New Developments

Dow Jones Indexes announced the companies to be included in their indices on 8 September 2011 and Experian once again scored highly enough to be included in the World and Europe Indices. 729 companies were assessed, 41 new companies were included and 23 were deleted in this year’s assessment of sustainability performance.

Experian’s overall score was within 10% of the best scoring company in the World Index and well (22%) above the average. It has improved in the economic and environmental dimensions with a particular uplift in its relative environmental reporting performance. Experian’s corporate governance and social reporting was scored as highly as the best companies in the World Index.

Experian Credit Review Service enhancement provides quick and secure way to engage with credit issues

Nottingham, 01 August 2011 — Experian^®, the global information services company, has announced a new partnership with Future Route that will make it easier for small businesses to improve their chances of receiving a positive credit rating.

By integrating Future Route’s CreditPal technology with Experian’s Credit Review service, small businesses are now able to automatically submit regular financial data and other business information from their existing accounting software packages to Experian. Firms that will benefit from this latest innovation include those with a strong recent financial performance, but which may share little information publically due to reduced company reporting requirements.

The tie up between Experian and Future Route will enable small businesses with limited time and resources to provide financial data to Experian quickly and easily, ensuring that the information held on the company is complete and up-to-date. CreditPal technology automatically validates the accuracy of information.

Simon Streat, Managing Director of Experian’s UK SME business, said:

“Many small firms achieve a strong and robust financial performance, but if their accounts are not in order or they don’t make details of this performance publicly available, they could find that their credit rating slips, making it difficult for them to source suppliers, find customers or access finance.

“It’s vital that small firms provide as much information as they can to credit reference agencies to ensure that their credit rating is a true reflection of their financial strength.”

Future Route is an active player in the SME market, and works with the Forum of Private Business, Federation of Small Businesses, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and the Institute of Credit Management (ICM) to raise awareness of credit issues and help small businesses improve their financial reporting capabilities.

Nigel Folkes, Chief Executive of Future Route, commented:

“Our priority is to both to help SMEs understand credit issues, as well as making it easier for them to do something about it, which makes the partnership with Experian a perfect fit for us. Small businesses that use the new and improved Experian Credit Review will ensure that lenders, suppliers and customers throughout the UK are given a more complete picture of their financial strength and credit worthiness – which in turn will serve to benefit UK Plc as a whole.”

Small businesses wishing to find out more about the Experian Credit Review service should call 0844 481 8888.

Nottingham based partnership honoured in the UK’s leading responsible business awards.

Nottingham – 24 June 2011 - An innovative Nottingham based education partnership between independent charity Teach First and Experian, the global information services company, has been recognised with a ‘Big Tick’ – a national award that celebrates inspirational business programmes that are having a positive impact on the community, the environment and wider society.

The ‘Big Tick’ award for Education, from national business organisation Business in the Community (BITC), recognises the exceptional work the partnership does to break the link between low family income and poor educational attainment in the East Midlands.

Formed in 2008, the partnership developed when Experian became the founding supporter of Teach First’s expansion into the region. Teach First works to narrow the attainment gap by placing outstanding graduates to teach and lead in schools in challenging circumstances. The charity is creating, equipping and mobilising a movement of leaders committed to raising the achievement, aspiration and access to opportunity of children from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Among the practical and strategic support Experian provides Teach First is:

• High value coaching support by volunteers from the company
• The provision of office space to Teach First at the company’s Embankment House offices in Nottingham – which is valued at thousands of pounds
• Project leadership, marketing and legal advice
• £20,000 to aid the leadership development of Teach First teachers

Experian is currently supporting 64 Teach First teachers in schools throughout the East Midlands. A recent evaluation of Teach First by the University of Manchester found a correlation between the schools in challenging circumstances that have a long-term relationship with Teach First and an improvement in their GCSE results.

Judged by some of the 850 business members of BITC, the awards celebrate companies who are delivering successful responsible business programmes at local, national and international levels.

Matt Sheldon, East Midlands Regional Director for Teach First, said: “The success Teach First has enjoyed in Nottingham and across the East Midlands has been made possible by the support, guidance, amazing foresight and commitment of Experian.

“This award underlines what can be achieved when global organisations think and work locally. The real beneficiaries of this partnership are the children of the East Midlands who will, thanks to this extraordinary collaboration, have access to great teachers and great teaching.”

Jan Barratt, Community Involvement Lead at Experian UK & Ireland, said: “We are committed to making a positive contribution to the local community and the attainment and success of young people in the East Midlands, is key to this. The injection of talented, enthusiastic and inspirational teachers into schools in challenging circumstances in the region is something that we feel honoured to support. We are delighted to receive this Big Tick alongside Teach First.”

