FAB-D.05.C - Business Relationship FPIC Requirement
Does the company require its business relationships to obtain free, prior and informed consent?
About the data
The WBA Food and Agriculture Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential food and agriculture companies on their efforts to transform global food systems, tracking how companies work towards food that is healthy and nutritious, produced sustainably within planetary boundaries, and accessible and fairly produced for all. The 2026 edition assessed 350 companies spanning the entirety of the food and agriculture value chain, from agricultural inputs and commodities through to manufacturing, retail, and food service. Companies were scored on 23 food and agriculture-specific indicators and 18 core social indicators across four measurement areas: governance, sustainable food systems, healthy food systems, and inclusive food systems. The benchmark is developed in close collaboration with an Expert Review Committee and is designed to incentivise the most influential companies in the sector to adopt sustainable business practices across their own operations and supply chains, addressing critical issues including greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, freshwater use, nutrition, and living incomes for farmers, with human rights and social equity at its core. More information can be found here.
Methodology
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 expecting or requiring its business partners to obtain free, prior and informed consent, including clearly demonstrating whether FPIC was a determining factor for the way in which a project proceeds. Companies must demonstrate at least one of the following:
Commitment to obtaining (and maintaining) Free, Prior and Informed Consent (for all relevant projects)
Commitment to the [ICMM position statement on Indigenous Peoples](https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/our-principles/position-statements/indigenous-peoples), which includes a commitment to obtain agreement with affected indigenous peoples by following an FPIC process.
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 requires its business relationships to obtain free, prior and informed consent for its. 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 cover all company‚s business relationships comprehensively and none should be excluded.
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.
Examples of weak language leading to unmet includes:
Commitment to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples to consultation.
Recognition of FPIC as an important process / promoting FPIC, or similar.
Statements with insufficient commitment language. E.g., seeking to apply (the principles of) FPIC / striving to obtain FPIC.
Limitations on when FPIC should and should not be obtained, i.e. where practical‚, or only mentioning specific locations.
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 expecting or requiring its business partners to obtain free, prior and informed consent, including clearly demonstrating whether FPIC was a determining factor for the way in which a project proceeds. Companies must demonstrate at least one of the following:
Commitment to obtaining (and maintaining) Free, Prior and Informed Consent (for all relevant projects)
Commitment to the [ICMM position statement on Indigenous Peoples](https://www.icmm.com/en-gb/our-principles/position-statements/indigenous-peoples), which includes a commitment to obtain agreement with affected indigenous peoples by following an FPIC process.
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 requires its business relationships to obtain free, prior and informed consent for its. 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 cover all company‚s business relationships comprehensively and none should be excluded.
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.
Examples of weak language leading to unmet includes:
Commitment to respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples to consultation.
Recognition of FPIC as an important process / promoting FPIC, or similar.
Statements with insufficient commitment language. E.g., seeking to apply (the principles of) FPIC / striving to obtain FPIC.
Limitations on when FPIC should and should not be obtained, i.e. where practical‚, or only mentioning specific locations.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report