All stories by Nick Masercola

Looking ahead to 2023, we would do well to not just engage those who we think we disagree with, but understand where they’re coming from and find common ground. 

Years ago when we were launching JUST, I remember the CEO of a large bank told me in no uncertain terms that there was “no chance” companies would ever be transparent about wages. Has that changed?

As painful as they can be, layoffs don’t have to be unjust. Here’s how:

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.  

A new report from the Conference Board and The Business Council found that 98% of CEOs surveyed are preparing for a U.S. recession within the next 12-18 months. But it may not necessarily mean mass redundancies and unemployment.

In the face of the backlash against ESG and stakeholder capitalism, have companies eased off in their actions to become more just? Our latest corporate engagement data suggests not. 

Ahead of Labor Day, let’s take stock of where things stand for the American worker. 

It’s a story that captures almost every aspect of the business zeitgeist in America today – workers’ quest for fair pay, good jobs, and better conditions; unions; community support and survival; COVID; health and safety; climate change; ESG; shareholder activism; the corporate profit imperative; and, of course (inevitably), politics. 

On the third anniversary of the Business Roundtable’s embrace of stakeholder value creation, we’ve taken a closer look at how that statement’s signatories have performed over that time across our key stakeholder categories. 

The ESG blowback is here, and it’s real.

The pressures inflation heaps on business does not mean stakeholder value creation needs to take a back seat. On the contrary, it can be a time for just companies to shine.

With the heat index through the roof, melting runways, buckled train lines, and travel chaos more broadly bring significant disruptions to logistics and the physical movement of people and goods.

The American public is navigating tough times. As prices are going up, wages aren’t keeping up. And the reality is that job growth is very different from quality job growth

Of the 100 largest American public companies by workforce size, 43% disclose that they have conducted a pay gap analysis by race and ethnicity (up from 34% last year), and 22% disclose the actual results (up from 14%).

Companies seeking to do right by their stakeholders will have their mettle tested in the weeks and months to come. Let’s start with wages…

Investing in local communities, especially those that need it the most, is one area where the private sector can have a huge positive impact during a downturn.

Our 2022 Corporate Racial Equity Tracker, launched last week, tracks how the country’s largest 100 employers are measuring up to these expectations on a range of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) issues from workforce demographic disclosure to community investments.    

The fierce debate over what stakeholder capitalism and ESG is or is not took a sharply political turn this week. 

An unusual thing happened this week: a company was rewarded, not punished, by the market for raising wages.

An eye-popping 87% of Americans across all political, age, geographic, gender, and racial lines agree that the growing gap between CEO pay and median worker pay is a problem in this country today.

The leaked Supreme Court majority opinion draft on potentially overturning Roe v. Wade lit a fire under companies to be clear where they stand on the issue of reproductive rights.

This past week saw three high-profile examples of why it’s so important for corporate leaders to understand what makes their stakeholders tick when making decisions involving complex societal issues. 

We‘ve been sharing insights and data on the state of corporate environmental leadership in America and how things are trending, including the Top 10 Companies for Environmental Performance list shared with our media partner, CNBC. 

Help us create the next generation of business leaders for a more just, equitable, and sustainable economy.

Inflation hit its highest level since 1981 in March (8.5%). Its causes and effects are starting to force some difficult conversations on core ESG and stakeholder priorities.