Community is an integral part of how Reed Elsevier does business. Contributing to our global communities is both an opportunity and a responsibility. It helps us inspire employees, positively aid beneficiaries, improve our reputation, and meet our obligations as one of the world’s largest media companies.
The mission of our global community programme, RE Cares, is “to play a positive role in our local and global communities, primarily through employee involvement.” We focus on education for disadvantaged young people – education is common to all our businesses – and community initiatives of importance to local employees. RE Cares activities range from reading support programmes and charity fundraising initiatives, to donations of time and services. A key component of Reed Elsevier Cares is Two Days, which gives all employees two days off per year for volunteer work of their own choosing.
Central support for RE Cares Champions includes regional meetings, which took place in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific in 2008. Attendees shared best practice, received training, engaged with charity partners, and helped set goals and the community agenda for the year ahead. Other services include webcasts, regular conference calls, file-sharing, one-to-one meetings, and internal presentations.
Communication is key. The RE Cares section of RE World is one of the most visited areas of the corporate intranet. Staff generate the majority of RE Cares news stories and the site is regularly updated with new features, including last year, letters and progress reports from our beneficiaries. It is complemented by RE Cares news in divisional publications and intranets.
In this section:
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We provide opportunities for staff across the group to nominate charities for funding from a central budget for regional and developing world projects that support the RE Cares mission of education for disadvantaged young people.
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RE Cares Month, spotlighting our global community involvement takes place each September.
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It is important that our senior leaders lead from the front. During the Reed Elsevier Management Conference in Charleston, South Carolina, nearly 200 Reed Elsevier senior managers, including CEO Sir Crispin Davis, helped make a difference..
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In 2008, we held our fifth RE Cares Challenge to encourage staff to work together to build skills and relationships while making a difference in local communities.
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In accordance with the LBG model, we monitor the short and long term benefits of the projects with which we are involved.