Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Future PLC is a global multi-platform media company that generates revenue through advertising, e-commerce, and subscriptions. The 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity' value assesses financial institutions. As Future PLC does not offer lending, deposit, or insurance services to consumers, nor does it provide debt products or operate financial service access points, most KPIs are not applicable. While some brands provide content on personal finance and investing

, there is no evidence of structured financial literacy programs with measured outcomes. Community investments and employment initiatives are not related to a loan/insurance book or community finance as defined by the rubric.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Future plc reported a mean gender pay gap of 3.85% in 2022

, a significant decrease from 8.05% in 2020 . No specific, quantitative data was available for living wage coverage, CEO-to-median pay ratio, collective bargaining share, safety incident rate, worker engagement score, turnover rate, labor violation incidents, insecure contract share, or health insurance coverage.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Future plc's core business in publishing does not heavily rely on material procurement. The company maintains a zero-tolerance approach to slavery and human trafficking, incorporating a Supplier Code of Conduct into supplier agreements

. Due diligence procedures include a Modern Slavery Supplier Questionnaire , and employee training is provided to identify potential issues . The Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy and 'Warning Signs' guidance are circulated annually to all staff . Contractual wording requires major UK wholesalers to comply with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the company's Supplier Code of Conduct . The highest identified risk pertains to cover item suppliers using sourcing companies in the Far East, which conduct extensive audits and site inspections . The Modern Slavery Statement for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023, was approved on February 7, 2024 .

Honest & Fair Business

No specific evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Future PLC against any of the 'Honest & Fair Business' KPIs. The articles do not contain information regarding regulatory fines, transparency index scores, whistleblower policies, financial restatements, audit coverage, ESG controversy scores, complaint resolution times, board conflicts of interest, anti-corruption policies, or third-party verification of ethical claims for Future PLC. The UK's Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act introduces significant measures to enhance corporate accountability and transparency.

The legislation includes a 'failure to prevent fraud' offense, holding large organizations accountable for fraudulent activities conducted by associated persons if reasonable prevention procedures are lacking. This underscores the increasing emphasis on corporate integrity within the UK business environment. While not specific to Future plc, it reflects broader industry expectations for ethical standards.

Kind to Animals

As a media company, Future PLC's core business operations do not involve animal testing, animal agriculture, or the direct production of products requiring animal-derived ingredients. Consequently, KPIs related to cruelty-free certification, alternative testing usage, humane certified operations, wildlife conservation impact, ethical input substitution, cage-free sourcing, animal testing policy and volume, innovation investment in animal-free technologies, animal agriculture ethics, and animal-free R&D collaboration are not applicable. While the company's content promotes ethical fashion and cruelty-free products

, and its Modern Slavery Statement refers to ethical standards in the supply chain , these are forms of content advocacy and general ethical commitments. They do not provide specific, quantifiable evidence for direct animal welfare supplier audits or active public policy engagement as defined by the rubric's thresholds.

No War, No Weapons

Future PLC operates in the publishing sector, focusing on content creation and distribution.

The company explicitly states it does not engage in arms manufacturing, military contracts, or conflict facilitation. This indicates zero revenue from such activities and no exposure to weapons. Its core business model inherently avoids dual-use technology, military AI, arms exports, and conflict-related procurement, rendering these areas not applicable to its operations. The company supports peace-building narratives through media content, indirectly fostering non-violence.

Planet-Friendly Business

Future plc has committed to achieving carbon neutrality for its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 2026

. This commitment is part of its 'Our Future, Our Responsibility' strategy, launched in December 2021 , and is overseen by a Responsibility Board Committee . The company reported a 7.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity, from 0.8 tonnes CO₂e per £1 million revenue in 2021 to 0.74 tonnes CO₂e per £1 million revenue in 2022 . Additionally, Future plc achieved a 74.7% reduction in emissions from its digital advertising ecosystem since March 2023 , following a collaboration with Scope3 in September 2023 to measure and reduce these specific supply chain emissions . The company also focuses on renewable energy and setting GHG emission targets , and leverages its brands to promote sustainability .

Respect for Cultures & Communities

No specific articles or reports detailing Future PLC's engagement in cultural respect, indigenous rights, or community support were found in the provided evidence

. Therefore, there is no information to assess the company against the 'Respect for Cultures & Communities' value.

Safe & Smart Tech

Future PLC demonstrates a formal AI ethics policy with oversight, including an Ethics Committee

and comprehensive guidelines for AI use in editorial processes, such as vetting and labeling AI-generated content and images. The company holds the kidSAFE+ COPPA-CERTIFIED Seal for its child-directed websites and uses hashing/pseudonymization for email data in advertising. Future PLC shows strong data governance with policies prohibiting unauthorized data mining and web scraping, and no incidents of unauthorized data use are documented. Future PLC integrates privacy principles into its operations, collecting personal information only for necessary purposes and limiting retention to up to twelve months for general data and 30 days for child-related data. Future PLC maintains a very strong regulatory compliance program, adhering to GDPR, Data Protection Act, COPPA, CCPA, CPRA, CDPA, CPA, CTDPA, and UCPA, supported by an ESG compliance team. However, user data control shows significant limitations, with 5 out of 7 (71%) "Know/Access" requests denied in California in 2023, despite high completion rates for deletion and opt-out requests.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Future PLC demonstrates strong performance in waste diversion and product recyclability. Approximately 90% of manufactured products are estimated to be recycled post-consumer, and 100% of unsold waste in the UK is recycled.

The company has implemented several waste reduction initiatives, including the APEX technology, which saved over 9 million copies from going to waste in FY23. Other initiatives include recycling or donating unsold magazines, implementing a zero single-use plastic policy in all offices, and providing designated waste and recycling areas. Waste monitoring is conducted through quarterly reporting with waste providers. For customer waste education, recycling logos provide information on product recyclability.