When companies seek to acquire or lease land for their business activities, it can lead to
relocation and loss of shelter or livelihoods for communities or individual households (IFC, 2012a). In
countries where national governance and land administration are weak, local and Indigenous communities are more exposed to rights violations and displacement (WRI, 2017). Indigenous peoples
are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts associated with land development projects,
including risk of impoverishment and loss of culture, identity and natural resource-based livelihoods
(IFC, 2012b). Protecting and securing Indigenous peoples’ rights has been recognised as crucial to
advancing conservation, restoration and climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies (WRI,
2019).


Research Guidance:


The company must disclose an explicit commitment to respect the ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights as set out by either:
The [Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs](https://www.fao.org/tenure/voluntary-guidelines/en/)), or
The [International Finance Corporation (IFC) performance standards](https://www.ifc.org/en/insights-reports/2012/ifc-performance-standards)

This element goes beyond a commitment to Indigenous land rights as it is relevant for every population or community, including urban communities or communities relying on resources that are not on land (e.g. coastal and marine). It is not sufficient to follow local applicable laws around land rights, as many countries have insufficient systems in place to secure land tenure rights.

The commitment must:
Be a publicly available policy statement (e.g. human rights policy/standards; code of conduct). A statement in a sustainability report is insufficient.
Use sufficient commitment language. The wording used in the commitment must be unequivocally clear that the company strongly commits to respect rights related to the ownership and use of land and natural resources. Language that is ambiguous, vague or weak will be considered insufficient to qualify as a clear expression of commitment. For more guidance, please refer to [The Methodology for the 2026 Social Benchmark | World Benchmarking Alliance](https://www.worldbenchmarkingalliance.org/research/the-methodology-for-the-2026-social-benchmark/).
The policy should be applied consistently across all locations regardless of law. A commitment to or compliance with local/national laws alone is not accepted. When conflicting with local/national laws, the commitment must explicitly adhere to the highest possible standard.
The policy should cover the company‚s own operations and supply chain, or the whole value chain. If the commitment is extended directly to other business relations, the compliance must go beyond an expectation‚ or an encouragement‚