Programme Overview
Business is about people. Directly or indirectly, businesses often impact the human rights of their employees and contract workers, workers in their supply chains, the communities around their operations and the end users of their products or services. Businesses impact virtually the entire spectrum of internationally recognized human rights.
As a result, companies have both a responsibility and an opportunity to advance human rights across their operations, supply chains and beyond.
The Business & Human Rights Accelerator is a three-month programme designed to help companies turn their commitment to human rights and labour rights into action. Through global workshops, regional and in-country peer learning, on-demand resources and guidance from Global Compact Country Networks, participants apply human rights due diligence to their own business context.
The Accelerator helps companies scope their value chain, identify and prioritize their most salient human rights and labour rights risks and define actions to address them in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and other international standards.
By the end of the programme, companies will have a practical Action Plan to take forward within their business — moving from understanding and commitment to concrete action.
What You Will Take Away
- A practical Action Plan to address your most salient human rights and labour rights risks.
- A clear starting point for your company’s human rights journey and responsibilities.
- Prioritized risks and impacts across your value chain.
- An ongoing due diligence approach aligned with the UN Guiding Principles.
- Readiness for evolving requirements on human rights due diligence.
- Stronger stakeholder engagement and remedy to address impacts on people.
- A network of peers, UN partners and experts to support continued action.
- A certificate of completion recognizing your participation in the Accelerator.
Information Session
We invite you to register for our virtual live Q&A session on 22 October 2026 to help you better understand the inner workings of the Accelerator, what you can expect to learn and achieve, and provide answers to any other questions you might have. Select the session that works best for your time zone:
Your Accelerator Journey
- Global opening and introduction to the UN Guiding Principles: Participants are introduced to the Business & Human Rights Accelerator programme.
- On-demand course completion: Participants gain foundational understanding of the UN Guiding Principles and the human rights due diligence process.
- Local welcome session: Participants attend a virtual/in-person localized session facilitated by UN Global Compact Country Networks.
There will be three global virtual workshops, during which participants will:
- Scope the company value chain, identify potential risks, prioritize salient human rights impacts and understand their involvement with those impacts.
- Start developing specific actions and related metrics based on salient human rights risks prioritized.
- Understand how to effectively engage affected stakeholders and communicate their impacts.
Participants will attend in-country sessions and a regional peer-learning session that cover key regional priorities as well as the important aspects of remedy and grievance mechanisms.
Participants will be engaged in at least two local sessions, however Country Networks may extend this phase of the Accelerator. More details will be provided by relevant Country Networks as to the number and frequency of engagements.
Who can participate
The Accelerator is designed for companies with a foundational understanding of human rights and labour rights that are ready to put this knowledge into practice. It supports companies in turning existing commitments into a practical plan of action and taking the next step in advancing human rights due diligence. To take part in this programme, companies are required to be participants of the UN Global Compact or willing to join. Your company should also be:
- Currently engaged with a Global Compact Country Network in your region or willing to join
- Willing to identify its human rights risks and impacts and scope a core area of your value chain for further focus
- Committed to developing and submitting an Action Plan to help address the human rights risks identified and prioritized
- Committed to completing all of the mandatory programme requirements
- Able to appoint two working-level representatives to attend sessions and participate in Accelerator activities and an additional executive-level representative to follow programme developments, provide support and participate in high-level events
- Commit to applying the programme outcomes across the company's strategy and operations
Learn what participating companies are saying
Interested in Participating?
In-Country Track: In-country tracks are facilitated by UN Global Compact Country Networks in the local language and local time zone. Participants gain a unique local perspective, participate in peer-learning and benefit from the one-on-one support of their Country Network.
In addition to the in-country tracks, there will be several regional tracks.
Africa Track: The Africa track will bring together companies from across the continent and offer the same curriculum as the in-country track with unique collaborative regional sessions delivered by UN Global Compact Country Networks.
Asia Track: The Asia track will bring together companies from across the continent and offer the same curriculum as the in-country track with unique collaborative regional sessions delivered by UN Global Compact Country Networks.
Latin America Track: The Latin America Track will bring together companies from across the continent and offer the same curriculum as the in-country track with unique collaborative regional sessions delivered by UN Global Compact Country Networks.
Global Track: Facilitated in English, the global track is available for companies that do not have a Country Network running the Business & Human Rights Accelerator. It will offer the same curriculum as the in-country track. Space is limited. Please apply early.
Participating companies of the UN Global Compact based in the countries below have the opportunity to sign up to the in-country track through their Global Compact Country Network. If your company is not located in one of the countries below, you can still apply to the global track.
For any questions, please contact bhraccelerator@unglobalcompact.org
The Business & Human Rights Accelerator will be offered by these Country Networks:
- Austria
- Bangladesh
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Central America and Dominican Republic
- Central Asia Track
- China
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Iceland
- Indian Ocean
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Korea
- Lebanon
- Malaysia & Brunei
- Mexico
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland & Liechtenstein
- Türkiye
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- Uruguay
- United States of America
Timeline
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Applications Open: |
Application Deadline: |
Accelerator Begins: |
In collaboration with:
Delivered through the UN Global Compact Academy.
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