OCE-C.03.B - Living Income Gap Closure Collaboration
Does the company disclose how it works with food producers or suppliers to improve livelihoods and close living income gaps through responsible procurement or supply chain support?
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
In many parts of the world, households continue to struggle to make ends meet, with
average incomes often hovering around or below the poverty line (Oxfam, 2021) and falling far short
of the living income3 benchmark, which represents the cost of a decent standard of living. Global
trade holds the potential to significantly reduce poverty, and companies that source products from
the sea and land have a shared responsibility to ensure their trading practices and sustainability
programmes enable producers to earn a fair and decent livelihood.
Research Guidance:
The company must disclose a living income program(s) in relation to procurement practices, pricing practices or supports to its supply chain.
A living income program is defined as a program where: 1) a baseline living income gap has been measured and challenges have been assessed, 2) a mix of interventions are used to address challenges to multiple income drivers, 3) the goal of the program is explicitly to narrow the living income gap, 4) the program is accompanied by a monitoring and learning agenda (LICOP, 2024).
Note: reference to both 1) baseline living income gap measured and challenges identified and 3) the goal of the program is explicitly to narrow the living income gap (or similar wording) is required. If the company does not disclose 2) a mix of interventions and 4) monitoring and learning agenda, the requirement is met.
The company discloses at least one of the following:
A) The company demonstrates activities to improve farmer/fisher income resilience through its trading practices and supply chain relationships for some commodities and/or regions.
This element considers how companies can positively influence the income prospects and stability of farmers and fishers through negotiating favourable terms of exchange.
Examples of accepted disclosure (non-exhaustive list):
The company demonstrates more direct and long-term trading relationships with farmers/fishers
The company demonstrates how it contributes to the stability of farmers/fishers income through contracts (contract length, price guarantees and premiums)
The company demonstrates how it is sourcing more types of products from farmers/fishers
The company demonstrates how it creates new products that could increase farmers/fishers income (for example, a supermarket creates a new consumer facing dairy product from which the dairy farmer that provided the milk, also receives a percentage of all the sales).
The company discloses how it pays premiums towards living income for some commodities, for example by paying the Living Income Reference Price or Living Income Differential.
B) The company demonstrates that it works with and supports farmers and fishers in its supply chain.
The company discloses how it works to support individual and groups of farmers/fishers and enable them to exert more influence and act strategically in their relationships with buyers.
Examples of accepted disclosure (non-exhaustive list):
The company demonstrates how it supports strengthening farmer organizations and cooperatives, for example by providing them support in professionalising their operations, business management, or access to markets
The company demonstrates how it fosters the active participation and leadership of farmers and their representative organisations in the design and implementation of living income strategies OR how it makes robust farmer/fisher feedback loops and grievance mechanisms central to assessing the progress and success of living income strategies
The company demonstrates how it supports income diversification and on-farm improvements, such as storage facilities, to increase farmer/fisher bargaining power and their ability to act strategically (e.g. not sell when prices are at lowest)
The company demonstrates how it supports farmer/fishers ability to upgrade into higher value-added activities e.g. through facilitating access to finance.
In case the company doesnt have farmers/fishers directly in its supply chain, it can demonstrate activities that create enabling environment to improve livelihoods and closing living income gaps, such as advocacy efforts, analysing and adapting purchasing practices to enable suppliers to work toward closing living income gaps.
DEFINITIONS
Living income: The net annual income required for a household in a particular place to afford a decent standard of living for all members of that household. Elements of a decent standard of living include food, clean water, sanitary housing, education, healthcare, transportation, clothing, and other essential needs including provision for unexpected events.
How is it different from living wage? The concept of a living wage is applicable in the context of hired workers, such as farm or factory workers, who receive a salary for their labour. Living income, on the other hand, refers to situations of self-employment and is applicable to farmers, fishers and small-scale producers.
Living income benchmark: An estimate of the cost of a basic and decent standard of living for a household in the area. It answers the question: how much does a typical household in a particular place need to earn, from all income sources, in order to live a decent standard of living?