Stephen Howard, Chief Executive, Business in the Community said: “I congratulate Teach First and Experian on achieving their Big Tick. It is a challenging time for business, but this is a sign that companies are not losing their focus and are transforming their businesses to make a positive impact on people and society and are prepared to lead by example. That’s what Business in the Community’s Awards for Excellence are all about – celebrating responsible business, the leadership that makes it happen and the benefits to business and society. Communities and consumers need to see that businesses are proactive, visible and engaged on the big issues of the day, as Experian and Teach First have demonstrated.”

Teach First and Experian were presented with their Big Tick award during a ceremony on 23 June 2011. The best of the National Big Tick winners will go forward to judging panels to identify an overall Example of Excellence award in each category. The overall winners will be announced in London at the Awards for Excellence Gala Event sponsored by Unilever on 5 July.

John Peace, chairman and a founder of Experian, has received a knighthood for services to business and the voluntary sector in the United Kingdom. The award was announced in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 2011.

Don Robert., CEO of Experian, spoke about the knighthood and the central role that Sir John has played in the company's evolution and progress:

"John was one of the original founders of our business and has been hugely influential in our development over a period of more than 30 years. This knighthood is a wonderful recognition of his achievements and I know many colleagues will want to join me in congratulating him on such a great personal honour.

"John began his career in computing with former parent, GUS plc, back in the 1970s and quickly saw the potential of the new database technologies for helping organisations make faster and more informed credit decisions. Under his leadership, Experian's business in the UK, known as CCN, became the first to introduce credit scoring, the first to share information between lenders and the first to automate lending decisions. By 1996, under John's leadership, the business had become Europe's leading information services company. In that year, he led an acquisition by GUS in North America that was to combine CCN with TRW Information Systems and Services, recently renamed Experian and one of the largest credit bureaux in the world. Ten years later, as Chief Executive of GUS, John led the demerger that would give Experian its independence.

"John is central to the Experian story and our company's success owes much to his personal drive and vision. But no business can be valued simply on the strength of its financial performance and for John there has always been an inextricable link between a company and the community of which it's a part.

"In Nottinghamshire, where John grew up and still lives today, he devotes much of his personal time pursuing his passion for education, helping to ensure that volunteering is part of the company's ethos and acting as a powerful advocate for getting other local businesses involved in the community. His recent appointment to High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire is testimony to his deep, personal commitment to the region. On the wider front, John has ensured we focus our global community programme on financial education and entrepreneurship. He wants to see people understand credit and the financially driven world we live in, and for us to help create the economically aware entrepreneurs of the future. More than 80% of our global community funds are now focused on achieving these aims, with all our regions taking part."

Experian colleagues across the world raised a massive $42,500 in support of the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. In recognition of this, Experian 'double matched' the funds raised and the total of $127,500 was donated to the Red Cross to provide medical care through 600 medical aid teams, together with temporary homes to help people regain some semblance of normal living.

Arita-san, CEO of Tokyo-based Experian A-Care Systems, said: "It is great to see how generous people have been. The support is much needed up north. I know it means a lot for our people and our business."

Ken Sansom, President of Experian Asia Pacific, added: "Japan was my home for four years and I have previously visited some of the areas devastated. It is truly horrific to consider the scale of destruction, the large loss of life and the impact this has had. It was heart warming to see how many Experian colleagues offered their support and the compassion reflected in their generosity. I know our Japanese colleagues and the Japanese people will truly appreciate it."

Experian UK has been officially awarded The Carbon Trust Standard which demonstrates that it has taken real action on climate change by reducing absolute carbon emissions across the UK business by nearly 3% between 2008 and 2010. Experian received the standard based on the figures from 2008-2010, up-to-date figures are not taken into account until next certification at the end of 2012.

Matthew Varley, Head of Facilities Management for Experian UK commented “It’s a great recognition of our achievements and demonstrates our commitment to reducing carbon emissions year on year. “

Some of the initiatives that have enabled Experian to achieve this standard include:

• The installation of Voltage Optimization Equipment and more efficient chilling and air conditioning units at its larger offices in Nottingham
• Replacement car park lighting using energy efficient fittings
• Increasing hall room and chilled water temperatures in its data centres
• Implementing ‘Cold Aisle Containment’ in its data centres

John Peace, Chairman of Experian and a champion of community involvement, has been awarded ‘The Prince’s Ambassador Award’ by the UK charity, Business in the Community (BiTC).

The award recognises individuals whose leadership and commitment to responsible business has resulted in change and improvement within their own company and inspired other organisations to take action. The Prince of Wales gave a personal tribute to John in a five-minute long video, describing some of the many projects he has championed for Experian’s UK and Ireland region.

John’s responsibilities mean that he travels widely, but he has always retained a particular focus on his own local community in Nottinghamshire, where he grew up and lives today. Most recently, he has led an economic resilience forum to help support the future development of the city of Nottingham, working closely with the council and a wide range of other stakeholders.

BiTC also awarded three ‘Big Ticks’ to Experian for its work in education and its innovative partnerships between business and the third sector.

Community Involvement is just one element of Experian’s Corporate Responsibilities. To find out more, visit the Corporate Responsibility section of the website.