2026 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark: Investor Guidance

Drawing on the 2026 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark results of 105 companies across five high-risk sectors, this guidance gives investors and other financial institutions practical questions for engagement, stewardship and due diligence. Each question comes with a clear picture of what good looks like, so investors can meet companies where they are and question whether their human rights commitments work in practice. The guidance is organised around four priorities agreed with the Investor Alliance for Human Rights (IAHR) and illustrated with leading practice from eight companies.

The gap between commitment and practice

The 2026 results show that most companies have put human rights commitments and accountability in place. Far fewer can show how those commitments work in practice, from the resources behind them to the purchasing decisions that shape suppliers' conditions and the remedy provided to affected people.

Four themes for investor engagement

The guidance turns these findings into action across four themes: the expertise, resources and incentives behind human rights commitments; due diligence that identifies and addresses the most significant risks to people; purchasing practices aligned with the expectations placed on suppliers; and grievance mechanisms that lead to effective remedy. For each theme, questions are set at two levels, from establishing the foundations to testing implementation and results, alongside a description of what good looks like. Examples from companies including Eni, Puma, H&M Group and Heineken show how individual practices can be disclosed, without signalling overall human rights performance.

From findings to action

This report also sets out how investors can prioritise holdings by the severity of risks to people, set company-specific engagement objectives with clear deadlines, and escalate where companies fail to make progress.

Looking ahead: the Integrated Transition Assessment

The CHRB has shown what leading human rights practice looks like in five high-risk sectors, and from 2027 that evidence base will be scaled to 2,000 companies through the Integrated Transition Assessment. Respect for human rights and the climate and nature transitions are closely linked; workers and communities bearing the brunt of climate change can also end up bearing the costs of a transition that is not managed fairly. By evaluating climate, nature and social performance side by side, and assessing all 2,000 companies against the CHRB's core elements, the new assessment will show whether companies manage these links or shift costs onto people. Its focus on planning, implementation and performance also targets the persistent gap between what companies commit to and what they deliver, building a broader and stronger evidence base for action.