The JUST Report

For corporations, bold action on climate is already a must. Net-zero commitments – essentially, a promise to balance GHGs emitted with GHGs removed and/or avoided – are everywhere.

The role of business in advancing racial equity isn’t about politics. It’s about building a bridge to a better economy and a more just society.

“The problems that are tearing at the fabric of American society require all of us – government, business and civic society – to work together with a common purpose.”

CEOs of some of America’s largest corporations have begun to voice their opposition to what they say is restrictive legislation that makes it harder for Americans to vote.

Pay equity mattered a lot to the public before the pandemic, and it matters even more now.

This week, Emmanuel Faber, one of the world’s foremost proponents of stakeholder capitalism, lost his job as CEO and chairman of Danone. The easy reaction would be to see this as a blow for proponents of the stakeholder cause. That would be a mistake.

CEOs are a notoriously optimistic bunch. But even so, their views contrast sharply with those of their workers, who have a decidedly different take on the situation.

Yesterday, acting SEC Chair Allison Herren Lee – who at the beginning of the week had said at a conference that voluntary ESG disclosure wasn’t cutting it – announced the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force in the Enforcement division

Walmart has seen both sides of the stakeholder vs shareholder debate over the last seven days, losing $25 billion off its market cap after a mixed earnings call.

If we’re looking at what Americans want, and what our biggest corporations can provide them, the bar has to be set higher.

investors are becoming sophisticated enough to tell the difference between greenwashing and value creation…and this Exxon case proves it.

The change in administration opens up a new frontier for stakeholder capitalism. The first 100 days will be critical. 

Business and politics collided this past week – here is what the American people thought of it.

Jennifer Tonti, our Managing Director of Survey Research, summarizes here what went wrong (and what went right) with this election cycle’s political polling, and how JUST’s approach differs.

Public and private sectors are locked in a constant struggle, with the pendulum swinging between regulation and taxation on the one side, and free enterprise and profits on the other. For the good of the country, this has to change.

As I write this, the outcome of the Presidential election is still on a razor’s edge. Whoever emerges victorious will face a divided Congress and a country riven by political discord and scarred by an electoral process that has pushed us to the limit.

With Election Day less than a week away, we built upon our recent polling and asked Americans what role they think companies and corporate leaders should play in upholding and protecting democracy.

Last year, before COVID-19 rocked our world, we looked at three myths of sustainable – or “just” – investing. Myth #3 was that raising wages will kill share price and destroy value for investors (spoiler alert: this is not true).

This week saw the release of our new annual rankings of America’s Most JUST Companies and our celebration with Forbes of the new JUST 100 list.The event did not disappoint.

Investing in workers is a strategic investment to your bottom line, and a down payment on future growth.

Whether they are working from home full time or part time, or are on the frontline, they have to – in an unprecedented way – find a balance between supporting their families and ensuring their kids are learning.

As we head into Labor Day, six months into a pandemic that has caused us to revisit our assumptions about what it means to be a resilient business, its time to discuss the most important business stakeholders in our society – workers.

Two events this week highlighted the extremes of worker empowerment in America today. Once again, the defining social issues of 2020 – COVID-19 and racial equity – were the catalyst. 

Providing hazard pay is stakeholder capitalism in action

If one thing has become clear this year, it’s that corporate stakeholder performance claims – on COVID-19, racial equity, and other “S” issues – must be backed by real action.