The past year has been one of profound global upheaval. In a world shaken by growing economic inequality, geopolitical conflict and attacks on democratic freedoms, the call for business grounded in human rights is more urgent than ever.
With our partners, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre has long championed a vision of responsible business conduct that delivers shared prosperity, civic freedoms, and environmental sustainability. This Impact Report for 2024/25 shows how our mission is evolving to meet this volatile moment.
Across the globe, societies are being reshaped by starkly opposing forces. On one side is rising authoritarianism, shrinking civic freedoms, deepening disrespect for diversity and the spread of narrow economic nationalism. On the other there is the diverse but cohesive movement fighting for human rights in business, with smart regulation and incentives to direct capital and markets to social and climate justice.
As this report illustrates, our global teams and allies worldwide are responding to the challenge with impact and resolve. Through research and evidence, advocacy and alliances, we are advancing our four thematic priorities of just transition to green economies, civic freedoms, accountable digital technologies, and labour rights.
We are seeing signs of real progress. From the adoption of corporate due diligence rules and just transition frameworks across countries in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Africa, there is growing recognition that human rights and sustainability must be embedded into economic models. These gains reflect the strength of a movement speaking with clarity and purpose - unions, Indigenous leaders, civil society, frontline communities, ethical investors, and responsible businesses working in collaboration.
Yet, as this report also makes clear, there are powerful and driven vested interests determined to stymie this urgent progress. We need to defend the hard-won gains of the last decade and rebuild the public trust that is squandered by irresponsible business and investors.
In 2025, significant risks are presenting themselves: retreating democracies, corruption and crony capitalism, growing corporate impunity in supply chains and conflict zones, attacks on human rights and environmental defenders, and better corporate actors intimidated into silence, and backsliding on rights by governments. Where the voice of civil society and responsible business is absent, abuse thrives. Where our concerted voice is strong, we make headway.
This year’s Impact Report is a testament to the courage of our partners and the potential of our strategy in these turbulent times. It reflects our commitment not just to react, but, with allies, to help lead - with integrity and vision. We remain determined to ensure a future where business values and promotes dignity, equity and human rights, and governments insist this happens.
Chris Jochnick, Chair of the Board
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
“The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre remains the ‘go to’ place and authority on the latest and most pressing business and human rights issues. It is essential reading for any business and human rights professional, and the Weekly Update is something that is always recommended to colleagues as it continues to build knowledge and helps facilitates further internal discussion and action. Its strength remains both its global expertise and critically its desire to provide a platform for dialogue through the right to reply that it always gives a business when mentioned. This builds trust and engagement which is so critical to resolving the human rights impacts that the Centre uncovers and spotlights – the ultimate aim. Responsible businesses should always take advantage of this and support and engage with the Centre.” – Rachel Cowburn-Walden, Global Head of Sustainability (Human Rights) at Unilever
A note from Phil
After 12 great years working for the Resource Centre, it is time for me to leave the post of Executive Director.
I really do not want to leave – the issues are vital, and the organisation and our allies are doing fantastic work worldwide. But I feel this is the right time for me to move aside and allow the organisation to bring in a new leader. Our new Strategic Plan, developed with partners, is compelling and speaks to some of the greatest opportunities and challenges in our field. Our program strategies are delivering powerful impact for those vulnerable movements, communities, and peoples we seek to serve. Our Global Team is brilliant, diverse and well-distributed worldwide. Our leadership teams are strong and have the trust of our network. Our finances are sound and resilient, thanks to our generous and committed funders. Our income continues to diversify and is based on many strategic relations of shared goals and trust.
I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to so many people for my small contribution to our collective achievements over the last 12 years, and for the sustained support and solidarity when we have faced setbacks and challenges. I cannot name people individually, but the organisation’s Global Team and Board members, our civil society allies and partners, our funders, our collaborators in companies, finance, governments, and academia have all been sources of both inspiration and succour.
In our context of tumultuous change, the cause of putting human rights and environmental regeneration at the heart of business is more urgent and necessary than ever. Over four decades, unregulated markets and business have played a central role in undermining public trust in governments and economies. And now, unregulated tech is amplifying voices of fear and hatred that tear the fabric of our societies and international cooperation.
