CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS
The recipient of a project’s donation must be a registered charity or 501©3 located in the same local region as the project. Projects may choose to split the donation as desired between multiple charities.
Project teams may donate to international charitable organizations that are based in a different country from the project, as long as the organization in question is active in the project’s local region. If the selected organization has the option to designate funds by region, the project team must designate their donation to their region.
CONTRACTS
Design Contracts
Design contracts include soft costs for architects, landscape architects, engineers, and specialty consultants involved in design of the project.
Construction Contracts
Construction contracts include labor and materials contracts for the construction of the project, such as the general contractor, subcontractors, and specialty trades.
Maintenance and Operations Contracts
Maintenance and operations contracts include service, labor and materials costs to maintain and operate the project. Total dollar amount is based on the services and labor for the 12-month performance period, not for the life of the project, although the intent is for the project to continue to meet the Imperative requirements after the performance period as well.
CONTRACT PERCENTAGES
Design, construction and maintenance contract percentages for diversity are calculated based on total project cost at the end of the project. The Imperative requirement can be fulfilled by hiring Just organizations, MWDBE organizations or an internal equivalent for:
- 20% of the design contracts by cost; or
- 20% of the construction contracts by cost; or
- 20% of a combination of the design and construction by cost.
- In this option, the construction contracts can be for labor only or labor and materials, but need to be consistent for all construction-related contracts.
Construction and maintenance contract percentages for workforce development/training/community benefits agreements (CBA), registered apprentice programs, and similar programs are calculated by hours. In the case of the maintenance contracts only, the percentage may be calculated by hours or value. The work must be done on the LBC project.
To be eligible to meet the requirements of this Imperative, the workforce development or similar program must serve a disadvantaged population from the local community.
DIVERSITY CATEGORY LEVELS
Project teams may qualify through either the Gender Diversity or Ethnic Diversity indicators of their Just label. Required level of achievement for either indicator is: one in Just 1.0 and two in Just 2.0, see figure 18-1.
Figure 18-1 Sample Just Label. This sample Just label identifies the social justice measures met by a company and at which level (defined in the Just Manual 2.0), including those related to diversity and inclusion. The highlighted indicators are the ones that must be addressed in this Imperative.INTEGRAL PROJECT TEAM ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations are considered to have an integral role in the project if they regularly participate in both design and construction meetings throughout the majority of the project. Organizations that automatically qualify include:
- Architect of Record
- Civil Engineer of Record
- Structural Engineer of Record
- MEP Engineer of Record
- Interior Architect of Record
- Landscape Architect of Record
- Sustainability Consultant
- Owner or Developer or their Representative Project Manager
- General Contractor
The list of project team members above is not exhaustive. Other project team members may qualify to be the project’s Just organization(s) if the organization in question plays an integral and ongoing role in the design and construction of the project, see Exception EQ-006.
INVOLVED ORGANIZATIONS
Organizations working on any aspect of the project, including design team or contractor sub-consultants, are considered “involved in the project” and would qualify as an organization to complete a Just Self-Assessment. Those same organizations may also count towards the required design, construction or maintenance contract percentages for diversity or workforce training, if they meet the listed conditions.
JUST
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 intention of Just is not merely to provide a social equity checklist for organizations; rather, Just provides a framework for organizations to examine and disclose their current practices as well as a pathway for continual growth.
More information about the Just label is available at https://living-future.org/just/.
Label
To meet the requirements of this Imperative, the Just label can reflect achievement at any level, but must be current at the time of certification audit.
Self-Assessment
ILFI can provide a template for the purposes of documenting a Just self-assessment. Self-assessments are for internal use and do not need to be made public.
REGISTERED APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM OR SIMILAR
A registered apprentice program or similar programs must be employed for 10% of the General Contractor’s project contracts and/or maintenance contracts. Eligible programs are described below.
These programs should seek to serve the local community around the project meaning the individuals residing within the county, zip code or other vicinity of the project preapproved through a Request for Ruling. A database of participants in the program must be maintained and monitored for completion of trade/skill, health and safety, and any other relevant training, and any subsequent employment by the Contractor or within the project team shall be notated. Partnerships with community-based organizations and local government agencies are recommended to facilitate outreach and recruitment.
Community Benefits Agreements (CBA)
According to the Partnership for Working Families, CBA is a contract signed by community groups and a real estate developer that requires the developer to provide specific amenities and/or mitigations to the local community or neighborhood. Community Benefits Agreements may, or may not, include Community Workforce or Project Labor Agreements.
Community Workforce Agreements (CWA)
CWA, also known as Project Labor Agreements (PLA), are types of contractual agreements between a construction contractor and the project developer (often used when US federal, state, and local government agencies are the developers of a project). PLA’s and CWA’s establish the terms and conditions of employment for a specific construction project and are typically negotiated with one or more labor organizations.
Registered Apprenticeship Program
Registered Apprentice Program is a designation given by the U.S. Department of Labor or a State Apprenticeship Agency to worker training programs that meet minimum standards such as paid work, job-based learning, classroom learning, mentorship, and industry-recognized credentials. Registered Apprenticeship Programs are “sponsored” by employers, employer associations, and joint labor-management organizations.
Registered apprenticeship connects job seekers looking to learn new skills with employers looking for qualified workers. The goal is to provide workers with advanced skillsets that meet the specific needs of their employers. Project teams seeking to use an equivalent program for compliance should submit a clear comparison of requirements (the Federal program and the proposed program) for preapproval through a Request for Ruling. Organizations that are part of this Federal program, and that have trainings at or near either the LBC project or the organization’s office that is working on the project, would qualify as a compliant contract.
Workforce Development Program
Workforce Development or Training, per the Education Development Center, refers to programs that promote the mastery of new job-related knowledge and skills, access to employment opportunities, and real jobs. A well-designed workforce development program meets the education, training, and employment-related needs of a targeted group of learners. These programs are often administered in the U.S. by non-profit organizations, or local economic development agencies.
REGISTERED MINORITY, WOMEN, OR DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (MWDBE)
Qualified businesses must be certified as DBE (Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) or ASDBE (not SBE, Small Business Enterprise) under Federal Certification, or certified as MWDBE, or equivalent, under a State certification program. Such businesses are wholly or majority owned by members of a minority group, women, or other historically disadvantaged party, such as Veterans or those with physical disabilities.
SMALL PROJECT TEAMS
Project teams with six or fewer participating organizations are required to have Just labels and self-assessments at the following adjusted rates, see Table 18-1:
Table 18-1 Requirements by Project Team Size
SYSTEMS FURNITURE
Systems Furniture costs include any Systems Furniture purchases that are part of the project contract. Furniture that does not meet the definition of Systems Furniture, and Systems Furniture in tenant improvements installed by separate owners, are excluded (additional detail on the definition of Systems Furniture is provided in the Materials Petal Scope clarification).
TOTAL PROJECT COST
Total project cost includes soft costs, hard costs and systems furniture. Land costs are not included.
