Just 3.0 Program Manual

General Clarifications

APPROACHES AND PRACTICES

Throughout the metrics and guidance within this Program Manual, we use the terms “approaches” and “practices” to mean the following:

  • Approaches refer to the philosophy and process by which an organization engages with or responds to a particular topic.
  • Practices refer to the actual actions or steps taken toward implementing an approach.

APPROVED BY LIVING FUTURE IN ADVANCE

Living Future recognizes there may be instances where the Indicator metrics do not fully apply or align in an organization’s context; in these situations, Living Future is willing to consider alternate means of meeting Indicator intent. Divergence from the standard Indicator requirements that must be “approved by Living Future in advance” should be submitted to the Just team (just.support@living-future.org) as soon as possible to ensure there is time to work through any specific compliance issues and documentation. Requesting approvals shortly before or concurrent to the documentation submission process runs the risk of delays to the review and label processes.

BUSINESS CERTIFICATIONS

For the purposes of Just, business certifications (for Racial and Ethnic Diversity, Gender Diversity, and Procurement) must be by a third party (e.g., National Women Business Owners Corporation [NWBOC]) that is accepted in the relevant industry. Examples of other recognized third-party certifications include:

Additional business certifications may be considered if they are approved by Living Future in advance.

Living Future acknowledges that the certification programs listed above are specific to the U.S. context. We encourage international organizations to submit similar context-specific programs for consideration and pre-approval. Current approved international equivalents include the following:

  • Amotai – equivalent for M/W/DBE in New Zealand
  • Eruboshi – equivalent for WBE in Japan
  • Supply Nation – equivalent for M/DBE in Australia

Additional international equivalents will be added to this section as they are approved by Living Future.

CURRENCY EXCHANGE

All monetary units listed within the Just Program Manual are in United States dollars (USD). Organizations outside the U.S. should convert their relevant data or documentation to USD using the current exchange rate.

ORGANIZATIONS WITH MULTIPLE LOCATIONS

For organizations applying to receive one Just label to cover multiple office locations, Indicator performance level is determined by the location with the lowest level of compliance across locations.

PRESERVING ANONYMITY IN DATA COLLECTION AND SURVEYING

It is important that employees know their disclosures are anonymous and will not result in any adverse ramifications for them. Organizations must have a means to anonymize and aggregate responses before they are seen internally. This could be through a third-party survey program that can administer anonymous data collection or by an external consultant that is under contract not to share any connections between employees and their responses. An organization could also designate one person (e.g., HR manager) who can see the full response results and aggregate the data before sharing them internally.

REPORTING PERIOD

Unless otherwise specified in the Indicator metrics or clarifications, data should come from within the 12 months prior to documentation submission.

ROUNDING

All data percentages submitted for Indicator metrics can be submitted as is (i.e., out to two decimal places) or rounded to the nearest whole number, unless otherwise directed in the specific Indicator (e.g., Living Wage, Charitable Giving, etc.).

SURVEYS

The Just program currently requires the following surveys:

  • Belonging Survey
  • Engagement Survey
  • Well-Being Survey

Survey templates are included in the Resources section of the respective Indicator, and a complete list of survey questions is available for reference. Organizations are welcome to design and conduct their own surveys that expand beyond what Just 3.0 requires or consolidate the questions into a single survey, but the surveys must, at minimum, contain the questions/statements specified within the respective Indicator Clarifications. If an organization wishes to modify the wording of a required question, they must seek approval from the Just team using this template. The Just team will review the proposed changes to ensure they align with the original question’s intent. Maintaining consistency in the questions is crucial to support our ability to evaluate, track, and share meaningful data on how Just organizations are performing in these areas.

For the purposes of Just, Living Future encourages organizations to conduct any employee surveys as close to the documentation submission date as possible.

WRITTEN POLICIES

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 parties affected. It might include information about processes, behavior, or communications on the topic in question, and/or information on whom to contact 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, subsequently when it is updated, and at the point of every hire. Policies should be made accessible to all employees at all times for transparency, accountability, and ease of reference.

Policies must include the following basic elements:

  • Purpose statement;
  • Defined metric requirements or components, as applicable based on the targeted Indicator performance level;
  • Who is responsible for overseeing or administering the policy;
  • How often the policy will be evaluated for potential updates; and
  • How to initiate a concern or suggestion regarding the policy.

Elements that are consistent across all organizational policies relevant to Just can be addressed once in a central location (e.g., the employee handbook), provided all employees have awareness and access to the information at all times. Note that there may be additional specific elements that need to be included for each Indicator. Where relevant, these requirements are included in the Indicator Clarifications. Just 3.0 policies may be part of the organization’s employee handbook as long as all basic elements are included.

Policy samples for select Indicators are available as references.

WORKFORCE TERMS

For the purposes of Just, Living Future uses the following definitions for members of an organization’s workforce within program Indicators. Please refer to an Indicator’s Applicability clarification for specific guidance on which members of the workforce are included in the scope of employees referenced in the respective Indicator’s metrics.

Employee

An employee is a person with an ongoing role at any level in the organization who receives regular compensation. This can be part-time or full-time, salaried or hourly, but it cannot be project- or term-limited. “Employees” are inclusive of senior leadership.

  • Full-Time Employee: A full-time employee works more than 30 hours per week or at least 75% of a typical full-time schedule for that industry, either salaried or hourly.
  • Part-Time Employee: A part-time employee is someone who works less than 30 hours per week or less than 75% of a typical full-time schedule for that industry, either salaried or hourly.
  • Owner or Founder: An owner or founder of an organization is considered an employee if they are paid a salary or get other regular compensation from the company for ongoing work they provide the organization. The compensation must be part of payroll, cannot be based on stock ownership, and cannot be for participation on the board.

Intern

An intern is someone who is receiving entry-level training and experience in a field and employed through a term-limited internship program that meets all of the following minimum criteria:

  • Program formally assigns a mentor/manager to each intern who institutes regularly scheduled meetings with the intern to check in on workload, performance, and work- or profession-related questions;
  • Program includes additional professional development opportunities, such as participation in organization-hosted lunch-and-learns and formal training events;
  • Program includes job-shadowing opportunities, such as attendance at client meetings and cross-department interactions; and
  • Program includes resume-building and interview-skill-building opportunities, such as mock interviews and job search guidance.

Contractor

A contractor is someone who works with an organization on a project- or term-limited basis.

  • For the purposes of Indicator applicability within the Diversity, Inclusion, and Health categories, organizations must include contractors who have worked at least the equivalent of six months of a full-time employee’s hours within the reporting period.
  • For the purposes of Indicator applicability within the Compensation Category, organizations must include all contractors.

Board Members

A board member is someone actively serving on the organization’s board of directors. Although board members of for-profit companies are often paid compensation for their work on the board, they are not considered employees. Board members who also meet the definitions of employee above should still be included as such.