Deadline: November 30, 2026
Applications are open for the UN Global Compact Business & Human Rights Accelerator 2026/2027. 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.
Benefits
- 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.
Eligibility
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.
Application
Fill out the form with information on your company and its nominated representatives for the programme. These representatives may be changed at a later date. Applications close on 30 November 2026. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as space is limited.
For more information, visit UN Global Compact Business & Human Rights Accelerator.