Our movement’s voice for new emphasis on shared prosperity, responsible business conduct, and civic freedoms in markets is vital, and must unify with the broader movements for social, economic, and environmental justice.
I look forward to continuing this work in a new guise, in the coming years. And I feel blessed to be able to work worldwide with such a network of capable, committed and kind colleagues, partners, funders and collaborators throughout these years.
Thank you again for all your cooperation, and your support over the last 12 years.
Phil
“Anō nei, we acknowledge the amazing mahi (work) that you all do for and on behalf of our indigenous brothers and sisters. It has been an honour and privilege to have been invited to participate in some of the mahi that you all do.” – Wikitoria Hepi‑Te Huia, Chairperson Tauhara North No.2 Trust
The world must accelerate its transition to renewable energy, but frontline communities must not bear the burden of unregulated extraction and energy mega-projects. The urgent race to decarbonise will only be run fast if it is also fair. It cannot come at the cost of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, community health or environmental justice. This year we continued working alongside Indigenous Peoples, land defenders and local organisations to demand a just transition – one that puts human rights and community agency at the center of climate action and sustains public trust as the transition speeds up.
Our Transition Minerals Tracker has documented more than 700 allegations of human rights abuse linked to the extraction of minerals needed for the energy transition. It led to numerous engagements with mining companies and their investors who recognise the challenge the figures present, and the danger of alienating communities and workers. Civil society worldwide uses it to assess companies’ track record as they enter negotiations, or advise governments. The 2024 Tracker was covered by 25 media outlets, including E&E News (Politico), ESG Investor and Climate Change News, and has gained recognition from institutions like the the IEA (the International Energy Agency) and the OECD, as well as in the background paper for the UNSG-led panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.
The launch of our Just Energy Transition Litigation Tracker highlighted over 90 cases alleging human rights harms by companies across the renewable energy value chain. This analysis saw significant media coverage and engagement by companies and investors tracking financial, reputational, and operational risk to business where human rights fall to the wayside.
We launched the Gulf Energy Explorer, the first industry mapping to track renewable energy projects, their private sector stakeholders and human rights practices, across the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. These countries aim to become major players in the global clean energy sector while also being home to some of the most egregious worker abuse, particularly of migrant workers.
In Southeast Asia, we advanced our work through both on the ground investigations into the human rights and environmental impacts of nickel mining and a first-of-its-kind corporate survey targeting 12 renewable energy companies operating in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia, assessing their human rights due diligence - meaning how companies identify, prevent, and address potential harm produced by their activities to human rights, working conditions, and stakeholder engagement.
In Indonesia, we coordinated joint field research with partners to document the impacts of nickel mining for electric vehicle batteries, uncovering widespread displacement, pollution and labor abuse. These findings supported new demands for benefit-sharing agreements (formal commitments where companies share profits or benefits—like jobs or services—with local communities affected by their projects) and legally binding environmental protections.
“The Renewable Energy Benchmark is an important report that BHRRC has now published for the third time. And this time the scope is wider both in terms of assessment criteria as well as the number of industry players assessed. It is rather clear that renewable sector as a whole is behind when looking at the overall results. In Ørsted we are committed to drive a green energy transformation that works for people, across the full value chain. And here the publication can help us understand where we can do more, and where we perform well.” – Ørsted representative
In Africa, our support focused on raising visibility for Indigenous communities resisting wind and solar mega-projects developed without consultation. In Kenya, we worked with partners to amplify community challenges to unfair extractive and power projects. We helped to build their profile, influencing skills, and their human security as they resist land grabs, pollution, and exclusion from benefits like access to electricity.
We published a briefing showcasing leadership on benefit-sharing regulations in the Global South, particularly in transition mineral-rich countries outside North America and Australia. The study focused on six African countries – Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, South Africa and Zimbabwe – analysing their legal frameworks through research and interviews with legal experts. It highlighted key lessons that can help ensure a more equitable, sustainable, and just energy transition globally.
