Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice

Business Targets & Actions on Gender Diversity and Equity

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STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS — Expects all of its portfolio companies worldwide to have at least one woman on their boards starting in the 2022 proxy season. It also expects the boards of portfolio companies in major US, UK, European, Canadian, and Australian indices to have at least 30% women directors by the 2023 proxy season, and to align their climate-related disclosures with TCFD recommendations. State Street is prepared to vote against board leaders at companies that fail to meet any of the expectations. The company also plans in the coming year to “launch a targeted engagement campaign with the most significant emitters in our portfolio to encourage disclosure aligned with our expectations for climate transition plans." (Jan 2022)

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GOLDMAN SACHS — Announced it expects companies whose shares it owns to have at least 10% of their directors be women starting in March 2022 (unless a higher local minimum requirement exists). It will also require that S&P 500 and FTSE 100 companies have at least one director from an underrepresented ethnic minority group. Goldman Sachs will cast proxy votes against the nominating committee members of boards that don’t meet expectations, as well as all members of US boards that don’t have any women. (Dec 2021)

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BT GROUP — Committed to helping its customers reduce their own carbon emissions by 60 million tons by 2030 and “building towards a circular BT by 2030 and a circular tech and telco ecosystem by 2040.” It also committed to having a workforce with a 50% gender split, 25% from an ethnic minority group, and 17% with a disability by 2030. (Dec 2021)

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L’ORÉAL — Announced it became the first company in the world to receive the new EDGEplus certification from EDGE (Economic Dividends for Gender Equality), which it claims is the only global assessment methodology and business certification for gender and intersectional equity. L'Oréal created an internal pay-assessment tool based on EDGE methodology to consistently measure pay equity in its global workforce, with the results indicating it exceeded the EDGE standard for pay equity on the organizational level. (Aug 2021)
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ENERGY IMPACT PARTNERS — The global energy venture capital firm launched the Elevate Future Fund, which aims to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion for clean-tech entrepreneurs working toward a low-carbon economy. The fund has secured over half its targeted amount of $120 million. Founding corporate partners include Duke Energy, Microsoft, Alliant Energy, and FirstEnergy Corp. (Aug 2021)
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HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION — Launched its World of Care platform to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and responsible business practices. The platform allows Hyatt to share detailed workforce diversity data, roll out a new global human trafficking training, and offer a new wellness assessment and week of well-being programming.  (July 2021)
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SIEMENS — Announced numerous new sustainability, ethics, governance, equity, employability, and resource efficiency goals, including (July 2021):

• Tying long-term incentives to an internal ESG/Sustainability Index
• Eco design for products by 2030 and zero landfill waste by 2030
• 30% female share in top management by fiscal year 2025.
• Training 100% of employees in business conduct every 3 years
• 30% improvement in lost time injury frequency rate and double-digit learning hours by 2025

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PAYPAL — Committed over $100 million of internal and external investments over 5 years toward advancing economic empowerment and financial inclusion for women and girls around the world. It will deposit $100 million of capital into women-led or women-focused investment funds and depository institutions, and invest $7 million in partnerships for female entrepreneurs’ access to microloans. (July 2021)
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BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION — Will give $2.1 billion over the next 5 years to advance women's economic empowerment ($650 million) and leadership ($100 million over 5 years, $230 million over 10 years), and better women and girls' health and family planning ($1.4 billion). (July 2021)
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MORGAN STANLEY — Launched Morgan Stanley Next Level Fund, as part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Private Credit & Equity platform, to invest in technology-enabled companies and early-stage technology with women or diverse founders, with tech, financial tech, consumer/retail, health care, media, and entertainment as target sectors. Inaugural corporate partners include Microsoft, Hearst, and Walmart. (June 2021)
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Women in Climate Tech — The group—including Trane Technologies, Microsoft, and PG&E—announced a new TCFDW program to create a TCFD-aligned toolkit governments and businesses can use to better investors’ understanding of the relationship between climate change and gender equity, assess risks posed on net-zero commitments as a result of gender inequity, and assess opportunities that emerge from addressing inequity along with climate change solutions. (June 2021)
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PINTEREST — Announced new 2025 inclusion, diversity, and equity targets, including increasing the number of women in leadership by 20% (currently 30%) and the number of people from underrepresented races and ethnicities in leadership and technical roles to 20% (currently 12%). (May 2021)

