The Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) published its Top 10 Business and Human Rights Issues 2026 (December 2025). This is an annual forecast of priority challenges and opportunities to advance the responsible business agenda in the year ahead.
Human Level’s Take:
- The world that companies are operating in is more complex than ever - from political attacks against sustainability efforts and anti-ESG groups uniting, which subjects companies to regulatory whiplash, to the explosion of AI and new players in the defence sector, as well as new and emerging risks related to industries like crypto
- It is no wonder 2025 saw immense pressure placed on companies committed to responsible business conduct
- IHRB’s top ten list of business and human rights issues for 2025 spans a wide range of trends:
- Overcoming corporate hushing and sustainability backlash
- Surmounting setbacks in sustainability legislation
- Unlocking insurance to advance human rights
- Protecting workers from AI exploitation and discrimination
- Strengthening use of AI in due diligence and audits
- Engaging new players in the defence sector
- Embedding rules to prevent war crime complicity
- Understanding risks in asylum and immigration services
- Plugging labour shortages in the green jobs market
- Confronting the human rights risks of the crypto industry
- Companies play a pivotal role in these areas by overcoming fear-driven silence and moving toward measurable, aligned action - and communicating that action with precision. Implementing a risk-based due diligence approach in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights will best place them to navigate the regulatory rollercoaster. Focusing on communication and reporting based on meaningful engagement at the local level will also support them to maintain their social license to operate and strengthen their supply chain resilience. They must develop and deploy technology while fully identifying and addressing risks to people, conduct more robust, heightened due diligence when operating in conflict zones, embed conflict-sensitive thinking and practice into governance and procurement, and provide enhanced training programmes to meet the green jobs gap
- Importantly, companies do not need to act alone. Advocating and partnering with governments, trade unions and civil society for strong regulatory approaches to issues like workers’ rights, FPIC, climate change and beyond are equally important
The top ten list and key takeaways:
- Overcoming corporate hushing and sustainability backlash. Political backlash and regulatory upheaval are driving many companies to go quiet about their commitments on climate, social responsibility, diversity, inclusion, and equity, and human rights; a trend commonly referred to as ‘greenhushing’ but applying to sustainability and human rights more broadly. Some companies have not just gone quiet, but are actively walking back support for important initiatives now viewed as politically divisive. At the same time, silence does not mean inaction and many companies are continuing to invest in energy efficiency, defend sustainability regulation, and embrace the concept of a circular economy. However, ‘hushing’ can be dangerous if left unchecked because corporate motivation for sustainability has never been more urgent and going too quiet can sap momentum when it is needed most. The challenge for the year ahead will be to speak publicly of verified claims that make material difference to people’s lives, and provide evidence that good conduct makes business sense. Corporate hushing can be overcome by moving from fear-driven silence to measurable, aligned action - and communicating that action with precision.
- Surmounting setbacks in sustainability legislation. Recent setbacks in international rule making for sustainability include the collapse of the UN Plastics Treaty and the torpedoing of the International Maritime Organisation’s Net-Zero Framework led by governments of Saudi Arabia and the United States. In parallel, EU laws addressing environmental and human rights impacts, such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), have been revised and delayed. This heightened uncertainty and fragmentation of rules is not helpful to companies as it increases operational burdens and compliance costs. Companies implementing a risk-based due diligence approach in line with the UNGPs will be best placed to navigate the regulatory rollercoaster. Focusing on communication and reporting based on meaningful engagement at the local level will also support them to maintain their social license to operate and strengthen their supply chain resilience.
- Unlocking insurance to advance human rights. The insurance sector faces new strains. Climate-driven catastrophes (e.g., wildfires, extreme heat and flooding) are escalating losses and exposing the limitations of traditional models that depend on predictable weather patterns. The poorest and most marginalised - who are often the most vulnerable to adverse impacts of climate change - will be unable to afford increasing premiums or will be dropped by private insurers altogether. Insurers must adapt in three broad ways: improving risk assessment, strengthening resilience, and innovating products. Advanced modelling - integrating AI, geospatial data, and Earth-system science - can help update underwriting assumptions that no longer reflect reality. Insurers will need to invest directly in reducing risks, including supporting resilient building standards, funding nature-based solutions, or backing infrastructure upgrades. In addition, product innovation is essential. For example, ’parametric’ insurance offers faster payouts, including to low-income workers at risk of heat stress. In 2026, governments and insurers should take greater steps to redesign programmes or develop national catastrophe pools to reward mitigation efforts rather than only subsidise risk.
