International Corporate Accountability Roundtable

What International Corporate Accountability Roundtable does

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) is a U.S.-based non-profit advocacy coalition founded in 2010, headquartered in Washington, D.C., and operating as a fiscally sponsored project of the Tides Center. ICAR convenes a coalition of 40+ civil society organizations spanning climate, labor rights, human rights defenders, supply chains, public procurement, and trade policy, organized around three strategic pillars: Voice (protecting civic space and fighting SLAPPs), Power (combating corporate capture of government), and Accountability (advancing laws and enforcement mechanisms to hold corporations responsible). The organization publishes reports, policy briefs, fact sheets, and National Action Plan assessments; runs the Transparency Pledge Coalition in apparel supply chains; leads the Protect the Protest Task Force against SLAPPs; and operates the Capitol, Inc. Campaign using augmented reality art installations to expose corporate influence.

ICAR's offerings include digital advocacy platforms DefendILAB.com (June 2025) and ApparelData.org (September 2019, a free searchable database on apparel-sector working conditions), the co-founded transnational BHR-Law.org mapping initiative, the Gwynne Skinner Award, an Annual Meeting convening global civil society, and a vetted membership program providing access to listserves, monthly strategy meetings, and coalition campaigns. The organization engages policymakers through submissions to the U.S. Trade Representative, NOAA consultations on forced labor in seafood supply chains, Congressional testimony, and participation in the UN Forum on Business and Human Rights, G20, and EU processes. Recent activities include a March 2025 joint report with CSIS on rights-conscious supply chains and advocacy defending the Bureau of International Labor Affairs against funding elimination.

ICAR is funded through member organization contributions, individual donations solicited via its website, and grants from foundations committed to corporate accountability and human rights. It does not sell products or services and has no fee-for-service revenue model. The organization operates with approximately six staff, including an Interim Executive Director and a Legal & Policy Director, and relies on the Tides Center for administrative, financial, and legal infrastructure.

Name

International Corporate Accountability Roundtable

Legal name

International Corporate Accountability Roundtable

Website

https://icar.ngo

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ICAR is a U.S.-based non-profit advocacy coalition of 40+ civil society organizations working to end corporate abuse of people and the planet, operating three pillars (Voice, Power, Accountability) from Washington, D.C. as a Tides Center fiscally sponsored project.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Accountability Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA)

Keywords

• Corporate accountability advocacy
• Human rights policy research
• Supply chain transparency
• Civil society coalition building
• Business and human rights

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington, D.C.

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fiscal sponsorship via Tides Center: ICAR is a fiscally sponsored project of the Tides Center, meaning it relies on the Tides Center for administrative, financial, and legal infrastructure. Revenue is generated through member organization contributions, individual donations solicited via its website, and grants from foundations and institutional funders committed to corporate accountability and human rights.
2. Membership dues and supporter contributions: Organizations join ICAR as members and contribute to its operations. The organization also accepts donations and support through its website (connect.clickandpledge.com). No fee-for-service revenue model exists.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ICAR is a coalition of 40+ civil society member organizations that advances corporate accountability and human rights through policy research, advocacy campaigns, and convening. Its core deliverables include published reports and policy briefs, free online tools such as the ApparelData.org apparel-sector database and the DefendILAB.com advocacy clearinghouse, the Annual Meeting, and the Gwynne Skinner Award. Membership is granted to eligible civil society organizations through a vetted application process, and the organization operates as a fiscally sponsored project of the Tides Center.

Product overview

ICAR is a coalition/network of 40+ member organizations committed to ending corporate abuse of people and the planet. It operates as a non-profit advocacy organization (fiscally sponsored by the Tides Center) rather than a technology product company. Its offerings include published reports and policy research, advocacy platforms (DefendILAB.com), data resources (ApparelData.org), coalition initiatives (Protect the Protest Task Force, Capitol Inc. Campaign), membership programs with network access, annual meetings, and the Gwynne Skinner Award. The organization focuses on corporate accountability through Voice (protecting civic space), Power (fighting corporate capture), and Accountability (holding corporations responsible) workstreams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Protect the Protest Task Force: A coalition that combines expertise and collective power to fight back against SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) and protect free speech of public interest advocates in the United States.
• Transparency Pledge Coalition
• Capitol, Inc. Campaign
• DefendILAB.com