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KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES — Announced new environmental and social goals, including: using 55% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% by 2040 (2019 baseline); reducing energy use 10% by 2030 and 20% by 2040 (2019 baseline); ensuring 35% of global new hires are women and 45% of new U.S. hires are underrepresented minorities in 2021; and committing $250 million to engage 75,000 students through STEM education. (May 2021)

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HP Inc.— Announced new 2030 goals to drive a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive technology industry, including (May 2021):

• Achieving gender parity in leadership by 2030
• Achieving 50/50 gender equality in HP leadership by 2030
• Achieving over 30% representation of women in technical and engineering roles by 2030
• Meeting or exceeding labor market representation for racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S. by 2030
• Maintaining a 90%+ rating on its internal inclusion index for all employee demographics annually
• Reaching 1 million workers through worker empowerment programs by 2030

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DEUTSCHE BANK — Announced a goal of facilitating over $244 billion in sustainable finance and investments by 2024. It also committed to increasing women in leadership positions from 29% to 35% by 2025. (May 2021)

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BED BATH & BEYOND — Announced new goals across 3 pillars of action (May 2021):

• People: At all levels, achieve at least 50% women representation and at least 25% racial or ethnic diversity by 2030
• Community: Donate $1 billion in products and 2 million volunteer hours by 2030
• Planet: Divert 100% of operational waste from landfill by 2050; improve water efficiency across all facilities 50% by 2035; and integrate sustainable products across all categories at accessible prices by 2030 (includes sustainably sourcing cotton and wood, and eliminating >50% of virgin plastic)

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IRON MOUNTAIN — The information management company announced new sustainability goals across 3 pillars (May 2021): 

• Protecting our planet: Reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions 50% by 2025, achieve 90% renewable electricity by 2025, and use 100% clean electricity for its data centers by 2040
• Empowering our people: Extend gender pay parity across global operations and reduce the pay gap to 5% by 2025, increase representation of women in global leadership to at least 40% and 30% for people who identify as BIPOC by 2025.
• Strengthening our communities: Contribute 100,000 hours of employee volunteer time in local communities

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UNITED AIRLINES — Announced that at least 50% of the students in its United Aviate Academy will be women and people of color as it seeks to train 5,000 new pilots by 2030. It has partnered with JPMorgan Chase to offer scholarship opportunities. (April 2021)

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MICHELIN — Announced its “All Sustainable” strategy for 2030, including the following commitments to people and the planet (April 2021):

• Achieve an employee engagement rate of more than 85%
• Increase the percentage of women in management positions to 35%
• Reduce Scope 1, 2, and transportation-related Scope 3 emissions by 50% (2010 baseline), and achieve carbon neutrality in these scopes by 2050
• Increase sustainable raw materials contained in all products to 40% by 2030, in line with a target of 100% by 2050

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AMAZON — Announced a goal to double the number of Black employees in senior leadership roles (3.8% in 2020) and hire 30% more Black people as corporate employees in the U.S. in 2021. It also aims to increase women in tech and science-related senior leadership roles by 30% this year (22.8% in 2020). (April 2021)

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NOVELIS — Committed to becoming net carbon-neutral by 2050 and announced medium-term goals, including reducing CO2 emissions 30% by 2026, reducing energy intensity 10% by 2026, reducing waste to landfill 20% by 2026, and reducing water consumption 10% by 2026. It also committed to creating a more diverse, inclusive and, safe workplace and set goals of increasing representation of women 30% in senior leadership positions and 15% in senior technical roles by 2024. (April 2021)

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JETBLUE — Announced a set of short and medium-term ESG targets, as well as a partnership with EARTHDAY.ORG to encourage volunteer opportunities throughout the airline’s network for its annual GreenUp Initiative during Earth Month. Targets include (April 2021):

• Achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040 (including carbon offsets)
• Decreasing aircraft emissions 25% per available seat mile by 2030 from 2015 levels, excluding offsets
• Converting 10% of total jet fuel to be from blended sustainable aviation fuel by 2030
• Converting 40% of 3 main ground service equipment vehicle types to electric by 2025 and 50% by 2030
• Eliminating single-use plastics within service ware where possible; using only recyclable plastic
• Maintaining at least an 80% recycling rate for audited domestic flights
• Doubling race and ethnic minority representation at the officer and director level to 25% by the end of 2025
• Increasing representation of women at the officer and director level, from 32% to 40% by the end of 2025
• Engaging with 80% of top active business partners (by spend) on ESG principles within JetBlue’s Business Partner Code of Conduct by 2023
• Integrating ESG and DEI into the Board member selection process by 2021
• Establishing ESG goals tied to senior leadership compensation by 2021

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MASTERCARD — Unveiled the first-ever credit card created to advance women in the economy in a new partnership with Seneca Women and Deserve.  Cardholders will get 3% cashback for shopping at one of the million women-owned businesses included in the Seneca Women Marketplace. The Card will also help drive donations to women-focused nonprofits. (March 2021)

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NIKE — Unveiled 29 diversity and sustainability targets for 2025 and announced it will tie executive compensation to progress against them. Targets include (March 2021):

• 45% women and 35% racial minorities in leadership roles
• 70% absolute reduction of GHG emissions in owned or operated facilities
• 100% renewable electricity and fleet electrification
• 100% waste diverted from landfill in extended supply chain with at least 80% recycled back into NIKE products and other goods
• 10X the amount of finished product waste refurbished, recycled or donated
• Adopting clean chemistry alternatives for 10 priority chemistries across its supply chain
• 25% reduction in fresh water usage in textile dyeing and finishing
• 13B liters of water restored through projects in water-stressed ecosystems
• $1B spend on diverse suppliers

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JPMorgan Chase & Company announced a new five-year, $350 million global commitment to help grow Black, Latinx, and women-owned businesses. It will also invest an additional $42.5 million to its “Entrepreneurs of Color Fund.” The investments are part of its $30 billion commitment announced in October 2020 to uplift underserved communities. (March 2021)

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JetBlue announced new diversity and inclusion (D&I) goals for its officer and director level, including doubling its race and ethnic minority representation from 12.5% to 25% and increasing women's representation from 32% to 40% by 2025. It also plans to launch two new internal career development programs to support its D&I strategies and create greater access to select career paths for employees. (March 2021)

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VF Corporation announced new programs and actions to advance racial equity, including (February 2021):

• Achieving 25% Black, Indigenous, and People of Color representation within its Director and above population by 2030
• Applying Mansfield Rules, requiring initial candidate slates to contain at least 50 percent diverse candidates (defined as women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+ individuals, and individuals with disabilities) when hiring or promoting candidates
• Assessing and resolving any identified pay gaps for employees, sponsored athletes, and influencers across the organization through a pay equity analysis by 2024
• Tying financial bonuses for Directors and above to racial equity goals and strategies
• Establishing a supplier diversity program to double its spend with minority- and women-owned businesses by 2025

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McDonald’s committed to achieving gender parity in leadership roles (Senior Director or above) by the end of 2030 and will incorporate its diversity, equity, and inclusion performance into compensation for its Executive Vice Presidents. It announced interim 2025 goals to increase the percentage of women (from 37% to 45%) and historically underrepresented groups (from 29% to 35%) in leadership roles. (February 2021)

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Conagra Brands announced several new environmental and diversity goals, including (February 2021):

• Reducing absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 25% by 2030
• Reducing Scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services by 20% per metric ton of material sourced by 2030
• Making 100% of its current plastic packaging renewable, recyclable or compostable by 2025
• Doubling the representation of people of color in management and middle-management roles
• Having at least 40% of management-level roles held by women

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Qualcomm announced 2025 goals to reduce Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 30% and to increase representation of women and underrepresented minorities in leadership roles by 15%. (February 2021)

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Johnson Controls announced new ESG commitments, including: achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040; investing 75% of new product development R&D in climate-related innovation; using 100% renewable electricity by 2040; doubling customers’ annual avoided emissions by 2030; favoring suppliers with excellent sustainability ratings; doubling representation of women leaders globally and minority leaders in the U.S. within five years; including sustainability and diversity goals in senior leaders' performance assessments. (January 2021)

