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THE SOCIAL EQUITY & JUSTICE LABEL

Introduction to Just

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Our mission is to create a society that is socially just, culturally rich, and ecologically restorative

Net Zero Energy Certified Packard Foundation Headquarters in Los Altos, CA, USA

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Bitterman

living-future.org

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Think about your experience…

Do you feel engaged at your job?

Are you being paid a living wage?

Do you feel included at work?

Do you feel like there is equitable opportunity for growth?

Do you feel like you have a good understanding of your workplace policies?

Do you feel that your organization supports your overall well-being?

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What does the data tell us?

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29%

C suite leaders is a woman

7%

C suite leaders is a woman of color

Women earn

83¢ per $1 men earn

Black women 66¢

Native women 58¢

Latinas 58¢

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31%

of workers report being engaged at work

82%

say a company supporting mental health is “moderately” to “extremely important” when job

searching

And to highlight just a few aspects of the employee experience

31% of workers report being engaged at work (down from 36% in 2020 - Gallup 2024 annual indicator)

84% of workers report at least one workplace factor that negatively impacted their mental health and well-being (Mind Share Partners, 2025 Mental Health at Work Report)

Those investing in mental health see payoffs in employee health and retention. • Employees who work at a company that supports their mental health are twice as likely to report no burnout or depression. They’re also three times more likely to trust their company and intend to stay there for two years or longer. • 48% have left jobs for mental health reasons and 57% say a company supporting mental health is “very” or “extremely important” when job searching

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Investing in your Employees Pays Off

Employees who perceive a strong organizational commitment to workplace equity, inclusion, and mental health are: �

2× more likely to feel their company supports their mental health�
2x more likely to report no burnout or depression, and 3x more likely to report no anxiety�
2× more likely to trust their company and its leadership�
2x more likely to intend to stay at their company for two years or longer.

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Practitioners of the built environment have the power and the responsibility to ask, “What does good look like?” and to strive for that vision of a living future in all the work we do.

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The Just Label:

A transparency tool for representing organizational commitment to social equity – integrated into LBC, WELL, and LEED

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To elevate the discussion around social justice and equity�
To create a common language and measurement framework for social justice topics pertinent to organizations�
To improve employee and community-related policies, practices, and culture�
To make life better for all members of the workforce.

Just’s Purpose

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Organizational Equity

is the practice of designing policies, systems, and cultures so that all employees have fair access to opportunities, resources, and support—resulting in equitable outcomes across different identities and experiences.

International Living Future Institute

A phrase you'll hear throughout this presentation and anytime you talk to someone about Just, iis 'organizational equity.' It's the practice of designing policies, systems, and cultures so that every employee — regardless of their identity or background — has fair access to opportunities, resources, and support, and can achieve equitable outcomes as a result.

The Just program is intentionally structured with policies as the foundation. And here's why that matters: culture doesn't change just because you want it to. It changes when you build the structures that make new behavior possible and expected. A policy creates accountability. It formalizes what your organization actually stands for. That accountability shapes your systems — how you hire, compensate, promote, and give feedback. And over time, those systems shape your culture — what it actually feels like to work there, every day.

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Diversity

Racial + Ethnic Diversity

Gender Diversity

Recruitment

Inclusion

Belonging

Accessibility

Engagement

Workforce Empowerment

Compensation

Living Wage

Pay Scale Equity

Racial + Ethnic Pay Equity

Gender Pay Equity

6 Categories

21 Indicators

Health

Physical Health + Safety

Well-Being

Benefits

Health Care

Retirement

Family + Medical Leave

Professional Development

Stewardship

Community Connections

Volunteering

Charitable Giving

Procurement

International Living Future Institute

Just 3.0 is organized around 21 social justice and equity indicators that are housed within the six categories: Diversity, Inclusion, Compensation, Health, Benefits, and Stewardship.

Just by looking at this list of indicators, you might be thinking how some of these indicators might overlap. By nature, since these indicators are focused centered around the employee experience, overlap and intersectionality is going to exist.

