Global Child Forum’s Children’s Rights & Business Benchmark shows momentum amid global uncertainty

Global Child Forum, in collaboration with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), today releases The State of Children’s Rights & Business: Benchmark Report 2025, the world’s most comprehensive assessment of how major companies address their impacts on children. This year’s study evaluates 1,806 companies across eight sectors and 33 industries, offering fresh insight into how businesses are moving from policy to practice. 

In a world marked by overlapping crises, one question is growing ever more urgent: how can companies create long-term value while protecting those most vulnerable — our children? This year’s benchmark offers cautious optimism. For the first time in years, the global average score has risen, pointing to a shift from promises to measurable progress. 

The key question now: what’s driving the change? Are companies genuinely embedding children’s rights — or responding to tightening regulatory frameworks? 

Emerging markets are closing the gap 
Companies in Latin America (LATAM) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are advancing, narrowing the gap with traditional leaders. Tightening regulations, rising consumer expectations, rapid digital adoption, and growing civil society scrutiny could be catalyzing change across these regions. Companies are moving faster to embed child-safe product design, responsible marketing, and due diligence practices.  Meanwhile, Europe’s long-standing leadership is plateauing, hinting at a “glass ceiling” of compliance that will require renewed innovation to break. Sector shifts are also notable: Technology & Telecommunications lead the field, setting new standards for child protection and digital responsibility. 

Above all, one factor stands out: leadership matters. Companies that elevated children’s rights to a board-level priority improved more than three times faster than those that did not — a wake-up call for boardrooms globally. 

“Progress in a volatile world is never accidental. This year’s uptick shows what happens when leadership takes responsibility — when boards move children’s rights from the margins to the mandate. But momentum is not mission accomplished. The real test is whether policies and disclosures translate into safer supply chains, responsible marketing, better product design, and stronger community outcomes for children,” said Ekin Björstedt, Secretary General of Global Child Forum. 

US Momentum slows amid fragmented policy landscape 

While Latin America recorded the fastest regional growth in 2025, North America’s progress slowed, rising by just 11% year-on-year (from 4.7 to 5.2). Although still above the global average (5.0), the region’s lead is shrinking as others accelerate. Progress varies sharply by sector: while companies such as PepsiCo, Hershey, and Verizon continue to perform strongly, B2B and Consumer Discretionary sectors lag, pulling down the regional average. 

This slowdown reflects a fragmented policy landscape. Amid uneven US federal action and divergent state regulations, companies face an inconsistent operating environment. As a result, corporate leadership — not regulation — is increasingly driving progress, making sustained, large-scale change more difficult to achieve. 

“We’re seeing signs that companies are moving from compliance to commitment — and from transparency toward transformation. The data also suggests that where senior leadership is engaged, change accelerates. The opportunity now is to lock in that progress, scale what works, and ensure that children’s rights become a durable part of business strategy,” said Johan Öberg, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group, Stockholm. 

Linda Ravin Lodding
Head of Communications 
Global Child Forum
+46 (0) 72 387 0248