Over the last 25 years of a four-decade career, Bennett Freeman has worked at the intersection of governments, international institutions, multinational corporations, responsible investors, and NGOs to establish global standards for corporate responsibility and accountability. A longstanding and innovative leader in the business and human rights arena, he has played critical roles in founding and building multi-stakeholder initiatives and coalitions to protect human rights and labor rights around the world.
Freeman is an Associate Fellow of Chatham House in the Global Economy and Finance Program, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations in 2001, and a frequent university lecturer, international conference speaker, and media commentator. Freeman consults for major corporations, foundations, and NGOs through Bennett Freeman Associates LLC. He is the lead author of Shared Space Under Pressure: Business Support for Civic Freedoms and Human Rights Defenders published by the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) and International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) in September 2018.
Freeman serves on the U.S. State Department Responsible Business Advisory Committee (appointed July 2024). Freeman co-founded and led the diplomatic efforts of the Cotton Campaign that played an instrumental role in ending massive state-imposed forced labor in Uzbekistan. He co-founded and serves on the steering committee of B4Ukraine. He is Chair of the Advisory Board of the Conflict Risk Network
(CRN), Vice Chair of the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) and serves on the advisory councils of the Investor Alliance for Human Rights (IAHR), the Business and Conflict Community of Practice, the Copper Mark, and Business for America (BFA). He was Chair of the Global Witness Advisory Board from 2011-20 and Chair of EG Justice from 2008-22. He was a founding Trustee of the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) from 2009-15 and co-founded the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) in 2013. He co-founded and served as Vice Chair/Board Secretary of the Global Network Initiative (GNI) from 2010- 20. He served on the boards of Oxfam America (OA) from 2002-10, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) from 2006-09, and the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) from 2008-19.
As Senior Vice President for Sustainability Research and Policy at Calvert Investments from April 2006- April 2015, he led the Bethesda MD-based firm’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) research for over 40 mutual funds, developed investment themes for innovative new funds, and directed its shareholder advocacy and public policy initiatives. He established or reinforced Calvert’s leadership on human rights and labor extractive revenue transparency and conflict minerals; internet freedom of expression and privacy; climate policy and water sustainability; corporate board diversity and workplace gender equity.
As Managing Director at Burson-Marsteller from May 2003-March 2006, Freeman led the Global Corporate Responsibility practice and advised multinational corporations on policy development, stakeholder engagement and communications strategies related to labor and human rights. As Principal of Sustainable Investment Strategies, he co-authored in 2002 a comprehensive human rights impact assessment (HRIA) of BP’s Tangguh project in West Papua, Indonesia, the first-ever such assessment in any industry.
Freeman served as a Clinton presidential appointee in three positions at the U.S. Department of State. As Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor from April 1999-January 2001, Freeman directed bilateral human rights diplomacy and led the year-long multi-stakeholder dialogue and negotiations to develop and launch the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights as the global human rights standard for oil and mining companies. He directed the diplomacy and historical research related to Holocaust-era assets as Senior Advisor to Under Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Stuart Eizenstat from April 1997-March 1999. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and chief speechwriter for Secretary of State Warren Christopher from April 1993-January 1997.
Freeman was Manager-Corporate Affairs for GE in the corporate headquarters and corporate government relations office from February 1985-April 1993. He began his career as a presidential campaign speechwriter and aide for former Vice President Walter Mondale from February 1982-November 1984.
Bennett Freeman earned an AB in History (Highest Honors and Phi Beta Kappa) from Berkeley in 1979 and an MA (Honours) in Modern History from Oxford in 1981 as a Churchill Scholar at Balliol College.