The technical support from BHRRC has been very productive especially with our work with communities, companies and government agencies. The support has further enabled us to engage with renewable energy companies on the human rights dimensions in the sector which are usually overlooked, engaging with them on how to conduct human rights due diligence and the need to establish effective grievance mechanisms. Through these engagements we have received more requests from the companies for us to help them better address the issues emanating from communities where their projects are based.” – Feedback from Ruth Getobai Nchagwa, Assistant Director & Regional Coordinator - Central Regional Office, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights
From garment factories to tech supply chains, workers remain at the sharp end of global production – often exploited, their voices unheard, while brands continue to generate vast profits. As supply chains are hit by enormous turbulence – from tariff hikes to climate crisis and political turmoil, workers find the costs are passed down to them. Last year, we continued to shed light on abuses hidden deep within global supply chains – particularly those involving forced labour, wage theft and corporate impunity. We worked alongside unions, migrant rights organisations and frontline workers to build pressure for systemic change across the food, apparel and tech sectors.
As Bangladesh saw the collapse of the Hasina government’s 15-year rule after violent state crackdowns on student-led protests over low wages and new government reforms killed an estimated 1,500 people, garment workers faced violence, job losses, mandatory overtime and arrests. Global brands sourcing from Bangladesh reportedly shifted orders away from factories forced to close amid the unrest, exemplifying how brands’ irresponsible purchasing practices in times of crisis can shift the burden onto workers in their supply chains. In response, we called on major fashion brands sourcing from Bangladesh to step up and help protect workers’ rights in their supply chains.
The Australian Modern Slavery Act (MSA) came into force on 1 January 2019. Following a review of the MSA, the Australian government released its response to this review in December 2024, which incorporated several of our core recommendations, including requiring companies to report actual cases of modern slavery (not just risks), introducing financial penalties for non-compliance, and committing to a further review of the MSA in three years.
As Bangladesh saw the collapse of the Hasina government’s 15-year rule after violent state crackdowns on student-led protests over low wages and new government reforms killed an estimated 1,500 people, garment workers faced violence, job losses, mandatory overtime and arrests. Global brands sourcing from Bangladesh reportedly shifted orders away from factories forced to close amid the unrest, exemplifying how brands’ irresponsible purchasing practices in times of crisis can shift the burden onto workers in their supply chains. In response, we called on major fashion brands sourcing from Bangladesh to step up and help protect workers’ rights in their supply chains.
The Australian Modern Slavery Act (MSA) came into force on 1 January 2019. Following a review of the MSA, the Australian government released its response to this review in December 2024, which incorporated several of our core recommendations, including requiring companies to report actual cases of modern slavery (not just risks), introducing financial penalties for non-compliance, and committing to a further review of the MSA in three years.
Our KnowTheChain benchmark remained pivotal in exposing the inaction – and to a lesser extent, progress – of major corporations in addressing forced labour across our benchmarks in the apparel, food and beverage and ICT sectors. With our allies, we deployed the findings in systematic influencing with investors, companies and governments. High profile investor groupings engaged on the results and have used the results in their corporate engagement, with regular briefings from the KnowTheChain team. We have also engaged directly with some of the largest investment funds in the world, which led to one drawing up its own modern slavery benchmark. We have built our engagement with key governments on modern slavery and explained the need for broader due diligence approaches to tackle the problem more holistically. The benchmark is also used by civil society worldwide in their campaigning.
This year we brought KnowTheChain, previously hosted on an independent website, onto the Resource Centre’s digital platform, integrating our benchmark data directly into our wider database and enriching benchmarked companies’ pages with detailed information on their efforts on supply chain forced labour, further strengthening our website as a one-stop-shop for individual companies’ human rights records. We drew on eight years of benchmark data to create a Good Practice Guide based on real examples for companies and investors seeking to understand what strong corporate practice and disclosure looks like. The guide generated exceptionally strong traffic, reaching over 3,200 users with consistent engagement through an interactive tool and accompanying downloadable guide.
“An invaluable and timely guide from KnowTheChain, defining what strong corporate human rights disclosure and practice looks like, and highlighting how intrinsic responsible purchasing practices are to an effective due diligence process by encouraging companies to collect and disclose internal data and analysis on their purchasing practices in the form of their Better Buying supplier ratings.” – Better Buying (NGO partner)
Our most recent review of Mexico’s apparel supply chains sparked strong public and industry attention, highlighting the urgent need for better labour protections and corporate responsibility. We looked at 18 major parent companies behind top Mexican brands and found serious gaps in how they check for human rights risks and share supply chain information — only one company responded to our survey, and just three shared data beyond their first-tier suppliers.
