THE JUST PROGRAM
Just is a voluntary disclosure tool and label that calls for organizations to demonstrate their commitment to social equity, the health and well-being of their employees, and the vitality of the communities in which they operate. It is an innovative social justice transparency platform that enables organizations to disclose their policies and actions on a number of human resource and community stewardship practices. It also establishes a common language and benchmarking framework that supports organizations’ efforts to evaluate and continually improve upon those practices.
The Just program is organized around twenty-two specific social and equity indicators that are housed within the six general categories: Diversity + Inclusion, Equity, Employee Health, Employee Benefits, Stewardship, and Purchasing + Supply Chain. Each indicator outlines measurable accountabilities that are recognized at four levels of performance and highlighted on the Just label. The label allows for “at a glance” information about the organization’s progress across the key categories and indicators. With this approach, organizations can assess how they are doing in reference to these social justice metrics and, as a result, choose to work towards developing more progressive policies and practices.
THE JUST PROCESS
Once registered, organizations evaluate how their policies and performance compare to the Just 2.0 Indicator Metrics and determine what level they want to apply for in each indicator. Organizations may opt out of a maximum of six indicators, but only one indicator per category.
Some organizations may have little difficulty pulling together supporting documentation, while others may need time to develop and draft policies and set up internal systems. When ready, organizations log on to the Just submission page assigned at registration and upload or enter the requested data per Indicator. If you are uploading a complete employee handbook in Apply, please list the page numbers containing the policy (or policies) relevant to the respective Indicator. All information must be given in a non-personal format that respects privacy and confidentiality and doesn’t directly identify individuals or sensitive information.
The Institute reviews the provided information and advises the organization whether it provides sufficient basis for issuing a Just label, and if so, at what recognition levels. If the information needs to be supplemented or amended, the organization will have an opportunity to re-submit. When a score is assessed based on complete information, if the organization feels the score doesn’t reflect its performance, it has the option to provide additional or clarifying information. Once there is agreement on the performance levels and the content to appear on the Just label, no further amendments can be made to the organization’s supporting documentation. At this time, ILFI drafts the organization’s Just label, and the organization notifies the Institute when it is ready for publication of both the label and associated policies on the Institute’s publicly accessible database of Just organizations.
ILFI encourages organizations to showcase their Just label on their website or marketing materials to demonstrate their commitment to these issues; however, organizations may not in any way modify the label provided — changing information or proportions.
