WBA benchmarks find fewer than 10% of world's most influential companies assess human rights risks in supply chains & less than 5% pay a living wage
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'2026 Benchmark Hub'
[The World Benchmarking Alliance has] assessed 2,000 of the world’s most influential companies, ranking and measuring them on their impact on people and planet.
At a glance | Social | Climate | Nature | Digital | Food and Agriculture | Urban [links open externally]
The state of global corporate accountability
The 2,000 companies included in this analysis generate USD 53 trillion in revenues and account for 54% of global emissions. They directly employ 107 million people and support a further 550 million livelihoods through their value and supply chains. Their collective power is undisputed − their decisions can help drive climate solutions, restore nature, and ensure prosperity for all.
The data makes one reality unmistakably clear: the pathway to a sustainable future depends on business playing a central role in driving global systems change. Proven solutions, effective mechanisms, and growing momentum already exist among some leading companies, yet too many continue to fall behind. Companies face a clear choice, and decisive action and scaled investment from the world’s most powerful and influential businesses are now urgent.
Up to 30% of the annual clean-energy investment gap needed by 2030 could be closed if companies scaled investment to levels already proven in the market and observed across sectors, moving the world closer to a 1.5°C-aligned pathway.
Less than 5% of major companies pay a living wage, leaving households worldwide under growing financial strain.
So far only 9% of companies quantify their nature-related risks, leaving the path wide open for early movers.
Fewer than 10% of companies assess human rights risks in their supply chain, while only one in five trace their products to understand nature impacts.
While 38% of major tech companies publish their ethical AI principles, none of them disclose their human rights impact assessment results, exposing weak accountability across the sector.
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Social
Our work is built around four complementary assessments that together evaluate corporate performance on key social and human rights issues. The Social Benchmark assesses 2,000 of the world’s most influential companies against 18 Core Social Indicators, embedding responsible business expectations across all assessments. The Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) provides a deeper, sector-specific analysis of around 100 companies operating in high-risk sectors. The Gender Benchmark delivers an in-depth assessment of 100 companies in the apparel and food and agriculture sectors, while the Gender Assessment applies a streamlined set of gender indicators to all 2,000 companies, offering a scalable and comparable view of performance on gender equality.
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Corporate Human Rights Benchmark
AT A GLANCE
- Most companies continue to improve on human rights, but nearly one in four regressed since their last assessment...
- Motor vehicle manufacturing improved the most but remains the lowest-scoring sector...
- Companies set human rights expectations for suppliers but fail to provide the support needed to meet them...
- Supply chain transparency remains a blind spot...
- Only 1 in 10 companies assesses how human rights impacts relate to their business model...
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