Global Child Forum partners with CTI to integrate AI-assisted data collection into its benchmark scoring process

Global Child Forum is pleased to announce a new collaboration with CTI to support the introduction of AI-assisted screening for the research and data collection that underpins our benchmark scoring process. The partnership will support Global Child Forum’s ongoing work to assess how the world’s most influential companies respond to children’s rights across their operations and value chains.  

Global Child Forum’s benchmark scores are based on publicly available company information. As of 2026, Global Child Forum is partnering with CTI as a data provider and is utilising CTI and their AI service to help identify and collect Benchmark Data.

Global Child Forum is using AI to collect data for all indicators to increase time efficiency—while still ensuring that all AI outputs are reviewed for accuracy against its benchmark methodology.

“Credible benchmarking depends on two things: methodological integrity and high-quality data,” said Ekin Ergün Björstedt, Secretary General, Global Child Forum. “By working with CTI, we’re strengthening our ability to identify and structure publicly available disclosures efficiently—while keeping robust human review at the centre of our process. That means better consistency, better traceability, and ultimately more actionable insights for companies and investors working to respect and support children’s rights.”

CTI is a Stockholm-based AI-powered software company focused on efficiently finding and extracting ESG data from public disclosures. CTI’s proprietary AI workflow is designed to find annual and sustainability reports from companies worldwide, and scan webpages and convert all information into structured, source-traceable and actionable ESG data—reducing the inefficiencies and error risks of manual data collection.

“It is truly an honour to work with such a globally credible benchmark as Global Child Forum,” said Christian Patay, CEO & Founder, CTI. “This collaboration shows what becomes possible when mission-driven research is paired with the latest technology and innovation: highly efficient data retrieval, optimised human efforts, and a clearer audit trail back to the original source—while preserving human quality assurance at every step.”

How the AI-enabled workflow supports the benchmark

Under the new collaboration, CTI’s tooling supports the screening and collection of Benchmark Data, which then feeds into Global Child Forum’s scoring process:

• AI-Powered data retrieval: CTI’s workflow uses the latest AI technologies to find corporate sources such as annual and sustainability reports as well as webpages, published policies and various statements, and converts the information into structured, source-traceable data.
• Quality assurance: All collected data is quality checked automatically and Global Child Forum’s human analysts conduct a guided quality check (Global Child Forum applies an additional final review on all data) to ensure alignment with Global Child Forum’s methodology and indicator requirements.

This combined approach prioritises AI-driven efficiency where possible, while safeguarding accuracy through domain expert validation.

Building on Global Child Forum’s AI pilots

Global Child Forum began testing AI-enabled enhancements to its benchmark process in 2025, with the ambition to improve the speed, depth, and quality of insights derived from its dataset. The collaboration with CTI represents the next stage: integrating an AI-assisted provider workflow that has been customised to Global Child Forum’s benchmark needs and quality requirements.

Media Contact

Global Child Forum
Linda Ravin Lodding, Head of Communications
Email: linda.lodding@globalchildforum.org

Since 2013, Global Child Forum has benchmarked companies in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to assess corporate performance on children’s rights. Global Child Forum’s business universe is the SDG2000 (identified by the World Benchmarking Alliance as the most influential companies for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030). To date, Global Child Forum has assessed nearly 3,000 companies. Global Child Forum’s latest global benchmark analyses 1,806 of the world’s most influential companies.