A new report helps companies move from ambition to action, drawing on insights from UN Global Compact Network Denmark's Living Wage Think Lab.
How can we ensure that wages are sufficient to provide a decent standard of living?
This question was the starting point for a Living Wage Think Lab convened by UN Global Compact Network Denmark in 2025–2026 in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation.
Through dialogue with experts and one another, 18 participating companies explored the challenges, opportunities and benefits of implementing or further developing their work on living wages, both within their own operations and across their value chains.
“We want to ensure a continuous EcoVadis platinum rating of Aasted and one of the reporting areas that was implemented during 2024-2025 was metrics on paying a living wage. This was a clear business driver for us to get started”, says Amanda Rasmussen, former Sustainability Partner at Aasted, one of the companies that participated in the Think Lab.
Insights from the Living Wage Think Lab have now been published in the new report Foundations of living wage action, which provides practical tools to help companies turn ideas into concrete action on living wages.
Tools to take the first steps
A key message of the report is that companies do not need a comprehensive master plan to begin working on living wages, says Silke Sønderstrup-Granquist, Head of Human Rights & Social Sustainability at UN Global Compact Network Denmark and lead author of the report.
"Living wage implementation will look different in every company. Don’t let imperfect data prevent you from taking the first step. Instead, let your strategic approach be guided by a willingness to start where the risks to workers are greatest and where your organization has the strongest leverage”, says Silke Sønderstrup-Granquist.
Inspiration from company cases
The report introduces the concept of a living wage and provides guidance on practical implementation, building a business case and addressing living wages in supply chains. These insights are illustrated through case studies highlighting the strategic approaches to living wages taken by Aasted, Pandora, Kentaur and Unilever.
“The path we set out in the Think Lab and the report moves from understanding where a company stands, to building ownership and direction, to turning commitment into measurable progress”, says Silke Sønderstrup-Granquist.
She emphasizes that there are many benefits to ensuring living wages for both a company's own employees and workers across its value chain. In addition to improving overall living conditions, living wages have been shown to contribute to employee well-being, more resilient supply chains and improved workers' rights.
