13 January 2026
We are pleased to share that we have launched our Modern Slavery Global Benchmark 2025.
The benchmark reveals that the 100 largest global listed companies (UK companies excluded) underperform the 100 largest UK companies benchmarked at the end of 2025. The average company score in the global benchmark was 45% meaning it scrapes in to meet basic expectations in efforts to address modern slavery, compared with an average score of 59.6% for UK companies. The gap reflects lower compliance by global companies with the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 and lower disclosure of voluntary efforts to find, fix and prevent modern slavery.
About the benchmark
The benchmark assesses the modern slavery related disclosures of the top 100 non-UK-listed companies by market capitalisation (as of 31 March 2025), that ‘supply goods or services’ in the UK and are therefore subject to Section 54 of the UK Modern Slavery Act. It also includes 11 companies that were assessed in the pilot and have been retained for ongoing analysis.
At CCLA, we believe all large, listed companies are exposed to this risk through global operations and supply chains.1 But, they can implement policies to actively find, fix and prevent modern slavery and set corporate and industry standards with good practice.
What can investors do in the fight against modern slavery?
Work with business leaders and engage with companies to ensure that better practices are normalised and incentivised.
Use the benchmark framework when engaging with portfolio companies to identify areas where a company is not performing well and where it can take additional steps.
Consider voting against the financial statements and annual reports of companies in the lowest performance tiers (4 or 5), and those that do not respond positively to engagement.
Consider joining collaborative investor engagement programmes such as Find it, Fix it, Prevent it and Rathbones’ Votes Against Slavery campaign.2
Investors have a key role to play in helping companies to deliver systemic change in the fight against modern slavery. The benchmark provides investors with a tool to regularly and consistently assess companies’ modern slavery commitments and practices, highlighting progress and where more work is needed.
Dr Martin Buttle, Better Work Lead at CCLA
Modern slavery global trends
50 million people are trapped in modern slavery; 28 million of these are victims of forced labour. This figure is not static; it is growing.3
$236 billion is generated every year in illegal profits from forced labour.4
86% of all forced labour is found in the private sector, with industry, services, agriculture and domestic work accounting for 89% of all victims.5
1 International Labour Organization (2022), ‘Global estimates of modern slavery: forced labour and forced marriage’, online at www.ilo.org/publications/major-publications/global-estimates-modern-slavery-forced-labour-and-forced-marriage
2 CCLA (2025), ‘Find it, Fix it, Prevent it: modern slavery report 2024’, online at www.ccla.co.uk/sustainability/initiatives/modern-slavery; Rathbones (2025), ‘Votes against slavery’, online at www.rathbones.com/en-gb/wealth-management/responsible-investment/votes-against-slavery
3 Walk Free (2021), ‘Global Slavery Index’, online at www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index
4 International Labour Organization (2024), ‘Profits and poverty: the economics of forced labour’, online at www.ilo.org/publications/major-publications/profits-and-poverty-economics-forced-labour
5 International Labour Organization (2024), ‘Profits and poverty: the economics of forced labour’, online at www.ilo.org/publications/major-publications/profits-and-poverty-economics-forced-labour