust.org.uk

Depaul Trust – £5,000/$8,809 to continue support for theirDrive Ahead employment and training project in London.Funds will pay for client training and welfare costs,equipment, volunteer and premises costs. Suggested byLexisNexis UK. www.depaultrust.org

English PEN – £7,150/$12,599 to extend their literacy work,site visits and book donations, for hard to reach youngpeople, including young offenders and children in careacross several UK locations. Suggested by ReedExhibitions UK. www.englishpen.org/readersandwriters

National Literacy Trust – £7,150/$12,599 to continue theirTalk to Your Baby project, including the cost of all web-based promotional materials for a campaign that willreach carers throughout the UK. Suggested by ReedBusiness Information London. www.literacytrust.org.uk

68 Appendix 8

Appendix 8 – Charities we supported centrally in 2005 continued

REACT (Rapid Effective Assistance for Children withpotentially Terminal illness) – £2,500/$4,405 to provideterminally ill children in financially disadvantaged familiesthroughout South East England with educationalequipment. www.reactcharity.org

Shakespeare Schools Festival – £5,000/$8,809 to fund asecond year of involvement with special needs schoolstaking part in their on-going Shakespeare theatre project,including workshops. www.ssf.uk.com

YouthNet – £5,000 to help deliver vital mental healtheducation and support – one young person every fourminutes in 2005 – via their innovative website. 120,000young people will receive support over the next 12 months.Suggested by Reed Exhibitions UK. www.thesite.org

US:Alliance Community Schools – £5,500/$9,697 to improvecollections and technology at the Library Media Centres inOhio’s inner city Dayton View and Dayton Academies.Suggested by LexisNexis US. www.edisonschools.com

All Stars Project – £2,825 to recruit, enrol and train youngpeople from New York in the Joseph A. ForgioneDevelopment School for Youth – a leadership and careertraining programme for young people, ages 16-21, fromlow income communities. Suggested by RBI New York.www.allstars.org

Barrio Logan College Institute – £5,000/$8,809 willsupport programme services and special projects for after-school enrichment and tutoring at a community college inSan Diego. Suggested by Elsevier San Diego. www.blci.org

Burn Institute – £2,800 to pay for burn-injured children toattend a week-long camp in San Diego. The donation willgo toward all meals, lodging and activities for the fullweek. Suggested by Elsevier San Diego.www.burninstitute.org

Child and Family Resources – £1,100/$1,938 to help staffsupport lines at childcare centres in New Jersey along with specialised training for volunteers. Suggested by Reed Business US. www.childandfamily-nj.org

Express YourSelf-Portrait Programme – £1,500/$2,644 to increase awareness of opportunities in the design fieldamong disadvantaged students and their parents andcaretakers in Chicago, helping them to inspire, encourageand nurture young talent. Suggested by Reed Business US.www.projectosmosis.org

Greater Philadelphia Cares – £1,500/$2,644 to supportReading STARS, a volunteer-powered programme inPhiladelphia to bring beginning and remedial readers up to grade level reading ability. Suggested by Elsevier US.www.gpcares.com

Mrs. Wilson’s Halfway House – £250 to help support the group-counselling component of a halfway housetreatment programme in New Jersey. Suggested by RBI Rockaway NJ. www.mrswilsons.org

Primary School Counselling Services – £1,800/$3,170 to provide materials for social skills training for parentsand Parent Teachers Association members, as well assupporting a school vacation camp for underprivilegedchildren in St. Kitts, the West Indies. Suggested by Reed Data Services St. Kitts (a division of RBI).

The Bookman, Inc. – £300/$528 to purchase one year of high speed internet access to manage inventory andemails. The Bookman, whom we have supported over thelast two years, is a regional charity based in San Diegowhich recirculates books to people who would not normallyhave access to libraries. Suggested by Elsevier andHarcourt San Diego. www.thebookman.org

University of Central Florida – £5,000 to support thecontinued implementation and expansion of the twocommunity-based UCF Reading Camps in Orlando.Children will continue to be tutored in reading and a newparent support programme will be added. Suggested byHarcourt Orlando.

69 Appendix 8

Appendix 8 – Charities we supported centrally in 2005 continued

Independent assurance report to Reed Elsevier plc

Reed Elsevier plc engaged us to review its UKenvironmental survey totals for the 2005 energy usage;water usage; direct CO2 emissions and paper and plasticpackaging waste indicators.

This report is made solely to Reed Elsevier plc inaccordance with the terms of our engagement. Our work has been undertaken so that we might state toReed Elsevier plc those matters we have been engaged to state in this report and for no other purpose. To thefullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept orassume responsibility to anyone other than Reed Elsevierplc, for our work, for this report, or for the conclusion we have reached.