Our findings have since gained significant media traction, with coverage from local media outlets generating more than 25,000 impressions on social media, and amplifying worker testimonies of low wages, subcontracted abuses and precarious working conditions.
Una investigación del Centro de Información sobre Empresas y Derechos Humanos (CIEDH) reveló los abusos y precariedad laboral que ejercen un pequeño grupo de grandes empresas de ropa en México como H&M, Levi’s, Liverpool, Suburbia, Sfera y Palacio de Hierro. ABRIMOS HILO 🧵 (1/6)
— SinEmbargo (@SinEmbargoMX) September 24, 2024
Defenders who speak out against corporate harm are too often met with intimidation, violence or surveillance. With the rise of authoritarian governments, and polarisation, reckless companies and governments are seeking to silence critics of corporate abuse, amidst a rising sense of corporate impunity, and grassroots action to retain legal and non-legal protections. Our work this year reaffirmed our role as a reliable ally to these individuals and communities, providing visibility, support and practical tools to help protect their voices and lives in increasingly hostile environments.
This year, we published a landmark report marking ten years of tracking attacks against human rights defenders who raise concerns about corporate abuse. Since 2015, we have recorded more than 6,400 cases across 147 countries — nearly two attacks every day — mostly targeting land, environmental and Indigenous defenders. Despite the risks, human rights defenders have driven real change. The report highlights their crucial role, the sectors most linked to attacks and urgent actions needed from companies, investors, and governments to protect civic space and human rights.
We work with businesses to promote respect for human rights. Nine years ago, we co-founded a network with the B Team and the International Service for Human Rights that now includes more than 40 companies and investors. Together, they explore how to run rights-respecting businesses and publicly support human rights defenders.
This effort is paying off: four of the top nine companies in our Human Rights Defenders Policy Tracker are long-time members of this network. Through our advocacy and facilitation of exchanges between business actors, civil society and defenders, we have been successful in persuading certain companies to adopt better policies and ensuring that that rightsholder voices from the Global South are heard in decision-making spaces.
Our Human Rights Defenders Policy Tracker aimed to evaluate corporate commitments to protect human rights defenders (HRDs) by analysing whether companies had publicly available policies that prohibit attacks or reprisals against HRDs, set clear expectations for suppliers, and actively engage with defenders to promote civic space. The review covered nearly 300 companies across sectors like mining, agriculture and technology. It found that only a small fraction had strong policies in place, and even fewer met all the recommended standards. In particular, companies operating in high-risk industries often lacked even the most basic protections for defenders, highlighting the urgent need for stronger action to prevent abuse and support those speaking out against harmful business practices.
Over the past year, we celebrated a major win with the adoption of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), a law that could help hold companies accountable for human rights and environmental harms. But that progress is now at risk. A new European Union reform proposal threatens to weaken the directive before it even takes full effect. In response, we have stepped up efforts with partners to defend it — sharing updates, analysis, and stakeholder voices through our platform to keep the pressure on.
We participated in a consultation process with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) – a tactic used by business actors to stop people raising concerns about their practices, which can be criminal or civil lawsuits brought to intimidate, bankrupt and silence critics – which also included mentions of some of our publications on the subject.
We conducted two workshops in Bolivia in remote rural areas of Tahua (Uyuni salt flats) and Rurrenabaque (Amazon region), that are affected by different extractive projects. The workshops were developed in collaboration with local grassroots organizations, and we provided a safe space for exchange on companies' involvement in human rights violations. The participants gained tools to document attacks on human rights defenders and resources for protection.
Together with IPRI (Indigenous Peoples Rights International), we created a framework, report and set of case studies that explore both the opportunities and challenges of shared benefit between the private sector and Indigenous Peoples in order to achieve a just energy transition. Examples of successful projects in Mexico, Canada and New Zealand demonstrate the viability of community/private sector co-ownership and Indigenous Peoples-led renewable energy projects.
Accelerating technological change is upon us, driven by a cluster of enormously powerful and under-regulated companies. The actions of these companies hold enormous potential but also profound dangers for human rights and democracy worldwide. Over the last year, our programme has challenged the misuse of digital tools and AI systems, advocating for rights-based governance, and centring the experiences of those most impacted by abusive use of technology.