- Protecting workers from AI exploitation and discrimination. There is a human and often hidden workforce behind AI and other tech-based products, including content moderators and data labellers. These workers frequently work under precarious conditions with low pay, little job security, and few legal protections. For those seeking employment, AI-powered hiring tools can embed bias and inequality deep into recruitment systems. This can result in discrimination based on gender, disability, race and ethnicity. AI is a growing part of everyday working life and workers across the world are starting to hold employers to account by using existing discrimination law and other employment laws. Companies that develop and deploy technology without fully identifying and addressing risks to people will face increasing scrutiny in the year ahead.
- Strengthening use of AI in due diligence and audits. The year ahead will see greater debate on AI’s potential role in providing tools for human rights due diligence. The idea is that AI can be used to break down data barriers between sectors, companies and geographies, creating unprecedented visibility over human rights risks that were previously hidden. However, effectively tracking human rights impacts still relies on data quality and coverage. Many AI tools are not able to pull granular data in challenging environments where standard audits may not be possible, such as in Xinjiang, China. Extractive approaches to data gathering run the risk of ‘stealing’ intellectual property from grassroots organisations, Indigenous peoples, and communities. The value of AI tools in human rights due diligence will depend on whether systems, data, and governance are designed around rights-consistent approaches. That includes critical analysis by humans, preferably drawn from across company functions.
- Engaging new players in the defence sector. The world is seeing a surge in conflict not seen since World War II, with at least 100 conflicts recorded in 2025. The scope of industries involved in defence is widening, with countries involved in wars dependent on cloud-based technologies. In addition, large tech companies are reversing ethical safeguards to allow military and surveillance use of their products. In the year ahead, the use of machine learning and autonomous weapons systems (AWS), and the finance behind defence spending will come under increasing scrutiny. Pension funds and asset managers may continue to relax restrictions on investments in defence companies and, in response, a group of experts and investors is drafting a new set of Principles for Responsible Defence Investment to navigate the challenges of investing in a broad ecosystem of ‘defence-related’ commercial activities, with a fresh focus on hi tech industries. The year ahead will see increasing calls for responsible action by companies with military contracts. The work to deepen understanding and due diligence in a fast evolving and expanding defence sector has just begun.
- Embedding rules to prevent war crime complicity. Scrutiny on corporate complicity in alleged war crimes and armed conflict will likely continue in 2026. Companies that choose to stay in conflict zones will see demands for more robust, heightened due diligence. This includes clear and enforceable rules for companies when operating in conflict zones, and transparent accountability mechanisms that align business actions and commercial behaviour with human-rights and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) obligations. In 2026, it is likely that mandatory standards will continue to be strengthened, even if not applied empirically, and companies will increasingly be expected to embed conflict-sensitive thinking and practice into governance and procurement.
- Understanding risks in asylum and immigration services. Global cross-border displacement is at record levels, driven by conflicts, disasters, persecution, and climate change. Governments are relying on the private sector to provide essential services such as accommodation, catering, healthcare, security, and transport for the individuals involved. However, this shift has raised significant human rights challenges. A lack of adequate safeguards has led to abuse, exploitation, and poor living conditions for many people who leave their countries. Human rights due diligence should be integrated throughout the operations and value chains of companies engaged in these activities.
- Plugging labour shortages in the green jobs market. For the first time, renewable energy overtook coal in 2025 as the world’s leading source of electricity. The International Labour Organisation has predicted 24 million new green jobs will be created by 2030 across sectors like construction, manufacturing and mining. Yet there is a shortage of trained workers in green jobs. Businesses must respond through enhanced training programmes and innovative production methods. For example, apprentice programmes in construction have gone beyond government requirements. In Spain, a collective of cooperatives, non-profits, private companies and local authorities is creating low-carbon, affordable housing. Demand for green jobs is an opportunity to increase and improve employment opportunities for groups traditionally under-represented in construction, engineering and energy sectors, including women, people with a disability, and ethnic minorities.
- Confronting the human rights risks of the crypto industry. Cryptocurrency markets continue to expand globally. The broader $3 trillion crypto-ecosystem is estimated to have 962 million users by 2026. However, the crypto industry is facing increased scrutiny for its social and environmental impacts, particularly in regions with weak regulation, political instability, or high energy dependency. The decentralised, cross-border nature of crypto assets makes them attractive for money-laundering, sanctions evasion, human trafficking financing, and other illicit actions. Energy intensive crypto-mining operations cause environmental pollution, strain local infrastructure, degrade land and water, and harm communities. The year ahead will likely see more red flags about the adverse impacts of the industry on human rights and the environment, and more calls for stronger regulation.