Respective responsibilities of directors and reviewer

Reed Elsevier plc’s directors are responsible for thepreparation of the attached report entitled ‘Reed Elsevierand Corporate Responsibility – Our Performance in 2005’and the information and assessments contained within it,for determining Reed Elsevier plc’s objectives in respect of environmental performance and for establishing andmaintaining appropriate performance management andinternal control systems from which the reportedinformation is derived. Further information is provided in the attached report.

Our responsibility is to express our conclusion to ReedElsevier plc on the findings of our review, based on thework referred to below. We also report if, in our opinion,any of the relevant disclosures are misrepresented orinconsistent with our findings, if other disclosures in theattached report are inconsistent with our findings, if wehave not received all information and explanations werequired to conduct our work, or if we became aware ofadditional information, the omission of which may result in the selected indicators in the report being materiallymisstated or misleading.

Basis of our work

For a number of years, Reed Elsevier has issuedEnvironmental Survey Instructions to its divisions. These instructions provide guidance on each indicatorwithin the survey in order to ensure consistency ofreporting across the group.

We conducted our work in accordance with InternationalStandard on Assurance Engagements 3000: AssuranceEngagements other than Audits or Reviews of HistoricalInformation issued by the International Auditing andAssurance Standards Board. Our approach is risk-baseddrawing on an understanding of risks associated with thedevelopment and implementation of business principlesand the identification, management and reporting of socialand environmental risks.

Work performed

We reviewed the UK data for the following indicators:energy usage (composed of electricity and gas); waterusage; CO2 emissions and paper and plastic packagingwaste. We selected and visited four sites, one from eachdivision and also reviewed data and evidence from theother 13 sites completing the UK survey.

We planned and performed our work to obtain all theinformation and explanations that we considerednecessary to provide sufficient evidence for us to givelimited assurance over these indicators.

Our work consisted of:

• Obtaining an understanding of systems used to generate, aggregate and report based on Reed Elsevier’s Group Environmental SurveyInstructions 2005;

• Conducting interviews with facilities and environmentalmanagement at the sites, divisional and group level to obtain an understanding of the consistency of thereporting processes and explanations of the trends inReed Elsevier plc’s UK environmental performance;

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Appendix 9 – KPMG LLP Assurance Statement

• Performing an analytical review of the UK environmentaldata submitted for central aggregation;

• Testing the accuracy of the aggregation process for theselected UK environmental indicators;

• Reviewing the presentation of the selected UKenvironmental data in the report in light of the findingsfrom site visits, divisional and group levels.

Conclusion

Based on the work described above, in our opinion, nothinghas come to our attention that causes us to believe thatReed Elsevier’s UK energy usage; water usage; direct CO2

emissions and paper and plastic packaging waste for theyear ended 31 December 2005, are not fairly stated.

KPMG LLP (UK)Chartered Accountants

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Appendix 9 – KPMG LLP Assurance Statement continued

Basis of reporting

We believe we must be transparent and make continuousimprovements in our reporting. This year we engagedKPMG LLP to conduct a first external review ofenvironmental data. We chose the United Kingdom where our headquarters and offices of all four divisions are located. It is our intention to broaden the scope of external assurance to more locations next year.

Progress during 2005

We have made a significant investment in improving our environmental management and performance during 2005 by:

• Appointing an Environment Manager with directresponsibility for managing and improving Reed Elsevier (RE) environmental performance.

• Further developing our internal EnvironmentalChampions network and the creation of gREen Teams in key facilities in key facilities around the group,including the UK. gREen Teams involve employeevolunteers in creatively advancing RE environmental goals.

• Holding an annual European Environmental Championsmeeting in the UK, to share best practice and developnew ideas.

UK environmental data

UK environmental data was derived from the 2005 Reed Elsevier Group Environmental Survey, which has been completed annually since 2002.

The data covers 17 UK sites including RE headquartersand facilities of all four RE divisions: Elsevier, LexisNexis,Harcourt Education, and Reed Business. Together theyaccount for more than 75% of UK key facilities and UKannual turnover. Operations that are not included areprimarily small leased spaces with a limited number of employees.

As the majority of our operations are office based, energy and water use are directly linked to relatedactivities such as heating, lighting, electrical applianceoperation and sanitation.

Energy Consumption

2005 UK Energy Data (kWh)

Electricity 23,228,992

Gas 7,104,676

Total kWh 30,333,668

Water use

2005 UK Water Data (cubic meters)

Water 55,297

Direct Carbon Emissions

In October 2004 we converted electricity supply for Reed Elsevier’s largest UK sites to green energy through Scottish and Southern’s hydro generation scheme. In October 2005 we added all other UK facilities where we have direct control over energy supply. This representsa reduction of 70% or 7,984 metric tonnes of direct CO2emissions in 2005 that we would otherwise have emitted.

