Social Impact Report 2020 What’s In This Report This report summarizes our 2020 global Contents commitment to serving our communities A Letter From Our CEO ............................................................................................................................................. 3 beyond the books we publish. Through Who We Are ..................................................................................................................................................................... 4 our three key pillars — Diversity, Equity & Free Expression & Joy of Reading ....................................................................................................................... 6 Inclusion, Environment & Sustainability, Programming Highlights ....................................................................................................................................... 7 and Free Expression & Joy of Reading — Diversity, Equity & Inclusion .................................................................................................................................. 9 we aim to help shape a better world. The Programming Highlights ...................................................................................................................................11 report includes qualitative programming Spotlight: PRH U.S. Employee Demographics ..........................................................................................13 highlights and quantitative performance Environment & Sustainability ............................................................................................................................16 data from January 1, 2020 - December 31, Spotlight: Sustainability at Our Distribution Centers ............................................................................20 2020, reporting against our three social Climate Neutral By 2030: What’s Included in Our Commitment .......................................................21 impact commitment pillars. Additionally, we Looking Ahead ...........................................................................................................................................................22 outline forward-looking goals and key focus areas for each pillar in the year ahead. We welcome your feedback on this report. For more information or to provide suggestions or comments, please contact us at: [email protected] A Letter From Our CEO PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE ook publishers inherently provide a service equitable and just world through the power of to society, but at Penguin Random House, books and reading, and our own internal practices. we go beyond the books. We embrace our B These action-oriented initiatives from across responsibility as an industry leader to drive lasting our territories provide transparency and cultural and environmental changes that right now, accountability on our progress and the ways in around the world, feel more important than ever. which we are working together to enact change During the past year, the entire world has within our industry and beyond. Being part of a faced unprecedented challenges, from the worldwide community that strives to create a COVID-19 pandemic, to the murder of George positive impact on the world, locally and globally, Floyd and worldwide calls for racial and social is not only aspirational—it guides our decision- justice; to a polarized political landscape, making across all aspects of our business. to natural disasters spurred by our rapidly As our stakeholders, our commitment to you changing climate. To make it through this above all else is transparency. In this report, difficult time, we have continued to apply this we outline not just our accomplishments, but adage to our social impact work at Penguin initiatives that are in progress, as well as our Random House: Think globally and act locally. global priorities for the years ahead. We are Throughout this report, you will see examples accountable to all of you. Thank you for everything Markus Dohle CEO of Penguin Random House employees around you do every day to help us embrace our collective the world responding to the pandemic, acting responsibility to each other and to our world. in support of and solidarity with the Black Yours, Lives Matter movement, and doing their part to help combat climate change. Leading with action empowers us to connect deeply with our communities, our readers, and ourselves. CEO In some areas, we have a long way to go. Change Penguin Random House is overdue when it comes to building a publishing industry that’s truly diverse and equitable—from the authors we publish to the employees we hire. We cannot erase the past, but we can—and will—do everything within our power to help build a more 3 2013 15,000+ 300+ Formed by Bertelsmann New titles published annually Global imprints and Pearson, with roots dating back to the 1800s Who We Are Penguin Random House is the world’s largest trade book publisher committed to investing in the voices, stories, and ideas that shape our culture and society. Our editorially and creatively independent imprints are proud 2020 2.2 Million+ homes to the world’s greatest storytellers and publishing talent, 20+ Bertelsmann became the Books donated in 2020 helping them perfect their work, realize their vision for it, and Countries with publishing businesses across the full owner of Penguin connect it with the widest audience of readers. Composed of globe Random House on April 1 a community of historic imprints across six continents, we represent the deepest library of works by the world’s most cherished writers in adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction. We fiercely protect our authors’ intellectual property and champion freedom of expression, ensuring their voices carry beyond the page to communities and societies around the globe. 10,000 Nobel80+ Prize laureates and Employees worldwide hundreds of the world’s most widely-read authors 4 Our mission is to ignite a universal passion for reading by creating books for everyone. We believe that books, and the stories and ideas they hold, have the unique capacity to connect us, change us, and carry us toward a better future for generations to come. Free Expression & Joy of Reading “I do believe that books can change people by igniting an awareness and empathy they may not have otherwise gained.” -Jacqueline Woodson, award-winning author 6 Free Expression & Joy of Reading PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS Through books and reading, U.S. GERMANY SOUTH AFRICA we seek to create a world where independent thinking, free expression, and creativity flourish. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we adapted to meet the needs of our communities around the world, providing e-books and virtual Read Together, National Read Aloud Help 2 Read storytime resources to schools Be Together Day In South Africa, we donated more than 1,300 and libraries, and supporting Disney titles to primary schools located in the independent bookstores. In partnership with Meredith In honor of National Read Aloud Day on Western Cape, South Africa, in partnership Corporation’s Parents, we launched November 20, 2020 in Germany, we gave with nonprofit organization Help 2 Read. #ReadTogetherBeTogether to celebrate the more than 1,000 audiobooks and books to With a mission of helping children from importance of reading with young children. schools, kindergartens and children’s daycare disadvantaged communities learn to read, The program began in March 2020 with virtual centers featuring celebrities, authors and Help 2 Read’s literacy intervention programs storytimes featuring bestselling and award- employees, available through the end of are run at public primary schools across South winning authors and illustrators, as well as the year on the campaign webpage. Rather Africa, and provide children who struggle to celebrity readers. As part of the program, we than in-person visits, children celebrated read with one-on-one instruction, reading donated 750,000 books to First Book, which Read Aloud Day with special book packages help and fun activities to help them not only were sent to schools that were delivering books, personalized with greetings from employees. learn to read, but fall in love with reading. food, and supplies to kids who were isolated and locked out of their learning environments. 7 Free Expression & Joy of Reading PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS SPAIN CANADA U.K. MEXICO Giving Thanks to Toronto Public Penguin Talks Bringing Books to Healthcare Workers Library Food Banks Communities in Need At the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown, we launched a new partnership with charity Last year in Spain, we donated more than After the Toronto Public Library’s branches Speakers for Schools to deliver a series of Virtual In Mexico, we donated 50,000 books to the 4,000 books to hospitals, hotels, and support were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Penguin Talks, with authors streamed live to Juguetón Azteca foundation, which it distributed centers housing healthcare workers fighting a number of locations were repurposed to thousands of students at school and at home to children in the country’s poorest communities. COVID-19. At the time, Spain was facing its serve as pop-up food banks. We joined forces across the UK and Ireland. Featured authors The donation included books about Mexican highest peak of COVID-19 infections, and this with the Toronto Public Library Foundation included Elif Shafak, Marlon James, Malcolm fables and licensed editions