World Benchmarking Alliance

📢 Join us this Thursday, October 31, for the launch of our 2024 Urban Benchmark! Businesses are now playing an increasingly important role in shaping the urban agenda. Across 43 megacities, the world’s largest urban companies provide essential services to more than 692 million people, with their influence extending to housing, energy, water, and transportation.  Assessing these companies has never been more important, as it provides a critical look at how effectively they meet the diverse needs of their communities and stakeholders. Given their ever-growing influence on urban living conditions, these companies are key to shaping resilient, affordable, and inclusive cities worldwide.  How are the world's 300 most influential urban companies contributing to resilient, affordable, and inclusive cities globally? Find out this Thursday! 👉 Read more here:  https://lnkd.in/eyk8p9mH 

This diverse group of Allies and partners are joining forces for the next two years to propel the world's most influential companies to recognise, prevent and redress violence and harassment in their supply chains: 🔸amfori - Trade with Purpose 🔸Boston Common AM 🔸BFBHR - Българска фондация за бизнеса и правата на човека 🔸BRAC 🔸Ethical Trading Initiative  🔸Ethos Foundation (Switzerland) 🔸Global Labor Justice 🔸Good Business Lab 🔸Impax Asset Management 🔸Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) 🔸Jamaa Resource Initiatives 🔸Oxfam 🔸RISE 🔸Solidaridad Network 🔸Universal Access Project 🔸Upfront 🔸WageIndicator Foundation Interested in joining? Find out more about our Collective Impact Coalition through the link below and get in touch with Sofía del Valle Trivelli. https://lnkd.in/efC_AWy3

🌍 We're seeking a new Chair for WBA's Supervisory Board!🌏 Are you a dynamic, forward-thinking individual, who is passionate about joining a global movement committed to closing the corporate accountability gap? As Chair, you will play a pivotal role in shaping our strategy, managing stakeholder expectations and leading the supervisory board as we amplify our impact worldwide. You’ll collaborate with the current supervisory board members Anthony Cheung, Diane Holdorf, Jan Mattsson, Joyce Cacho, Lysa John, Victoria Marquez-Mees, Jane Diplock AO and Beatrice Hamza Bassey to ensure that WBA stays true to its mission of measuring how businesses impact people and planet, so that we can hold companies accountable for contributing to sustainable development. Interested? Learn more in the candidate brief and get in touch with our partner Odgers Berndtson, who supports the search: https://lnkd.in/exdFeyg6 #boardvacancies #supervisoryboard #chairposition

In 2022, the United Nations General Assembly agreed that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right. Therefore, expanding the internationally recognised process of Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) to include environmental topics is a logical step. Companies should be expected to continuously identify and address their negative impacts on people AND the environment across their own operations and value chains. As the second week of #COP16Colombia kicks off, COP16 needs to further articulate business responsibility, notably through the establishment of robust accountability indicators. This is urgent, especially when considering that the #NatureBenchmark showed an overwhelming majority of high-impact companies failing to implement any key HR(E)DD steps: ◾ 72% of the 816 companies assessed scored zero on the key steps of due diligence implementation. ◾ While 19% of these high-impact companies implement some steps of due diligence, barely 2% have integrated environmental considerations. ◾ Fewer than 2% of the companies make a commitment to respecting local communities’ environmental rights. This policy briefing advocates for regulatory frameworks to ensure businesses address both human rights and environmental aspects equally. The dual focus—integrating human and planetary health into corporate accountability—is critical to safeguard natural ecosystems and ensure that communities dependent on these environments are protected from exploitation and harm: https://lnkd.in/emebnZqD #HREDD #COP16 #GlobalBiodiversityFramework

The NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights has released an insightful report, Setting Higher Standards, that takes a critical look at how businesses can strengthen their commitment to human rights across industries. Three months after the European Union’s landmark sustainability legislation, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), came into effect, the report provides a roadmap for regulators and companies navigating the new era of corporate human rights responsibility. With insights informed by WBA and the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark, the report offers a dual set of recommendations designed to drive measurable improvements: For governments: 🔸 Engage with key stakeholders: Governments should work with international organisations, businesses, and civil society to balance business needs with societal human rights interests. 🔸 Build implementation capacity: Prepare for enforcing regulatory frameworks like the CSDDD by establishing national bodies equipped with the expertise and resources to oversee and evaluate corporate conduct. 🔸 Promote cross-border collaboration: Collaborate with other governments to develop consistent, reinforcing laws, and partner with companies to offer sector-specific guidance for addressing human rights risks. For companies: 🔹 Prepare early: Even if not yet legally obligated, companies should proactively collect data on operations, suppliers, and processes to identify areas for improvement. 🔹 Integrate human rights into business operations: Develop internal systems to embed human rights into the corporate framework, encouraging collaboration across teams, including legal, sourcing, and procurement. 🔹 Engage with government and stakeholders: Openly discuss human rights challenges with government bodies and engage stakeholders to ensure these perspectives shape human rights strategies. Download the full report, written by Cecely Richard-Carvajal: https://lnkd.in/eZr92mmS #HumanRights #CorporateResponsibility #CSDDD #UNGuidingPrinciples #CHRB