2005 Direct UK Carbon Emissions (metric tonnes CO2)

Carbon Emissions 3,354

Packaging WasteAs a member of the Biffpack compliance scheme led byBiffa Waste Services, we track the amount of our obligatedpacking generated in the sale and transport of ourproducts. As our systems designed to track non-obligatedpackaging waste are still being developed, only the tonnageof plastic and paper packaging waste generated by our UK operations are included in the scope of assurance.

2005 UK Packaging Data (metric tonnes)

Paper Plastic Total

2005 832 186 1018

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Appendix 9 – Reed Elsevier Independent Assurance of UK Environmental Data

Areas for improvement

The comprehensive RE Environmental ManagementSystem commits us to continually improve ourenvironmental management and information systems. In 2005 we took steps to improve data collection, includingstandardising reporting periods and methodology. This ledto an increased reliability and comparability of resultingdata. However, there is more we can and will do goingforward including:

• Global roll out of an environmental reportingmanual/workbook through the RE EnvironmentalChampions network to ensure consistency inenvironmental data collection.

• Implementation by the RE internal audit department of KPMG LLP’s recommendations for improvingenvironmental data quality.

• Continue the enhancement of communication across RE to raise awareness of data quality as a benefit for management and external stakeholders.

• Applying recommendations from KPMG LLP to allowinclusion of waste data in the external assuranceprocess. KPMG LLP concluded that while positiverecycling programmes are in place across the UK, data available from third party contractors and the methodology for estimating quantities is not yet mature enough to provide reliable data.

• Putting a focus on transport, in particular, calculatingindirect carbon emissions from business travel andproduct transportation.

Independent assurance

The aim of this first independent review of UKenvironmental data is to provide internal and externalstakeholders assurance on the accuracy of reported UK environmental information. The external reviewencompassed: energy and water use, direct CO2 emissionsand paper and plastic packaging waste.

RE also gains as part of KPMG LLP’s assurance processfeedback summarising key findings and recommendations.This is valuable guidance as we endeavour to improve our environmental management and performance in the year ahead.

KPMG LLP’s independent assurance opinion can be foundon page 70 and 71.

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Appendix 9 – Reed Elsevier Independent Assurance of UK Environmental Data continued

CR Report page number1 Vision and Strategy1.1 Statement of the organisation’s vision and strategy regarding its contribution to sustainable development 11.2 Statement from the CEO describing key elements of the report 1

2 Profile2.1 Name of reporting organisation 12.2 Major products and/or services, including brands if appropriate 1; 3-7; 9-10; 18-30; 39; 532.3 Operational structure of the organisation 56-572.4 Description of major divisions, operating companies, subsidiaries, and joint ventures 1; 3; 9; 18; 53; 562.5 Countries in which the organisation’s operations are located 1; 3; 9; 18; 53; 562.6 Nature of ownership; legal form 56-572.7 Nature of markets served 1; 3; 9; 18; 53; 562.8 Scale of the reporting organisation 562.9 List of stakeholders and relationship to the reporting organisation 72.10 Contact person for the report, including e-mail and web addresses 2; 552.11 Reporting period for information provided 12.13 Boundaries of report and any specific limitations on the scope 22.17 Decisions not to apply GRI principles or protocols in the preparation of the report 552.18 Criteria/definitions used in any accounting for economic, environmental, and social costs and benefits 10; 552.20 Policies and internal practices to enhance and provide assurance about the accuracy, completeness, and reliability that can 55

be placed on the sustainability report2.21 Policy and current practice with regard to providing independent assurance for the full report 552.22 Means by which report users can obtain additional information and reports about economic, environmental, and social 2; 55

aspects of the organisation’s activities, including facility-specific information

3 Governance Structure and Management Systems3.1 Governance structure of the organisation, including major committees under the board of directors that are responsible for 56

setting strategy and for oversight of the organisation3.2 Percentage of the board of directors that are independent, non-executive directors 563.3 Process for determining the expertise board members need to guide the strategic direction of the organisation, including 56-57

issues related to environmental and social risks and opportunities3.4 Board-level processes for overseeing the organisation’s identification and management of economic, environmental, and 7

social risks and opportunities3.6 Organisational structure and key individuals responsible for oversight, implementation, and audit of economic, environmental, 7

social, and related policies3.7 Mission and values statements, internally developed codes of conduct or principles, and polices relevant to economic, 14

environmental, and social performance and the status of implementation3.8 Mechanisms for shareholders to provide recommendations or direction to the board of directors 73.9 Basis for identification and selection of major stakeholders3.10 Approaches to stakeholder consultation reported in terms of frequency of consultations by type and by stakeholder group 143.11 Type of information generated by stakeholder consultations 143.12 Use of information resulting from stakeholder engagements 14; 19; 323.14 Externally developed, voluntary economic, environmental, and social charters, sets of principles, or other initiatives to which 15-16; 74

