UNICEF Report Finds Asian Companies Falling Short on Reporting Their Impact on Children’s Rights

UNICEF Report Finds Asian Companies Falling Short on Reporting Their Impact on Children’s Rights
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A new UNICEF study has found that while many companies across Asia have adopted general human rights commitments, most fail to identify, measure, or report their impacts on children, leaving significant gaps in corporate sustainability practices.

The report, titled “Making Children Count: Sustainability Reporting across Emerging Asia,” examined 1,399 listed companies in nine Asian countries, including Viet Nam, and found that children remain largely absent from corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting despite representing about one-third of the region’s population.

In Viet Nam, UNICEF and the Centre for Child Rights and Business reviewed 109 companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi stock exchanges. The companies received an average score of 57 out of 260, below the regional average of 77.7, indicating that children’s rights are still at an early stage of integration into business strategies.

The study found that 83 percent of Vietnamese companies reported supporting child-related community initiatives, but formal commitments to children’s rights remain limited. Only 37 percent explicitly addressed child labour risks, while no companies reported commitments to promoting living wages across supply chains.

Across the region, nearly three-quarters of companies reported human rights commitments, and 88 percent disclosed child-focused community activities as part of corporate social responsibility efforts. However, only 5 percent identified children as stakeholders, and just 1 percent assessed the impact of their business activities on children.

The report highlighted major shortcomings in areas including climate change, online safety, nutrition, child labour and responsible marketing. Only 2 percent of companies mentioned children in climate strategies, fewer than 10 percent of technology firms reported measures to protect children online, and only 3 percent committed to child-protective marketing practices.

On child labour, although 72 percent of companies had related policies, only 2 percent explained how they would address confirmed cases, and just 3 percent supported suppliers in improving labour practices.

UNICEF called on businesses, governments, investors and consumers to make children’s rights a central part of sustainability decisions, urging companies to move beyond commitments by identifying, managing and reporting their impacts on children. The organization said stronger child-focused corporate practices could help build healthier, more skilled and more resilient societies across Asia.