At the World Benchmarking Alliance, we believe that collaboration is the key to sparking meaningful, lasting change. Whether it’s through our partnerships with over 420 Allies worldwide or the relentless dedication of our exceptionable team spread across 30 countries, we understand that working together is essential to our mission. As a fully remote organisation, we know that physical distance should never hinder our sense of unity. Building strong relationships and fostering a deep sense of togetherness are vital to upholding our values, vision, and mission. That’s why, once a year, the entire WBA team gathers in one place for an inspiring Learning Week. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to reconnect, reflect, and realign. This year, we explored creative ways to remind ourselves of our ambitions and shared vision, exchanged knowledge and insights, danced and played sports, learned from each other, and embraced the diversity that makes our team so strong. We also took the time to appreciate each other’s talents and achievements, reinforcing the bonds that drive our collective success. As we look ahead, we’re more committed than ever to continuing our work in benchmarking and driving forward corporate accountability. A heartfelt thank you to our Allies, partners, supporters, and colleagues— your contributions are vital in helping us move forward and make an impact.

📢 On Thursday, 31 October, we will launch our first-ever Urban Benchmark, which assesses 300 of the world's most influential urban companies on their contributions to healthy, inclusive, and sustainable cities. While governments remain the primary providers of basic services and infrastructure, in several regions, private companies are increasingly taking on roles such as building roads and schools, managing public transportation, and ensuring access to drinking water. Governments also rely significantly on private consultants for city planning and design. As their role has evolved from service providers to key stakeholders, businesses must now be held accountable for the outcomes they drive. Join us next week as we assess them on critical topics such as affordability, pollution, disaster preparedness, emission targets, and more. Read more about what to expect here: https://lnkd.in/eyk8p9mH

This week we will be in Colombia for the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 16), where world governments and civil society will come together to review the state of implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). WBA along with our Allies and partners will host a variety of events at COP16 (in-person only). Event highlights include: 🔸 Effective due diligence – bringing together people and planet 🔸 Agri-sector: How this high-impact sector should and can transform 🔸 From ambition to action: nature stewardship initiatives following COP15 We look forward to engaging with you to drive corporate accountability towards the GBF goals. Find out more about our events here: https://lnkd.in/e8s_eENE #COP16Colombia #NatureCOP #naturepositive #globalbiodiversityframework

As we mark #WorldFoodDay 2024, the theme “Right to Food for a Better Life and a Better Future” underscores the importance of food as a fundamental human right. Despite abundant food production, hunger and malnutrition have surged, especially in conflict zones. Achieving zero hunger by 2030 is a global goal that requires collective action—across society, businesses, and individuals. In this blog, Alejandro Guarín, our Food Systems Transformation Lead, explains how WBA is driving corporate accountability in food systems transformation. Through our updated methodology, we assess the top 350 food and agriculture companies, focusing on how they contribute to Healthy, Sustainable, and Inclusive food systems. We emphasise key areas like nutrition, support for small-scale farmers, and environmental responsibility to encourage real change—from responsible marketing to ensuring fair incomes for producers. With our 2026 Food and Agriculture Benchmark, we urge businesses to take action. Now is the time to make nutritious food more accessible and affordable, support small producers, and prioritise sustainability. Together, we can build food systems that benefit everyone! #WFD2024 #ZeroHunger #CorporateAccountability https://bit.ly/3U6Y22U

Are you a seasoned leader in People & Organisational Development with a passion for building strong, purpose-driven teams? If you're ready to shape the future of an evolving organisation, we want to hear from you! WBA is searching for a Strategic People and Learning Lead to guide our team as we grow and develop our internal capacity. This key leadership role will design and execute learning strategies, align people-driven workstreams, and foster a learning culture across our global team. What You’ll Do: 🌟 Lead and coach WBA’s people leadership group, empowering leaders and ensuring our people thrive. 🌟 Harmonise people-driven processes with our impact goals, bringing cohesion to our diverse, remote team. 🌟 Collaborate across functions to drive organisational development and learning strategies. 🌟 Ensure a smooth transition as WBA grows, maintaining alignment with our mission and culture. What We’re Looking For: ✔️ +20 years of experience, including +10 in leadership roles and +5 in Learning & Development. ✔️ Expertise in HR practices, adult learning principles and organisational development. ✔️ Exceptional leadership, influencing skills and team-building capacity. ✔️ High adaptability in virtual, diverse environments. ✔️ Enthusiasm for working in a self-managed, evolving and purpose-driven organisation. 💼 Interested? Read the job spec to find out how to apply: https://lnkd.in/eervZPfz #JobOpportunity #NewJob #OrganisationalDevelopment