Our Methodology

How We Do It

In our 2023 Survey, we aimed to identify what Issues matter most to Americans today when it comes to just business behavior. The findings from this survey research form the basis by which we evaluated companies for our 2024 Rankings. 

This year, JUST Capital asked a representative sample of 3,001 Americans to compare 20 different business Issues on a head-to-head basis, producing a reliable hierarchy of Issues ranked in order of priority. We then assigned each Issue to the stakeholder – either Workers, Customers, Communities, the Environment, or Shareholders & Governance – it most impacts.

To produce the Rankings, we collect and evaluate data from different sources on how each company actually performs across each of these Issues and stakeholders. We do this in as fair, unbiased, and rigorous a way possible, taking care to gather the best and most reliable information we can. We share this analysis with each company we rank before we publish our findings, giving them the opportunity to provide feedback and share any additional or up-to-date data.

We work with a diverse Research Advisory Council of academics, economists, and thought leaders, who provide independent guidance on JUST Capital’s research program and technical expertise on specific research matters. We also established an Independent Research Committee in 2022 to ensure our Rankings are objective and forward-looking, integrating best research tactics, considering how the field is evolving on the issues we assess, and working to mitigate any perception or actual bias, particularly as JUST begins to seek financial support from companies it ranks. We also provide full transparency on our methodology, to ensure what we are doing and how we are doing it is accessible and understandable to anyone.

Explore our full methodology here, as well as the details of our survey methodology in our 2023 Survey Report.