Business Minister Jo Swinson has put human rights at the heart of the corporate agenda by pledging government support, including £80,000 start-up funding, for a new human rights benchmark that will assess and rank the corporate human rights performance of international companies. The project has been established by an international group led by Aviva Investors.

Following discussion during a visit to Geneva for the United Nations’ Forum on Business and Human Rights, Jo Swinson is now urging more countries to support the scheme and ensure that the human rights performance of businesses throughout the world is assessed fairly and transparently.