2019

Corporate Human Rights Benchmark

Preventing adverse impacts on workers, communities and consumers is one of the most pressing challenges almost every company faces in today’s globalised marketplace. The CHRB seeks to tap into the competitive nature of the market as a powerful driver for change in confronting this challenge.

2019 Results

The 2019 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assesses 200 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world on a set of human rights indicators.

View banding table

Why a benchmark?Guide to the Benchmark

OVERALL SCORES

Companies (n=195)

49

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Phillips 66, Suntory Beverage & Food, Falabella, UltraTech Cement, Salvatore Ferragamo, TATNEFT, Costco Wholesale, Starbucks, Page Industries, Applied Materials, Qualcomm, Vulcan Materials, Kyocera, Brown-Forman Corporation, Conagra Brands, ANTA Sports Products, Monster Beverage, HOYA Production, LPP, Loblaw Companies, Novolipetsk Steel, McCormick & Company, Lindt & Spruengli, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Microchip Technology, Ross Stores, BOE Technology Group, Yili Group, Amphenol Corporation, FamilyMart Co., Ltd, TE Connectivity, China Petroleum & Chemical, EOG Resources, CNOOC, China Shenhua Energy, Anhui Conch Cement Company, Foot Locker, Shoprite, Surgutneftegas, Western Digital, Broadcom, Shenzhou International Group Holdings, Constellation Brands, Largan Precision, Keyence Corp, Heilan Home, Kweichow Moutai, Youngor, Zhejian Semir Garment.

0-10
56

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Tokyo Electron, Siam Cement Public, Woodside Petroleum, Micron Technology, Macy's, Ahold Delhaize, Sysco, Kroger, Kerry Group, Compass Group, Canon Inc., Yue Yuen, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (Foxconn), Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, POSCO, L Brands, LVMH, JXTG Holdings, Amazon.com, Inc., Corning Inc., HeidelbergCement, Severstal, SK Hynix, Lam Research, Norilsk Nickel, Mr Price, Murata Manufacturing, TJX Companies, Carlsberg, Analog Devices, Tapestry, INPEX Corporation, BRF, Nordstrom, Hitachi Ltd., Ralph Lauren, Canadian Natural Resources, Yum! Brands, Infineon Technologies AG, Capri Holdings, Nintendo, Hermes International, Prada, Hormel Foods Corporation, Nippon Steel Corporation, Carter's, Devon Energy, Skechers, Kraft Heinz, Kohl's, Gazprom, Seven & I Holdings, Skyworks Solutions, Tyson Foods, PetroChina, NVIDIA Corporation.

10-20
31

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Archer Daniels Midland, Coles, Aeon Company, NXP Semiconductors, Lukoil, General Mills, Coal India, McDonald's, Carrefour, ArcelorMittal, Sasol, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Lululemon Athletica, PVH, LafargeHolcim, Nokia, Marathon Petroleum, Associated British Foods, Pernod-Ricard, Occidental Petroleum, Texas Instruments Inc., Kirin Holdings Company, Exxon Mobil, Walmart Inc, Asahi Group Holdings, The Hershey Company, Columbia Sportswear, Target, Hugo Boss, Suncor Energy, ASML Holding.

20-30
18

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Samsung Electronics, Woolworths, ConocoPhillips, Next, Intel Corporation, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Apple Inc, Teck Resources, Kering, Grupo Mexico, Under Armour, Chevron Corporation, Gildan Activewear, Ericsson, Rosneft Oil, Cisco Systems, Inc., OMV, Mondelez International.

30-40
17

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Heineken NV, Fast Retailing, Petrobras, Glencore, Danone, PTT, Burberry, Wilmar International, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Nike, Puma, Microsoft Corporation, HP Inc., Tesco, Equinor, Ecopetrol, Wesfarmers.

40-50
12

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: The Gap Inc, VF, The Coca-Cola Company, Royal Dutch Shell, Barrick Gold Corporation, Nestle, BP, Hanesbrands, Diageo, Total, PepsiCo, Hennes & Mauritz.

50-60
5

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: ENI, Anglo American, Inditex, Kellogg, Newmont Goldcorp Corporation.

60-70
6

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Rio Tinto, Unilever, Marks & Spencer Group, BHP Billiton, Freeport-McMoRan, Repsol

70-80
1

Companies in this band

Adidas

80-90
90-100

Score range (%)

2019 Key Findings Report

A detailed briefing on the 2019 results. Find the key messages, overall results, the results by industry and by region, an analysis of trends and more.

The 2019 Key Findings Report is supported by a technical annex which provides more detailed information about the 2019 assessment process. The Technical Annex to the 2019 CHRB is available in our News section.