Living income gap: The difference between the living income benchmark and current income of a typical farming/fishing household in a certain location.
average incomes often hovering around or below the poverty line (Oxfam, 2021) and falling far short
of the living income3 benchmark, which represents the cost of a decent standard of living. Global
trade holds the potential to significantly reduce poverty, and companies that source products from
the sea and land have a shared responsibility to ensure their trading practices and sustainability
programmes enable producers to earn a fair and decent livelihood.
Research Guidance:
The company must disclose a living income program(s) in relation to procurement practices, pricing practices or supports to its supply chain.
A living income program is defined as a program where: 1) a baseline living income gap has been measured and challenges have been assessed, 2) a mix of interventions are used to address challenges to multiple income drivers, 3) the goal of the program is explicitly to narrow the living income gap, 4) the program is accompanied by a monitoring and learning agenda (LICOP, 2024).
Note: reference to both 1) baseline living income gap measured and challenges identified and 3) the goal of the program is explicitly to narrow the living income gap (or similar wording) is required. If the company does not disclose 2) a mix of interventions and 4) monitoring and learning agenda, the requirement is met.
The company discloses at least one of the following:
A) The company demonstrates activities to improve farmer/fisher income resilience through its trading practices and supply chain relationships for some commodities and/or regions.
This element considers how companies can positively influence the income prospects and stability of farmers and fishers through negotiating favourable terms of exchange.
Examples of accepted disclosure (non-exhaustive list):
The company demonstrates more direct and long-term trading relationships with farmers/fishers
The company demonstrates how it contributes to the stability of farmers/fishers income through contracts (contract length, price guarantees and premiums)
The company demonstrates how it is sourcing more types of products from farmers/fishers
The company demonstrates how it creates new products that could increase farmers/fishers income (for example, a supermarket creates a new consumer facing dairy product from which the dairy farmer that provided the milk, also receives a percentage of all the sales).
The company discloses how it pays premiums towards living income for some commodities, for example by paying the Living Income Reference Price or Living Income Differential.
B) The company demonstrates that it works with and supports farmers and fishers in its supply chain.
The company discloses how it works to support individual and groups of farmers/fishers and enable them to exert more influence and act strategically in their relationships with buyers.
Examples of accepted disclosure (non-exhaustive list):
The company demonstrates how it supports strengthening farmer organizations and cooperatives, for example by providing them support in professionalising their operations, business management, or access to markets
The company demonstrates how it fosters the active participation and leadership of farmers and their representative organisations in the design and implementation of living income strategies OR how it makes robust farmer/fisher feedback loops and grievance mechanisms central to assessing the progress and success of living income strategies
The company demonstrates how it supports income diversification and on-farm improvements, such as storage facilities, to increase farmer/fisher bargaining power and their ability to act strategically (e.g. not sell when prices are at lowest)
The company demonstrates how it supports farmer/fishers ability to upgrade into higher value-added activities e.g. through facilitating access to finance.
In case the company doesnt have farmers/fishers directly in its supply chain, it can demonstrate activities that create enabling environment to improve livelihoods and closing living income gaps, such as advocacy efforts, analysing and adapting purchasing practices to enable suppliers to work toward closing living income gaps.
DEFINITIONS
Living income: The net annual income required for a household in a particular place to afford a decent standard of living for all members of that household. Elements of a decent standard of living include food, clean water, sanitary housing, education, healthcare, transportation, clothing, and other essential needs including provision for unexpected events.
How is it different from living wage? The concept of a living wage is applicable in the context of hired workers, such as farm or factory workers, who receive a salary for their labour. Living income, on the other hand, refers to situations of self-employment and is applicable to farmers, fishers and small-scale producers.
Living income benchmark: An estimate of the cost of a basic and decent standard of living for a household in the area. It answers the question: how much does a typical household in a particular place need to earn, from all income sources, in order to live a decent standard of living?
Living income gap: The difference between the living income benchmark and current income of a typical farming/fishing household in a certain location.
License
Topics
Framework Mappings
Value Type
Category
Options
Yes
No
Assessment
Steward Assessed
Report Type
Aggregate Data Report