Our purpose, strategy, values and culture deliver the very highest standards of corporate governance and responsibility.
CR Governance and reporting
Our Board recognises the importance of maintaining high standards of corporate governance, which underpins our ability to deliver consistent financial performance, and value to our stakeholders, aligned with RELX’s values of doing business with integrity. The Board has oversight responsibility of RELX’s corporate governance and its role and function is explained fully in the Corporate governance section of the Annual Report (see pages 82 to 129). The Board and the Audit Committee of the Board regularly receives presentations from the Chief Compliance Officer on matters arising under our ethics and compliance programmes. In addition, the Chief Legal Officer & Company Secretary, who reports directly to the CEO and the Chair, maintains responsibility for implementing the ethics and compliance programmes.
Governing policies set out our stance on key issues and are publicly available at www.relx.com/cr-downloads.
These include the RELX Code of Ethics and Business Conduct, the Code of Ethics for Senior Financial Officers, the Supplier Code of Conduct, Tax Principles, Privacy Principles, Inclusion and Diversity Policy, Health and Safety Policy, Editorial Policy, Responsible Artificial Intelligence Principles, Quality First Principles and Product Donation Policy.
Helping our people pursue the highest standards of integrity
Doing the Right Thing is more than a phrase at RELX, it embodies principles that represent RELX’s culture of integrity. This includes ensuring respect for one another, incorporating ethics in all our actions; growing our business with integrity; holding ourselves and each other accountable; and taking time to ask questions and report concerns.
Doing the Right Thing is underpinned by clear actions for employees, among them, being honest in our dealings with others, respecting the law, our policies and colleagues; and courageously speaking out for what is right. RELX in turn provides relevant training and resources; enables a culture where people can feel comfortable speaking up and experience no retaliation when they do; and ensures concerns are listened to and acted on in a fair and timely manner.
The RELX Code of Ethics and Business Conduct (the Code) is a guide to our corporate and individual behaviour. In 2024, it was updated and shared with staff globally by the CEO. It is at the heart of our compliance activities, which encompass clear policies and procedures; risk assessments; training and communication; and robust reporting mechanisms, investigations, monitoring and auditing of internal controls.
Our CR governance framework
The CEO has responsibility to the Board for CR. They and senior management, as well as the CR Forum, chaired by a senior leader and involving individuals representing key functions and business areas, set and monitor CR performance. This includes our annual and longer term CR objectives, which reflect the views of a range of internal and external stakeholders. More information can be found on www.relx.com/additional-cr-resources.
The Global Head of Corporate Responsibility provides formal updates to the Board and engages on key issues with senior managers, who have CR-related Key Performance Objectives (see page 106).
Channels for raising concerns
We offer several reporting channels to report Code-related concerns, including managers, human resources staff, Compliance committee members and company lawyers. We also provide the Integrity Line, hosted by an independent third-party, and available to employees, suppliers and other reporting persons by telephone or online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Integrity Line also includes an Ask A Question feature which allows employees to seek ethical advice before taking action.
More information about these reporting channels is detailed in the Code, the RELX Reporting Concerns Policy and supplemental country-specific Reporting Concerns Notices available on www.relx.com. These documents prohibit retaliating against individuals who raise concerns or participate in an investigation.
Reports are investigated and action is taken accordingly if reports are substantiated. Substantiated reports result in additional training, coaching, policy changes, control enhancements, and/or disciplinary action. Report themes are reviewed by senior leadership to assist in measuring the effectiveness of reporting channels, identifying risks and areas to allocate Compliance programme resources. RELX has investigated or is in the process of investigating 372 reports of alleged Code violations received in 2024 through the RELX Integrity Line or through the other Reporting Channels identified in the Code. Approximately 48% of those reports where the investigation is complete have been substantiated.
Public Policy, Anti-Bribery and Sanctions
We engage in public policy discussions that matter to our business and our customers. We strive to help policymakers around the world understand our business, innovations and contributions to the public interest.
Lobbying activities on behalf of RELX Inc. are managed by the RELX Government Affairs team, and, in coordination with our legal teams, are vetted, tracked and reported as required by law.
Consistent with our commitment to fostering a culture of integrity including through good governance, RELX has a supplemental policy and training for our employees that specifically relate to engagement with government officials and agencies.
The Code and related supplemental policy also address corporate political contributions, which are strictly prohibited except in the US, where such contributions and activities are permitted in certain states within allowable limits, if they comply with stringent reporting and disclosure regulations. Corporate political contributions require senior level review and approval. Corporate contributions are reported as required by law. Contributions are made on a bipartisan basis and no funds are donated for presidential campaigns or any other federal-level campaigns.
We remained diligent through the year in our ongoing efforts to comply with applicable bribery and sanctions laws and mitigate risks in these areas. Our anti-bribery and sanctions programmes include detailed, risk-based internal policies and procedures on topics such as doing business with government officials, gift and entertainment limits, gift registers, and complex sanctions requirements. Relationships with third parties and acquisition targets are evaluated for risk using one or more of the following methods, including questionnaires, references, detailed electronic searches, and Know Your Customer screening tools.
