OCE-C.03.D - Living Income Gap Closure Progress Tracking
Does the company track progress towards closing living income gaps in its supply chain?
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 provide quantitative data on how it has improved over the years on closing living income gaps in its supply chain.
To meet this element, the company must have a living income programme in place and thus it must meet two requirements:
Quantitative data
To fulfil this requirement, companies need to disclose quantitative data on living income. Living income metrics can include actual net income of focus area and change in the living income gap, or other progress metrics to track changes in income drivers over time. Examples are (non-exhaustive):
Net household income
Number/share of producers who earn a living income
Progress metrics related to income drivers: total volume sold; yield; production cost; volume purchased with premium; off-farm income.
Progress
To fulfil this requirement, the quantitative data reported by the company needs be comparable and demonstrate improvement.
The data should not be older than the last two years.
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 provide quantitative data on how it has improved over the years on closing living income gaps in its supply chain.
To meet this element, the company must have a living income programme in place and thus it must meet two requirements:
Quantitative data
To fulfil this requirement, companies need to disclose quantitative data on living income. Living income metrics can include actual net income of focus area and change in the living income gap, or other progress metrics to track changes in income drivers over time. Examples are (non-exhaustive):
Net household income
Number/share of producers who earn a living income
Progress metrics related to income drivers: total volume sold; yield; production cost; volume purchased with premium; off-farm income.
Progress
To fulfil this requirement, the quantitative data reported by the company needs be comparable and demonstrate improvement.
The data should not be older than the last two years.
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