Download

Industry Scores

The companies from 4 industries - Agricultural Products, Apparel, Extractives and ICT Manufacturing - were selected on the basis of their size (market capitalisation) and on geographical balance. The charts below show the number of companies in each band per industry.

"" icon

Agricultural Products

Total 57

Companies

16

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Suntory Beverage & Food, Falabella, Costco Wholesale, Starbucks, Brown-Forman Corporation, Conagra Brands, Monster Beverage, Loblaw Companies, McCormick & Company, Lindt & Spruengli, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Yili Group, FamilyMart Co., Ltd, Shoprite, Constellation Brands, Kweichow Moutai.

0-10
13

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Ahold Delhaize, Sysco, Kroger, Kerry Group, Compass Group, Amazon.com, Inc., Carlsberg, BRF, Yum! Brands, Hormel Foods Corporation, Kraft Heinz, Seven & I Holdings, Tyson Foods.

10-20
13

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Archer Daniels Midland, Coles, Aeon Company, General Mills, McDonald's, Carrefour, Associated British Foods, Pernod-Ricard, Kirin Holdings Company, Walmart Inc, Asahi Group Holdings, The Hershey Company, Target.

20-30
3

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Woolworths, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Mondelez International.

30-40
5

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Heineken NV, Glencore, Danone, Wilmar International, Tesco.

40-50
4

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: The Coca-Cola Company, Nestle, Diageo, PepsiCo.

50-60
1

Companies in this band

Kellogg.

60-70
2

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Unilever, Marks & Spencer Group.

70-80
80-90
90-100

Score range (%)

"" icon

Apparel

Total 53

Companies

12

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Falabella, Salvatore Ferragamo, Costco Wholesale, Page Industries, ANTA Sports Products, LPP, Ross Stores, Foot Locker, Shenzhou International Group Holdings, Heilan Home, Youngor, Zhejian Semir Garment.

0-10
16

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Macy's, Yue Yuen, L Brands, LVMH, Amazon.com, Inc., Mr Price, TJX Companies, Tapestry, Nordstrom, Ralph Lauren, Capri Holdings, Hermes International, Prada, Carter's, Skechers, Kohl's.

10-20
8

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Aeon Company, Lululemon Athletica, PVH, Associated British Foods, Walmart Inc, Columbia Sportswear, Target, Hugo Boss.

20-30
4

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Next, Kering, Under Armour, Gildan Activewear.

30-40
6

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Fast Retailing, Burberry, Nike, Puma, Tesco, Wesfarmers.

40-50
4

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: The Gap Inc, VF, Hanesbrands, Hennes & Mauritz.

50-60
1

Companies in this band

Inditex

60-70
1

Companies in this band

Marks & Spencer Group

70-80
1

Companies in this band

Adidas

80-90
90-100

Score range (%)

"" icon

Extractives

Total 56

Companies

11

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Phillips 66, UltraTech Cement, TATNEFT, Vulcan Materials, Novolipetsk Steel, China Petroleum & Chemical, EOG Resources, CNOOC, China Shenhua Energy, Anhui Conch Cement Company, Surgutneftegas.

0-10
14

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Siam Cement Public, Woodside Petroleum, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, POSCO, JXTG Holdings, HeidelbergCement, Severstal, Norilsk Nickel, INPEX Corporation, Canadian Natural Resources, Nippon Steel Corporation, Devon Energy, Gazprom, PetroChina.

10-20
9

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Lukoil, Coal India, ArcelorMittal, Sasol, LafargeHolcim, Marathon Petroleum, Occidental Petroleum, Exxon Mobil, Suncor Energy.

20-30
6

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: ConocoPhillips, Teck Resources, Grupo Mexico, Chevron Corporation, Rosneft Oil, OMV.

30-40
5

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Petrobras, Glencore, PTT, Equinor, Ecopetrol.

40-50
4

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Royal Dutch Shell, Barrick Gold Corporation, BP, Total.

50-60
3

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: ENI, Anglo American, Newmont Goldcorp Corporation.

60-70
4

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Freeport-McMoRan, Repsol.

70-80
80-90
90-100

Score range (%)

"" icon

ICT Manufacturing

Total 40

Companies

12

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Applied Materials, Qualcomm, Kyocera, HOYA Corporation, Microchip Technology, BOE Technology Group, Amphenol Corporation, TE Connectivity, Western Digital, Broadcom, Largan-Precision, Keyence Corp.