the organisation subscribes or which it endorses3.15 Principal memberships in industry and business associations, and/or national/international advocacy 73.16 Policies and/or systems for managing upstream and downstream impacts organisations 7; 9; 18; 19; 24; 29; 503.17 Reporting organisation’s approach to managing indirect economic, environmental, and social impacts resulting from 7; 9; 18; 19; 24; 29; 42-54

its activities 3.18 Major decisions during the reporting period regarding the location of, or changes in, operations 393.19 Programmes and procedures pertaining to economic, environmental, and social performance 7; 9; 18; 19; 24; 29; 36-543.20 Status of certification pertaining to economic, environmental, and social management systems 11; 55

74 Appendix 10

Appendix 10 – GRI Index

Reed Elsevier reporting overlaps with GRI guidelines as this chart illustrates

CR Report page number4 GRI Content Index4.1 A table identifying location of each element of the GRI Report Content, by section and indicator 74

5a Economic Performance IndicatorsEC1 Net sales – as listed in the profile section under 2.8 12EC2 Geographic breakdown of markets 3-7EC10 Donations to community, civil society and other groups broken down in terms of cash and in-kind donations per type 37; 67-68

of group

5b Environmental performance indicatorsEN1 Total materials use other than water, by type 43; 44EN2 Percentage of materials used that are wastes from sources external to the reporting organisation 47; 48EN3 Direct energy use segmented by primary source 47; 48EN5 Total water use 46EN8 Greenhouse gas emissions 46; 47EN14 Significant environmental impacts of principal products and services 48; 49; 50EN16 Incidents of and fines for non-compliance with all applicable international declarations/ conventions/treaties, and national 42-54

sub-national, regional and local regulations associated with environmental issues

5c Social performance indicators – labour practices and decent workLA1 Breakdown of workforce, by region/country, status, employment type and employment contract 31LA5 Practices on recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, and how they relate to the ILO Code of 32

Practice on Recording and Notification of Occupational Accidents and Diseases LA6 Description of formal joint health and safety committees comprising management and worker representatives and 34

proportion of workforce covered by any such committees LA7 Standard injury, lost day and absentee rates and number of work-related fatalities 34LA10 Description of equal opportunity policies or programmes as well as monitoring systems to ensure compliance and results 14; 31

of monitoring LA11 Composition of senior management and corporate governance bodies including female/male ratio and other indicators of 31

diversity as culturally appropriate

5d Social performance indicators – human rightsHR1 Description of policies, guidelines, corporate structure and procedures to deal with all aspects of human rights relevant to 1; 14; 15; 29

operations, including monitoring mechanisms and results HR2 Evidence of consideration of human rights impacts as part of investment and procurement decisions, including selection of 29

suppliers/contractors HR3 Description of policies and procedures to evaluate and address human rights performance within the supply chain and 29

contractors, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring HR4 Description of global policy and procedures/programmes preventing all forms of discrimination in operations, including 31

monitoring systems and results of monitoring HR5 Description of freedom of association policy and extent to which this policy is universally applied independent of local laws, 14; 15; 29

as well as description of procedures/programmes to address this issue HR6 Description of policy excluding child labour as defined by the ILO Convention 138 and extent to which this policy is visibly 15; 29

stated and applied, as well as description of procedures/programmes to address this issue, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring

HR7 Description of policy to prevent forced and compulsory labour and extent to which this policy is visibly stated and applied, 15; 29as well as description of procedures/programmes to address this issue, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring

75 Appendix 10

Appendix 10 – GRI Indexcontinued

CR Report page number5e Social performance indicators – societySO1 Description of policies to manage impact on communities in areas affected by activities, procedures/programmes to address 7; 18; 20; 23; 24; 31; 37; 39; 50

this issue, monitoring systems and results of monitoring SO2 Description of the policy, procedures/management systems and compliance mechanisms for organisations and employees 14; 15; 29

addressing bribery and corruption SO3 Description of policy, procedures/management systems and compliance mechanisms for managing political lobbying 14

and contributions

5f Social performance indicators – product responsibility

PR1 Description of policy for preserving customer health and safety during use of products and services, and extent to which 7; 18; 20; 23; 24; 31; 37this policy is visibly stated and applied, as well as description of procedures/programmes to address this issue, including monitoring systems and results of monitoring

PR2 Description of policy, procedures/management systems and compliance mechanisms related to product information 7; 18; 20; 23; 24; 31; 37and labelling

PR3 Consumer privacy policy, procedures/management systems and compliance mechanisms 7; 18; 20; 23; 24; 31; 37

76 Appendix 10

Appendix 10 – GRI Indexcontinued

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