The JUST Report: Creating a New Generation of JUST Business Leaders
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Engaging and empowering the next generation of business leaders is critical to our mission and, through our JUSTGen initiative, an increasingly exciting part of our strategy.
We know that younger leaders rising through the ranks are often among the most powerful advocates of justness within a company, and that the companies we rank are increasingly investing in this (JPMorgan Chase and IBM are two examples). Leaders like Robert Smith and Steve Ballmer have also begun using their businesses and foundations to provide opportunities for younger Americans where they otherwise don’t exist. And the myriad business schools we’re connected to increasingly agree with what Harvard Business School professor George Serafeim told us earlier this year: “There is a tremendous amount of energy (about this), I can tell you that.” It’s also important to have a growing sense of how younger Americans’ views on justness differ from others. From our soon to be released Americans’ Views on Business annual report, we know that they are both more skeptical than average about whether companies are headed in the right direction, and also more dubious about large companies’ positive impact on issues such as supporting the community and the well-being – both financial and health-wise – of their workforce. They’re also more likely to say that CEOs have a responsibility to take a stand on societal issues. They prioritize environmental issues higher, and are more likely to say CEOs should be addressing climate change than any other age break.
JUST board member Roosevelt Giles – who founded the Herndon Directors Institute to help prepare minorities and women for board service – has agreed to be a board mentor for our JUSTGen community, and you can expect to hear a lot more about what we’re up to in the weeks and months to come. Meantime, if you’d like to learn more, or explore ways to collaborate, contact my colleagues Erica Kruszel and Leah Brickman.
Lastly, a parting call to action: We’re just over a week away from the New York City marathon, where we have JUSTGen members Johnny Krueger and David Palisoul running, in addition to Roosevelt, our Senior Manager of Corporate Engagement, Lindsay Moreau, and yours truly. If you’re able to support us, we’d be grateful!
Be well,
Martin
This Week in Stakeholder Capitalism
Adidas terminates its partnership with Ye, aka Kanye West, over his anti-semitic comments, Gap and Foot Locker remove Yeezy products from stores.
Apple will begin tracking its suppliers’ emissions, with the aim to decarbonize its supply chain by 2030.
BlackRock launches “Transitional Capital,” a new unit of the firm focused on investments in the low-carbon economy.
GM announces that it has secured all of the renewable energy it needs to power all of its U.S. facilities by 2025, 25 years ahead of its initial 2050 projection.
Hilton pioneers flexible work for frontline hospitality employees by piloting a system where employees can work at multiple hotels across locations and better manage their own hours.
Honeywell launches a new Environmental Sustainability Index, tracking sentiment data from corporate leaders on climate priorities and approaches to environmental sustainability.
JUST Events
Martin joined CNBC’s Work Summit this week to discuss how companies that do right by their workers – by paying a fair, living wage and investing in good benefits and training – are outperforming their peers.
On November 2, Martin will join Reuters for its ESG Investment North America 2022 conference to discuss how best to quantify “S” issues like workforce diversity and financial security, and how to integrate these elements into investing strategy. Register here to attend this conversation and hear from senior leaders across the investment community.
The Forum
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“If we think about the way corporate America has generally operated is, we say we give choice. But the reality is we’ve designed work to actually take away choice. Think about it – the 40-hour work week, Monday through Friday…ultimately people are telling us that they want choice, they want different ways of working.
- Tim Ryan, US Chair and Senior Partner at PwC, speaking to CNBC on the push to create a more flexible work environment for employees to improve productivity and retention.
“Flexibility before was what we talked about for corporate workers. We need to now really address this for hourly workers. We’re working to crack the code on what this means as far as where our team members work.”
- Laura Fuentes, CHRO of Hilton, on the company’s push to provide frontline workers with a similar level of flexibility as corporate employees.
“We have to respect [child care workers] and pay them better wages. Anyone watching today that has kids in child care, you know, you’re paying 30%, 40%, 50%, 60% of your salary for child care…It’s not just an economic issue. It’s a human rights issue in our country to get good child care.”
- Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, speaking to CNBC on the economic stressors facing U.S. workers and families outside of inflation.
Must-Reads of the Week
ABC News reports that more than half of Americans are considering second jobs to meet the rising cost of living, supporting our analysis that revealed more than 50% of Russell 1000 workers are struggling to get by because they don’t make a family-sustaining living wage.
Fortune reports on a new survey by Catalyst showing that 30% of workers are considering leaving their jobs due to their employer’s response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Deloitte digs into the reasons why corporations publishing employee well-being metrics would be a boon for many companies.
Robert F. Smith, the founder of Vista Equity Partners, explains to Inc. why you should train your entry-level employees and seasoned executives the same way.
Fortune discusses why Goldman Sachs is optimistic that a full-blown recession won’t occur – because right now, many corporations are shedding job openings rather than jobs.
The New York Times investigates where JPMorgan Chase’s $30 billion racial equity commitment was spent, and if the company is having the impact it set out to accomplish.
Chart of the Week
With the countdown to COP27 just a week away and new reports coming out that only 26 of 193 countries have followed through on promises to step up their climate action plans, it’s worth revisiting our latest analysis on the state of corporate climate commitments as we gear up to release our next round of climate insights next week.
Get to Know JUST
Team JUST Capital: 2022 TCS New York City Marathon
JUST Capital is an Official Charity Partner for the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon. Six supporters will be representing JUST in the race and running 26.2 miles on November 6. We’ve been introducing each runner and hearing from them on why they’re running for JUST.
Today, we’ve got JUST Board Member, Roosevelt Giles. Why is he running for JUST? “To highlight workers’ safety and security.”
