BUSINESS CERTIFICATION
For the purposes of Just, certifications of businesses (for Ethnic Diversity, Gender Diversity, Equitable Purchasing, or Supply Chain) must be by a third party (e.g., National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC)) that is accepted in the relevant industry. Examples of recognized third-party certifications include:
- Minority-owned business enterprise (MBE)
- Women-owned business enterprise (WBE)
- Disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE)
- LGBT business enterprise (LGBTBE)
- Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB)
EMPLOYEE
For the purposes of Just, an employee is a person with a permanent role at the organization who receives regular compensation. This could be part-time or full-time, but it cannot be term-limited.
PARTICIPATION IN JUST
Subsidiaries and distinct operational units of organizations, including separate office locations, can independently pursue a Just label, as long as the subsidiary or operational unit covered by the label can be clearly distinguished, functionally or geographically, from the rest of the organization (e.g., ABC Architecture – Boston, or XYZ Construction – Commercial).
WRITTEN POLICY
A policy is a set of ideas or plans that is used as a basis for making decisions. For the purposes of Just, a “written policy” should include clear statements regarding the values behind and goals of the policy in question, in order to provide guidance to, and set general expectations for, all stakeholders. It might include information about processes, behavior, or communications on the topic in question, and/or contact information for any related questions and concerns. The policy must be a written document with official approval by those with the requisite authority, that is provided (either digitally or in hard copy) to all employees when the policy is first instigated, and subsequently when it is updated, and at the point of every hire.
Note that there may be specific elements that need to be included for each indicator. ILFI has provided policy templates that may be used as starting points. These are available in the Just 2.0 Application Toolkit, accessible on the ILFI member dashboard.
