Methodology 23 October 2024

The Methodology for the 2026 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark

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This methodology lays out the metrics that the World Benchmarking Alliance will use to assess and rank approximately 100 of the most influential companies in our 2026 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. These companies operate in the following sectors:

the apparel sector
the automotive manufacturing sector
the extractives sector
the food and agricultural products sector
the ICT manufacturing sector

The aim of this benchmark is to drive corporate accountability and create a pathway for better human rights practices. The methodology is closely aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD MNE Guidelines, translating global standards into measurable action points for companies.

We will publish the next iteration of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark in early 2026.

Key updates to our methodology

The first iteration of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) was published in 2017. Since then, we have been continually updating our methodology to ensure that our benchmark remains relevant, reflecting the latest learnings, input from stakeholders and ever evolving international and industry-specific standards on human rights and responsible business conduct.

This methodology is the result of a two-phase consultation that was held in 2020–2021. In 2024, we made updates to increase its alignment with our other benchmarks, particularly in relation to structure and scoring, and evolving standards. This excel file provides a full overview of these updates.

How does the World Benchmarking Alliance assess the most influential companies globally on fundamental social issues?

The World Benchmarking Alliance has a set of benchmarks to assess companies on their responsibility to respect human rights, provide and promote decent work and act ethically.

Our Social Benchmark assesses the initial steps that all 2,000 companies that make up our SDG2000 should take to meet their responsibility.

Our Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and Gender Benchmark examine in greater depth how a subset of these companies in high-risk sectors address the catalytic issues of human rights and gender equality.

See our updated core UNGP indicators methodology

See methodology