The World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) released the 2026 Ocean Benchmark: Key Insights, Leading Practices and Strategic Recommendations (June 2026). Drawing on an assessment of 125 companies across sectors with significant impacts and dependencies on ocean ecosystems, the benchmark evaluates corporate performance on ocean stewardship.
Human Level’s Take:
- Can a sustainable ocean economy really be built without human rights in mind? The World Benchmarking Alliance finds that the two are increasingly inseparable. By assessing environmental, social, governance and human rights performance together, the benchmark highlights the close relationship between ocean health and the people and communities who depend on it.
- Yet the growth of the ocean economy is outpacing progress on human rights. While the sector could support up to 184 million jobs by 2050, WBA finds limited evidence that companies are systematically identifying and addressing human rights risks. Among the 80 ocean-sector companies assessed, only eight demonstrate having assessed their human rights risks and impacts, and only two of those show evidence of acting on those findings.
- So what determines whether ocean growth also delivers equitable outcomes? WBA points to stronger implementation of human rights due diligence. While commitments are becoming more common, embedding them into governance, procurement, supply chain management and transition planning remains a significant challenge.
- This is where business action becomes particularly important. The benchmark underscores that a sustainable ocean economy cannot be achieved if it is not also a just one. Human rights considerations therefore need to sit alongside environmental objectives as ocean-related industries continue to grow and evolve.
- As a result, the direction of travel is clear: move from commitment to implementation. Key actions include strengthening human rights due diligence, engaging meaningfully with affected stakeholders and ensuring effective grievance mechanisms are in place.
Some key takeaways:
- A “triple crisis” for the oceans: The world is facing a “triple crisis” across climate stability, biodiversity loss and social resilience, with oceans at the centre. They help regulate climate, preserve critical biodiversity, and deliver benefits like food, transportation, energy, coastal protection and employment — together valued at around $24 trillion. Yet oceans are also at high risk from climate change, nature loss and human activities, ranging from overfishing to coastal development to drilling to mining. As these factors collide, the oceans are getting increasingly closer to reaching global tipping points that could change global weather patterns and put people and nature at even higher risk. Recognising the close links between ocean health, human wellbeing and economic activity, the Ocean Benchmark assesses how ocean-economy companies manage their impacts and dependencies on ocean ecosystems. The methodology incorporates both environmental and social dimensions, including human rights, labour rights, stakeholder engagement and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The findings indicate that while some companies are beginning to address ocean-related risks and opportunities, performance remains uneven. For example, the benchmark reveals that more than half of the companies assessed have a GHG emissions reduction target, but only 7% of companies report progress on reducing emissions. In comparison to non-ocean sectors, ocean sectors are behind on setting targets compatible with a 1.5ºC scenario and reporting progress (though offshore wind and maritime transport are leading on target-setting). When it comes to impacts on nature, only 12 out of 80 companies measure their impact drivers on nature and only two of these assess their actual impacts. Just two companies report having a nature transition plan.
- Persistent human rights gaps: The benchmark identifies gaps in the implementation of human rights due diligence, stakeholder engagement and responsible value chain management, which indicates that social and human rights considerations are not yet consistently integrated into corporate approaches to ocean stewardship. WBA highlights a significant gap between the growth of the ocean economy and corporate action on human rights. While ocean-based industries currently employ at least 133 million people globally and could support up to 184 million jobs by 2050 under more sustainable development pathways, many sectors continue to face risks related to forced labour, human trafficking, worker exploitation, and adverse impacts on coastal and Indigenous communities. Across the 80 companies assessed, only eight demonstrate having assessed their human rights risks and impacts, and only two show evidence of integrating and acting on those findings. The benchmark also identifies shortcomings in stakeholder engagement, with relatively few companies disclosing how they engage with marginalised groups or respond to issues raised. Performance is particularly limited with regard to Indigenous Peoples' rights and the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
- Human rights due diligence as a foundation for a sustainable blue economy: The benchmark underscores that a sustainable ocean economy cannot be achieved without ensuring that human rights are respected across ocean-related industries and value chains. In response to rising expectations from regulators, investors, workers and communities, it calls on ocean-sector companies to strengthen the implementation of human rights due diligence and embed it more systematically into governance, procurement, supply chain management and transition planning processes. WBA also highlights the importance of meaningful stakeholder engagement and effective grievance mechanisms to identify, address and prevent adverse impacts. In short: stronger integration of human rights considerations will be critical to ensuring that efforts to advance ocean sustainability also deliver equitable outcomes for people and communities.