This year, we published a ten-year analysis of tech company responses to human rights abuse allegations. The briefing reveals that nearly half of companies failed to respond to abuse claims-highlighting widespread corporate inaction in the face of mounting digital rights risks.
We have worked alongside both digital rights groups and investors to bridge this gap, sharing key insights in our recent Taking CTRL briefing. We conducted a workshop in Nairobi that brought together digital rights advocates from Global South countries to directly connect with investors, equipping them with practical tools aiming to foster more meaningful and productive dialogues with investors on urgent issues like surveillance and spyware.
We also held several training sessions and knowledge-sharing events to strengthen the digital rights movement’s capacity around corporate accountability and to enhance its ability and confidence to engage directly with the tech industry, including a workshop for 43 digital rights advocates from Asia at which we offered guidance on legal frameworks governing tech company conduct and shared strategies for impactful advocacy.
We released a briefing exposing major transparency and accountability gaps among 23 surveillance-tech companies operating in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The research highlights weak human rights due diligence, lack of stakeholder engagement, and poor grievance mechanisms in a high-risk sector.
We participated in the Pall Mall Process – a multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at curbing the global proliferation of spyware. Our engagement helped strengthen references to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the need for human rights due diligence and the accountability of both companies and financial actors, including investors in the final Code of Practice for States.
We participated in the International Criminal Court’s consultation on its draft Policy on Cyber-Enabled Crimes under the Rome Statute, urging the inclusion of references to the UNGPs. In our submission, we emphasised the importance of requiring companies to carry out enhanced due diligence to prevent complicity in war crimes and underscored the potential legal risks executives may face under international law.
As the global context of our work continues to change and become ever more complex, so we are adapting how we communicate our work accordingly.
This year has seen several innovations in our communications work. We have been increasing our multimedia content this year, launching a brand-new video series to introduce our work, which has been among our best-performing content on social media.
As well as introducing our strategic plan and offering a lookahead on the business and human rights year in prospect, we also introduced each of our strategic pillars with its own video. You can watch the whole series of videos here.
BHRRC video series
Watch the whole series of videos here.
LinkedIn advertising
To further our aim of reaching and influencing corporate and investor audiences in particular, we have conducted a series of test advertising campaigns on LinkedIn, beginning with our KnowTheChain ICT benchmark, reaching and directly engaging decision makers in sustainability and supply chain management at dozens of key target companies, including Amazon, PayPal, Google, Cisco, Apple, Samsung and Microsoft. We will continue to test and refine our approach to digital advertising throughout 2025/26.
The Resource Centre on Bluesky
As concerns about ethics and hate speech on X have continued alongside a drop-off in engagement, we have launched a Bluesky channel for the Resource Centre to help futureproof our social media communications. We will be continuing to post on X for the foreseeable future but keeping a watching brief on all our social channels as the landscape shifts.
The Bluesky channel has had a healthy start, and you can follow us at https://bsky.app/profile/business-humanrights.org
Income:
The overall income was down slightly from the previous financial year at £4,962k (FY 2023-24 £5,023k). This continues the level of consolidation income of the last few years. Income again has come disproportionately from restricted grants. For FY 25-26 these are forecasted to be £4,826k (excluding grants currently in negotiation) out of total income of £5,016k.
With the restricted grants and contracts the majority of our funds comes from foundations. However, our income from government institutions is £982k (FY 23-24 £784k). But this still only represents 20% of our total income. Given the income trends in the new financial year of FY 25-26 we can see this is going to continue to grow as a proportion of the funding to the organisation with £1,226k forecasted. Unrestricted income has gone back up again this year at £488k from the previous year (FY 23-24 £299k) with the majority coming from donations and unrestricted grants.
Expenditure
The chart below shows the spread of charitable spend across programme goals during FY 24-25.
From this chart we can see the spend was directed both to global programme goals such as Labour Rights, Natural Resources and a Just Transition, and Technology and Human Rights and also to regional goals, which are described in this report and amount to 38% of charitable spend.
In addition, there is a considerable amount of regional implementation of the global programmes. These are shown in the chart below. In this case the X axis represents the geographical location of the work with the different colours representing which programme goals were being delivered.