Products and services

• Reports and Policy Publications

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40 civil society organizations coordinated under a single coalition for corporate accountability advocacy
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Transparency Pledge CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR is a founding member of the Transparency Pledge Coalition, a group of nine global unions and labor/human rights organizations (Clean Clothes Campaign, Human Rights Watch, IndustriALL, International Labor Rights Forum, International Trade Union Confederation, Maquila Solidarity Network, UNI Global Union, Worker Rights Consortium) advocating for supply chain transparency in the apparel sector. Together they developed the Apparel and Footwear Supply Chain Transparency Pledge.
• Protect the Protest Task ForcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR leads the Protect the Protest Task Force, a coalition that combines the expertise and collective power of its members to fight back against SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) and protect the free speech of public interest advocates in the United States.
• Capitol, Inc. CampaignmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR leads the Capitol, Inc. Campaign, a project that uses augmented reality art installations to reveal corporate influence in Washington, D.C. and globally. The campaign commissions artists (including award-winning artist Peter Wu+) to create installations at iconic landmarks, including the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
• International Learning Lab on Public Procurement and Human RightsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR co-founded and participates in the International Learning Lab on Public Procurement and Human Rights, a network of government policymakers, procurement agencies, NGOs, academics, national human rights institutions, and international organizations working to integrate human rights into public procurement. Partner organizations include the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) and the Harrison Institute at Georgetown University Law Center.
• Humanity United ActionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR collaborates with Humanity United Action on joint advocacy, including comments to the U.S. Trade Representative on forced labor and opaque supply chains as foreign trade barriers, and submissions to NOAA on IUU fishing and forced labor in seafood supply chains.
• Human Trafficking Legal Center (HTLC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR partnered with HTLC to submit a comment to the U.S. Trade Representative highlighting forced labor and opaque supply chains as significant foreign trade barriers for the 2026 National Trade Estimate Report.
• Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR partnered with CSIS to publish a joint report, 'Streamlining Government Coordination for Rights-Conscious Supply Chains' (March 2025), highlighting how the U.S. can improve government coordination for a more rights-based approach to supply chain transparency.
• Just SecurityminorOthersICAR's Legal & Policy Director Nicole Vander Meulen authored an article published in Just Security titled 'American Businesses Still Face International Human Rights Obligations, Even as Oversight Diminishes at Home' (June 2025).
• BHR-Law.org (co-founded with ECCJ, CORE Coalition, Above Ground, Public Eye)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR co-founded BHR-Law.org, a website mapping progress in business and human rights in law, launched in December 2023. The site is a joint initiative of ICAR, the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ), CORE Coalition, Above Ground, and Public Eye.
• Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR partnered with FLEX to publish 'Full Disclosure: Toward Better Modern Slavery Reporting' (March 2019), assessing modern slavery reporting laws worldwide and recommending improvements. The two organizations also submitted joint guidance on Australia's Modern Slavery Act.
• Declaration for American Democracy (DFAD) coalitionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR participated in the DFAD coalition's Policy Working Group, contributing recommendations for day-one executive action to prevent corporate influence over federal agencies. ICAR's recommendations were incorporated into DFAD's report 'Day One is for Democracy' (November 2020).
• DefendILAB.com coalitionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICAR launched DefendILAB.com in June 2025 as an online clearinghouse and advocacy hub to fight back against the Trump Administration's attacks on the Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) and its programs to advance labor standards worldwide.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Transparency International: Larger global coalition against corruption operating across 100+ chapters; a broader incumbent where ICAR's corporate accountability agenda intersects on issues like beneficial ownership, anti-corruption, and enforcement.
• Human Rights Watch: Large established human-rights organization with global research, advocacy, and reporting operations; a broader incumbent whose business-and-human-rights work overlaps with ICAR's mandate and partnership ecosystem.
• IndustriALL Global Union: Global union federation representing 50 million workers in mining, manufacturing, and supply chains; an explicit ICAR partner in the Transparency Pledge Coalition with overlapping enforcement-advocacy priorities.

Direct peers

• Clean Clothes Campaign: Global coalition of garment worker rights organizations; founding partner of ICAR's Transparency Pledge Coalition and operates the same advocacy/coalition model on apparel supply chain transparency.
• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre: Independent NGO tracking the human rights impacts of companies globally; the closest direct analog to ICAR's research-and-advocacy model on business and human rights, with overlapping UN Forum engagement and a comparable membership/coalition stance.
• Worker Rights Consortium: Independent labor-rights organization focused on apparel supply chain accountability; a founding member of ICAR's Transparency Pledge Coalition with overlapping issue focus and global civil-society positioning.
• European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ): Coalition of 50+ European CSOs promoting corporate accountability and mandatory due diligence; shares ICAR's coalition-driven, multi-stakeholder advocacy model and is a co-founder of BHR-Law.org with ICAR.
• Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR): Coalition of 300+ faith-based institutional investors engaging corporations on human rights, supply chains, and ESG; mirrors ICAR's coalition-of-members structure applied to shareholder advocacy on overlapping issue areas.
• CORE Coalition: UK coalition of civil society organizations campaigning for corporate accountability; operates on the same multi-stakeholder coalition model as ICAR and is a co-founding partner of BHR-Law.org.
• International Labor Rights Forum (ILRF): Labor rights advocacy organization focused on global supply chain accountability; co-founding partner of ICAR's Transparency Pledge Coalition with directly overlapping policy and campaign agenda.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about International Corporate Accountability Roundtable