0-10
15

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Tokyo Electron, Micron Technology, Canon Inc., Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd (Foxconn), Amazon.com, Inc., Corning Inc, SK Hynix, Lam Research, Murata Manufacturing, Analog Devices, Hitachi Ltd., Infineon Technologies AG, Nintendo, Skyworks Solutions, NVIDIA Corporation.

10-20
5

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: NXP Semiconductors, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Nokia, Texas Instruments Inc., ASML Holding.

20-30
5

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Samsung Electronics, Intel Corporation, Apple Inc, Ericsson, Cisco Systems, Inc.

30-40
3

Companies in this band

Highest score >> Lowest score: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Microsoft Corporation, HP Inc.

40-50
50-60
60-70
70-80
80-90
90-100

Score range (%)

Banding Table

This table presents companies in bands according to their overall score. More than half of the almost 200 benchmarked companies score less than 20% and only 1 in 10 companies score more than 50%. Several companies lead the way and score above 70% and some of the companies previously benchmarked are demonstrating progress. However, the lack of improvement of many companies, and low scores for most of the companies benchmarked for the first time, highlights the need for urgent action.

Score key

  • Governance and Policy (score out of 10)
  • Respect and Due Diligence (score out of 25)
  • Remedy and Grievance Mechanisms (score out of 15)
  • Performance: Practices (score out of 20)
  • Performance: Responses (score out of 20)
  • Transparency (score out of 10)

80 - 90%

70 - 80%

60 - 70%

50 - 60%

40 - 50%

30 - 40%

20 - 30%

10 - 20%

0 - 10%

2019 Methodology

The 2019 Methodology is a revised version of the CHRB Methodology which was initially published in 2016. It is the result of internal reflexions and extensive public consultations over several years and served as the basis of the 2019 assessment.

More information and useful links

Measurement Theme Scores

Companies were assessed across 6 Measurement Themes which have different weightings. Average scores are low across the board. Overall, companies tend to perform marginally better on policy commitments and responses to serious allegations, even though scores remain particularly low on remedy. The fact that nearly half of the companies assessed score 0 across all indicators related to the process of human rights due diligence is particularly alarming.

Governance & Policy Commitments

2019 Highest Score :
9.4 / 10

2019 Average score :
2.6 / 10
""
2018 Average Score :
2.9 / 10

This Measurement Theme focuses on a company’s human rights related policy commitments and how they are governed. It includes two related sub-themes: Policy Commitments and Board Level Accountability.

Embedding Respect & Human Rights Due Diligence

2019 Highest score :
23.2 / 25

2019 Average score :
5.7 / 25
""
2018 Average score :
6.8 / 25

This Measurement Theme assesses the extent of a company’s systems and processes established to implement the company’s policy commitments in practice. It includes two related sub-themes: Embedding Respect and Human Rights Due Diligence.

Remedies & Grievance Mechanisms

2019 Highest score :
15.0 / 15

2019 Average score :
3.1 / 15
""
2018 Average score :
3.4 / 15

This Measurement Theme focuses on the extent to which a Company provides remedy in addressing actual adverse impacts on human rights. It covers a Company’s approach to providing or cooperating in remediation when human rights harms – actual human rights impacts – have occurred.

Performance: Company Human Rights Practices

2019 Highest score :
16.9 / 20

2019 Average score :
4.3 / 20
""
2018 Average score :
4.9 / 20

This Measurement Theme focuses on selected human rights related practices specific to each industry. The indicators seek to assess the actual practices occurring within companies to implement key enabling factors and business processes, and to prevent specific impacts on human rights.

Performance: Responses to Serious Allegations

2019 Total number of allegations :
149

2019 Companies with allegations :
72
""
2018 Companies with allegations :
48

This Measurement Theme focuses on responses to serious allegations of negative impacts a Company may be alleged or reported to be involved in by an external source. Indicators in this Measurement Theme seek to assess a Company’s response to an allegation that an impact has occurred, and do not seek to assess the allegation itself. For some companies, the CHRB did not identify allegations that met the severity threshold to be included in the assessment. For these companies, their Measurement Theme E score is a proxy score calculated from the average scores the company gets in other Measurement Themes.

Transparency

2019 Highest score :
8.6 / 10

2019 Average score :
3.2 / 10
""
2018 Average score :
3.2 / 10

This Measurement Theme seeks to recognise companies that disclose relevant information on human rights. It assesses the companies' willingness to disclose information, whether they use existing good practice reporting frameworks as well as the quality of their disclosures.

cover image

How did we do it?

The CHRB assessment is based on the CHRB Methodology, which was developed and improved through extensive consultations and engagement. Read more about our methodology to measure corporate human rights performance.

Read more