Social Performance Benchmarking

Social Performance Benchmarking is the systematic comparison of an organisation's social performance against relevant peers, industry benchmarks, international standards, and best practice — providing an external reference point that helps management understand where the organisation stands relative to comparable organisations and what improvement is needed to reach sector- leading performance. The benchmarking process involves selecting relevant comparators — whether sector peers, geographically similar operations, or organisations recognised as social performance leaders — and comparing performance across defined social metrics including labour standards, community relations, health and safety, human rights, and social investment.

Gaps between current performance and benchmark levels are identified and prioritised for action. It is used to set meaningful social performance targets, support ESG strategy development, inform investor reporting, and provide management with a credible external perspective on social performance — going beyond internal assessments to situate the organisation's performance in a broader context.