Climate footprint:2011

Achieving our climate neutral commitment

We met our climate neutral commitment by reducing our footprint where possible and then offset unavoidable emissions.

We measure greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) relevant to our business and express our total in terms of an equivalent in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas (GHG). This is known as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Our climate footprint as at the end of 2011 was 184,531 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2e) -12% lower than we reported in 2009.

So this is how we achieved climate neutrality for 2011:

Our climate neutrality commitment began in 2007. We have reduced our absolute climate footprint by over 55,000 of metric tonnes of carbon dioxide since we started the programme.

The seven most significant countries for us as sources of emissions are the US, the UK, China, Australia, Canada, India and South Africa which together account for 95% of our climate footprint.

Electricity, natural gas, air travel and vehicle use accounts for over 90% of our climate footprint.

Methodology

We have been reporting on our global carbon footprint since 2003. In 2007, we reviewed and adopted a new baseline in line with our commitment to become a climate neutral company.

We are a global business and, as such, we use the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol for reporting our greenhouse gas emissions. Established jointly by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, the GHG Protocol is the most widely used international accounting standard for GHG emissions. We apply the 'control' of company methodology for reporting.

In line with the GHG Protocol, we report on all our Scope 1 and 2 emissions and include the optional element for emissions relating to business air and rail travel. Our climate footprint includes:

• All fuel used in our buildings and in company vehicles plus refrigerants
• Electricity used in our buildings drawn from grids in the countries where we do business
• Emissions relating to air and rail travel

For our UK data, we have adopted the conversion factors recommended by the UK Government Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). In part, this reflects new UK legislation in the UK on carbon management. Pearson businesses in the UK are registered under the Carbon Reduction Commitment.

Assurance

Our climate footprint has been verified by the specialist consultant, Corporate Citizenship. The assurance statement covers the methodology, data collection and accuracy of data reported.

External reporting

In addition to this annual environmental review, we also publicly disclose our carbon management performance to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).