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HACE's Corporate Child Labour Benchmark is the definitive assessment of how companies are disclosing that they tackle Child Labour in high-risk supply chains.

2025 Corporate Child Labour Benchmark

138 million children are still in exploitative or hazardous work.

which is equivalent to…

48% of the population of the United States

〰️

8x the population of London

〰️

1,777x the capacity of Wembley Stadium

〰️

48% of the population of the United States 〰️ 8x the population of London 〰️ 1,777x the capacity of Wembley Stadium 〰️

    • Federal fines for US Child Labour violations quadrupled from $4 million to $15 million between 2022 and 2023.

    • A HACE survey found 87% of consumers associated specific brands, such as Nike, with Child Labour due to historical scandals.

    • According to BCG, 70% of consumers are sceptical of corporate claims about taking action to address sustainability issues.

    • 54.5% shareholder support for a 2024 Tyson Foods Child Labour resolution demonstrates investor concern.

    • An ILO estimate suggests eliminating Child Labour could generate a $5.1 trillion economic benefit by 2030 globally.

    • Ethical consumer spending grew 9.2% since 2013, outstripping non-sustainable products by three times.

    • The ethical market's CAGR of 12.4% is much higher than the 4% rate for the conventional market.

    • Tony's Chocolonely reached €200.1 million revenue in 2024, demonstrating that ethical sourcing can be commercially successful.

What is Child Labour?

The new standard in corporate Child Labour governance.

Download the Benchmark

HACE’s 2025 Corporate Child Labour Benchmark sets the new standard for corporate governance, identifying and acknowledging the highest-performing public companies operating in supply chains at risk of Child Labour. As a data-driven and open-source tool, the Benchmark empowers businesses and investors to drive meaningful progress, while also providing a transparent resource for consumers and the public to understand what "good looks like" in this complex area.

By objectively scoring a company's public governance and systems, the Benchmark provides a metric that moves beyond mere compliance to spotlight truly excellent and innovative approaches to addressing Child Labour. It allows companies to share best practices across sectors, encourages transparent disclosure, and helps responsible leaders translate ethical commitment into measurable, positive change for children and communities worldwide.

Child Labour governance is defined by HACE as how well a company is publicly disclosing their acknowledgement, identification, mitigation and remediation of all forms of Child Labour within their direct and indirect supply chain. The company’s score reflects this, and consists of two main metrics: the breadth and depth of their Child Labour governance.

A more detailed Methodology is provided in the Benchmark report.

Top global performers on Child Labour governance within high-risk supply chains

  • COCA-COLA

    Coca-Cola leads the Benchmark, demonstrating exemplary Child Labour Governance. Participation in FLA's ‘Harvesting the Future’ project and as a founding member of the ILO Child Labour Platform, they effectively address risks across their significant global supply chain. Specific governance is tailored to high-risk goods and countries, evidenced by 21 country-specific sugar studies on Child Labour and Principles for Sustainable Agriculture (PSA) for suppliers, setting an industry standard.

  • NESTLÉ

    Nestlé, ranked second, excels in Child Labour Governance. Its deep commitment includes the Income Accelerator program and pioneering a CLMRS in Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa sector, tackling risks across its extensive supply chain with a dedicated improvement focus. Their substantial investment in resources shows commitment to tackling Child Labour risks within their extensive supply chain.

  • PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL

    PMI demonstrates exceptional Child Labour Governance, deeply integrating initiatives into their impact report. Their robust auditing systems reach all supply chain tiers, supported by quantitative reporting and specific KPIs for elimination, exemplified by Mexico case studies. Strong practices ensuring adult minimum wages further reduce Child Labour necessity.

  • BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO

    BAT are a founding member of the ECLT Foundation, their commitment highlighted by their pioneering 2020 Human Rights Report. BAT sets a clear KPI of zero Child Labour, reporting quantitative cases found and remediated. They engage with rights-holders to understand human rights risks, acknowledging the high susceptibility of agricultural and tobacco supply chains, to Child Labour, and employ risk-based due diligence by geography and sector.

  • HERSHEY CO.

    Hershey demonstrates strong Child Labour Governance through its ‘Cocoa For Good’ strategy, which includes significant investment in child protection. They have effectively implemented a CLMRS, transparently reporting quantitative outputs, and undertake specific interventions, including health initiatives, to improve children's outcomes within their supply chain.

  • JAPAN TOBACCO INTERNATIONAL

    JTI demonstrates very strong Child Labour Governance with a Child Labour elimination framework and direct-contracting model to more effectively prevent and remediate risks. JTI’s ARISE program targets root causes by improving education, strengthening economic opportunities and improving regulatory frameworks, reporting “75,844 children at-risk, withdrawn or prevented from child labor and enrolled in education” so far. JTI is a founding member of the ECLT.

  • BARRY CALLEBAUT

    Barry Callebaut demonstrates strong Child Labour Governance through its ‘Forever Chocolate’ sustainability strategy, launched in 2016 and sharpened for 2030, with Child Labour eradication as a core pillar. They exhibit robust remediation policies guided by CLMRS and International Cocoa Initiative, alongside clearly implemented community-based programs addressing root causes.

  • WILMAR INTERNATIONAL

    Wilmar has a specific standalone Child Protection Policy, reinforced by third-party reports on its impact. They address risks in key agricultural commodities like palm oil, with their policy extending globally to subsidiaries, joint ventures, and third-party suppliers. Wilmar’s unique child-led remediation process involves working with the child to determine the best course of action, such as providing employment for unemployed family members.

  • UNILEVER

    Unilever demonstrates strong Child Labour Governance through its Responsible Partner Policy Implementation Guidance, which covers prevention, remediation and tips on age verification and addressing Child Labour in subcontracting. Their approach extends to regional and commodity-specific initiatives in high-risk areas, such as vanilla in Madagascar. Remediation interventions encompass financial support for schooling, assistance with birth certificate applications, and securing alternative adult employment for family members.

  • H&M

    H&M demonstrates a historical commitment to Child Labour Governance, evidenced by a dedicated standalone policy outlining expectations for suppliers. Recognising the heightened risks within raw materials supply chains, H&M acknowledges the necessity of extending due diligence beyond Tiers 1 and 2. They actively participate in various initiatives addressing Child Labour and related issues, and maintain reasonable public transparency on their efforts to ensure human rights are upheld throughout their operations.

Join HACE’s Child Labour Network

The Benchmark provides the data, while HACE’s Child Labour Network provides the platform for action. Due to launch in Q4 2025, this will be a unique forum where leaders collaborate to move from insight to action.

  • Create Tangible Solutions: The group will move beyond discussion to create actionable roadmaps and share tangible takeaways that companies can implement.

  • Shape Policy & Standards: Members will unite their voices to contribute to relevant policy calls and public consultations.

  • Access to Expertise: Members will gain and share knowledge with a diverse group of experts from corporate, investment, academic, government and legal sectors. This collaborative dialogue will be open and honest.

  • Access to Unfiltered Insights: The group will provide opportunities for members to share data and insights, including updates from specific industries and academia.

The structure and focus of the Working Group will be shaped collaboratively with our founding members. We invite you to share your feedback, register your interest and help us build this new approach.

Share feedback and register interest