For example, Racial + Ethnic Diversity plays a role in Belonging, Accessibility is going to impact Engagement, Workforce Empowerment and Living Wage affect Well-Being, and so on.

With that in mind, I’d like to emphasize that although each indicator might tell its own story and have its own data, it is important to also step back and look at all of our indicators holistically. As a program, Just provides organizations with the framework to focus on specific actions that when taken together across all Indicators, help create more socially just and equitable workplaces.

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4 Levels of Performance

Just organizations are on a journey of continuous improvement from commitment to best-in-class achievement

Level 2

Level 3

Level 1

Level 4

Policy Only

Policy, Data & Supporting Documents

* Level 0 = No policy

International Living Future Institute

If you have seen a Just label, you have likely seen the boxes that accompany each indicator. Each one of those boxes represent a level.

�Just Indicator include four levels of performance with associated metric criteria.

Level 1 always begins with organizations developing a policy. This focus on policy first is designed to prioritize codifying an organization's commitments to equity and also makes participation in Just attainable for all organizations.

Levels 2 - 4 represent actions towards embodying equity and justice within the respective Indicator's domain. In these levels, the organization is going to upload a policy, plus additional data and supporting documentation.

Level 4 represents the highest performance level within the Just program and indicates an organization has demonstrated significant action toward “what good looks like” based on our current understanding of justice and equity.

If an organization is unable to develop and enact a policy to meet an Indicator's Level 1 requirement at the time of submission, the label will display the Indicator with blank boxes, indicating a Level 0 performance.

Something I really like to emphasize when talking about our Just levels is: the 4 levels, or the 4 boxes only tell one part of the story.

People change, our communities change, and our internal culture might shift a bit year-to-year. Which means that this journey and the impact of our equity efforts are not always linear.
Our just organizations renew every 2 years, and it is very possible that within those 2 years an organization see an increase performance for some indicators, and a decrease or no change in others.
An organization might have spent their last 2 years really investing in changing their retirement plan and FMLA, and drastically improved that, but may have see a dip elsewhere. This is why it is important to see how all of these indicators work together and that organizations focus on the impact that something like improving employee benefits can do for your organization’s culture, employee well-being, and overall satisfaction down the road.

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Inside the Just Program Manual

Everything needed to complete a Just application!

Performance metrics
Documentation requirements
Clarifications, calculations, and exceptions
Additional resources

… check it out!

International Living Future Institute

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Let's walk through an Indicator!

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Living Wage

Ensure that all employees are provided with wages that support a healthy standard of living in the local community where they live and work.

Cheryl

The third category is Compensation

The intent of the Compensation Category is for organizations to offer adequate wages

that are equitable within all job classifications
and that allow all employees to support a healthy life for themselves and their families.

By making an active effort to provide and sustain context-specific living wages,

employers meaningfully contribute to improving the lives and well-being of their employees

and by extension, communities and our society as a whole.

Pay equity doesn't mean that everyone is paid the same. Compensation based on differences in experience, responsibility, and risk may result in justifiable, reasonable, and scalable differences in pay.

Organizations can develop approaches to equitably recognize the value of employee contributions without creating and perpetuating disparities.

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Living Wage Metrics

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Label Process

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Key Takeaways:

12-Month Timeline: You have up to 12 months to complete your Just application after registering—start today!
Label Validity: Each Just label is valid for two years.
Renewal Window: You can begin renewing your label 12 months before it expires.
Consistent Process: The application process and fee structure remain the same for both new labels and renewals.
Team Effort: Form a dedicated team or committee to manage the application. This is a collaborative process, not a solo task.

International Living Future Institute

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The Impact:

Provided a framework for reflection, evaluation, and improvement
Fostered transparency, built trust, and encouraged meaningful conversations
Supported recruitment and retention of top talent
Served as a resource for reporting needs (e.g., ESG, impact reports)
Helped attract and secure new business and project opportunities

International Living Future Institute

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NEXT STEPS

Learn more living-future.org/just �
Review the Just 3.0 Program Manual�
Register and start your Just label�
Connect with the Just team just.support@living-future.org

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Resources & Help Desk

living-future.org/just