OCE-C.01.A - Child Labour Age Verification Disclosure
Does the company disclose whether it verifies the age of workers recruited in its own operations to ensure they are not engaged in child labour?
About the data
The WBA Ocean Benchmark measures and ranks the world's most influential companies on their efforts to halt and reverse nature loss in marine ecosystems, tracking how companies manage their impacts on ocean biodiversity, marine habitats, and the communities and workers dependent on healthy seas. The 2026 edition is WBA's first Ocean Benchmark, assessing 125 companies across key sectors dependent on oceans, including seafood, maritime transport, offshore wind energy, shipbuilding, port operations, apparel, and chemicals. Companies are assessed on 47 indicators across four measurement areas: governance, ecosystems and biodiversity, social responsibility, and core social indicators. The benchmark builds on WBA's Nature Benchmark and the former Seafood Stewardship Index, and its methodology was developed with input from more than 50 stakeholders including ocean communities, companies, scientists and civil society, with human rights and social impacts kept at its core alongside nature-specific concerns. More information can be found here.
Methodology
Accurate statistics on the number of children working at sea are unavailable, but estimates
suggest up to 10 million children may be involved. Child labour deprives them of their childhood,
education and dignity, posing serious risks to their emotional and physical development. It is often
exploitative and dangerous and perpetuates cycles of poverty, limiting future societal growth and
sustainable development. Businesses, particularly those operating in global supply chains, bear the
responsibility to ensure that their operations do not contribute to or benefit from child labour.
Research Guidance:
The company must ensure it verifies the age of workers in its own operations to prevent child labour.
Age verification
The company must have a formal system to verify the age of all workers before recruitment. This could include checking identification documents and cross-referencing these records with educational and employment histories.
If the company is part of a third-party auditing scheme, such as SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit), they must ensure auditors record the process by which age is checked at recruitment and how these records are maintained.
Scope: It must ensure this verification is applied universally across all its operations and geographies.
It is not sufficient if the company simply mentions that they comply with local child labour laws without demonstrating a clear process for age verification.
suggest up to 10 million children may be involved. Child labour deprives them of their childhood,
education and dignity, posing serious risks to their emotional and physical development. It is often
exploitative and dangerous and perpetuates cycles of poverty, limiting future societal growth and
sustainable development. Businesses, particularly those operating in global supply chains, bear the
responsibility to ensure that their operations do not contribute to or benefit from child labour.
Research Guidance:
The company must ensure it verifies the age of workers in its own operations to prevent child labour.
Age verification
The company must have a formal system to verify the age of all workers before recruitment. This could include checking identification documents and cross-referencing these records with educational and employment histories.
If the company is part of a third-party auditing scheme, such as SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit), they must ensure auditors record the process by which age is checked at recruitment and how these records are maintained.
Scope: It must ensure this verification is applied universally across all its operations and geographies.
It is not sufficient if the company simply mentions that they comply with local child labour laws without demonstrating a clear process for age verification.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report