We monitor and assess the implementation of our anti-bribery and sanctions programmes by continually reviewing and updating our policies and procedures; conducting periodic programmatic risk assessments; and conducting quality reviews and internal monitoring and audits of the operational aspects of the programmes.
We engage with our employees about compliance through digital communications and other media, including videos and animation.
To raise awareness during Compliance Week 2024, we held the RELX Integrity Challenge and recognised outstanding employee contributions to our culture of integrity with Integrity Hall of Fame inductions.
The Code supports the principles of the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and stresses our commitment to human rights.
In accordance with the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we consider where and how we operate to avoid human trafficking and modern slavery in our direct operations and our supply chain. As stated in our Modern Slavery Act Statement, available at www.relx.com, we stand against all forms of slavery and human trafficking. We do not tolerate it in any part of our business, including our supply chain. As a UNGC signatory we uphold its Ten Principles related to human rights, fair and non-discriminatory labour practices, the environment, and anti-corruption. Our policies are also informed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the Women’s Empowerment Principles.
Data privacy
Data is integral to the solutions we provide that further our unique contributions as a business, including protecting consumers from the risk of fraud; allowing secure online transactions; improving access to financial, healthcare and government benefits; and delivering high quality medical care.
Recognising concerns and sensitivities around personal data, our commitment to data privacy remained a critical RELX priority in 2024 and continues to be supported by strong governance, transparency and accountability. Dedicated privacy teams implemented requirements for compliance with personal data protection regulations around the globe. In the United States, RELX continued to advocate for privacy laws that protect consumers, bolster consumer trust and allow businesses to invest in data-driven activities that serve the public interest. RELX companies in the US participating in the Data Privacy Framework programme renewed their self-certification in the year.
We proactively take into account privacy concerns in developing and offering our solutions. Our Privacy Principles, available at www.relx.com/corporate-responsibility/being-aresponsible- business/privacy-principles, guide our approach to the responsible collection and use of personal data and are supplemented by privacy policies and guidance from our privacy officer to respond to new requirements, best practices and expectations.
We undertake activities and training that deepen employee awareness about data privacy. For Data Privacy Day 2024, we celebrated the winners of the annual RELX Privacy Principles Champions Competition, which recognises the achievements of employees in protecting personal data and implementing our Privacy Principles. For APAC Privacy Awareness Week 2024, we organised internal panel discussions focused on privacy, AI and trust.
Cyber security
We observed CyberSecurity Awareness Month with both central and business specific initiatives aimed at improving security understanding for employees. The theme for 2024 was Secure Our World. Events included blogs, contests, and games on cybersecurity themes, including emerging threats, the dark web, security best practices, social engineering, malware, and artificial intelligence. We implemented common, consistent sensitivity labels with automated protections for our users in email, document, and spreadsheet applications. In the year, more than 99%^ of employees were included in monthly phishing simulation exercises. During 2024, we continued to enhance our security efforts with additional infrastructure monitoring capabilities both internally and through third parties.
We completed more than 4,000 security related requests, questionnaires and audits for our customers in the year.
In addition we engaged third parties to perform independent audits on certain of our products and services, which build trust and assurance in our target markets, especially where sensitive personal information is involved. For example, we have completed external audits on our Risk data centres in the US and our ScienceDirect, Lexis+ and Lexis+ AI products; in addition, our UK Risk products have been ISO27001 certified. More than 50% of the product revenue from our three largest business areas is covered by a third-party audit.
Pensions and investments
The Statement of Investment Principles for our UK pension scheme demonstrates that the Trustee recognises that consideration of financially material factors, including corporate responsibility and climate risk, is relevant at different stages of the investment process. As long-term investors, the Trustee embeds consideration of such factors in its investment decision-making as they can have a material impact on risk and return. The Trustee has produced a Responsible Investment Policy which has been shared with all investment managers.
During the year, the Trustee Board received a presentation on responsible investment and the Responsible Investment Sub-Group met on a number of occasions. Furthermore, the Trustee submitted its Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report in the year.
CR issues are also relevant to the investment decisions made by RE Venture Partners, RELX’s corporate venture arm. REV continues to invest in ethical AI, sustainable food technology and the creation of inclusive content for language learning.
A responsible taxpayer
Taxation is an important issue for us as well as our stakeholders, including our shareholders, governments, customers, suppliers, employees and the global communities in which we operate. We are transparent about our approach to tax.
We provide details about our tax principles and global tax contribution – broken down by regions and categories – along with our tax risk control framework. There are also case studies showing how RELX has made a positive contribution in tax-related areas to benefit society as a whole. RELX is a signatory to the B Team’s Responsible Tax Principles. The B Team is a group of business leaders committed to sustainability, equality and accountability.
Globally in 2024, RELX paid £662m in corporate taxes, but also paid and collected much more in payroll taxes and indirect taxes.