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A new membership group, Women in Climate Tech (WiCT), was announced to “empower and amplify the voices of women” in the climate tech field.(January 2021)

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List of Business Targets & Actions on Racial Diversity and Equity, 2020-2019 (PDF)

Business Targets & Actions on Racial Diversity and Equity

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BLACKROCK — Announced it has secured more than $800 million in initial commitments toward its $1 billion target for the BlackRock Impact Opportunities Fund. The fund will offer a first of its kind “multi-alternatives” strategy to invest in businesses and projects owned, led by, or serving people of color, with a particular focus on Black, Latinx, and Native American communities in the United States. The fund is designed to “do well and do good,” improving economic outcomes for undercapitalized communities of color and generating positive returns for investors. Three investments have been completed to date. (May 2022)

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AMAZON WEB SERVICES — Earmarked more than $30 million to invest in early stage startups “led by Black, Latino, LGBTQIA+, and women founders” as part of its Impact Accelerator. Selected startups receive $225,000 in combined cash, credit, training and support. (April 2022) 

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METLIFE ― Announced that it will commit more than $2.5 billion to deliver on a broad set of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments by 2030. Key elements include (March 2022):

• $1 billion in investments (incl. $100 million deployed in 2021) that advance firms owned by women, minorities, and disabled persons.
• Plans to reach $5 billion in direct spending with diverse suppliers ― an increase of $1.6 billion from the amount MetLife’s Supplier Inclusion and Development Program has committed to date.
• Allocation of 800,000 employee volunteer hours with a focus on DEI/underserved communities.

MetLife

BANK OF AMERICA — Announced it is doubling enrollment for the Bank of America Institute for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Cornell, enabling an additional 50,000 small business owners, particularly women entrepreneurs of color, to learn business skills from Cornell University faculty and connect with an entrepreneur network. Registration is “open to anyone worldwide, regardless of gender, educational background or business stage.” (March 2022)

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The Recycling Partnership launched a Recycling Inclusion Fund to “close the equity gap” in the US waste and recycling system. It will provide access, education, and career advancement opportunities in the sustainability sector for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) populations. Initial funding partners include CEF members 3M and Procter & Gamble. (Feb 2022)

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MORGAN STANLEY — Committed to investing $20 million over the next five years to launch the Morgan Stanley Institute for Inclusion’s (IFI) Equity in Education and Career Consortium, created to provide “awareness, access, and advancement” for over 30,000 low- to moderate-income high school and college students worldwide, particularly ethnically diverse students. Morgan Stanley will partner with the Morgan Stanley Foundation and a group of nonprofits to deliver consortium objectives. (Feb 2022)

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UPS — Committed to investing $1.25 million through UPS and The UPS Foundation for UPS Ignite, a new program to promote equity and inclusion for diverse business owners in the United States. Ignite will reach over 250 SMBs in the next three years and focus on four key areas: capital, online training, classes, and business coaching. (Jan 2022)

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STARBUCKS — Committed to spending $1.5 billion “with diverse suppliers” annually by 2030, up from nearly $800 million in FY21. It also committed to launching a Leadership Accelerator Program this summer to increase diversity in the Starbucks leadership pipeline, allocating 15% of its advertising budget toward minority-owned and targeted media companies in the next year, and launching a free, open-source toolkit for “diverse-owned entrepreneurs” on “how to run a successful business.” (Jan 2022)

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STARBUCKS — Will issue $21 million across seven community development financial institutions “to support small business growth and community development projects in BIPOC communities,” as part of the Starbucks Community Resilience Fund’s first round of funding. Starbucks also published its current workforce data: As of October 2021, its US partner base was 71.3% female and 48.2% BIPOC. (Jan 2022)

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List of Business Targets & Actions on Racial Diversity and Equity, 2021-2020 (PDF)

Business Targets & Actions on LGBTQ Diversity and Equity

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The Open for Business Coalition, made up of 34 global companies, denounced anti-LGBTQ legislation passed by Uganda's parliament last week, warning it would curb investment flows, deter tourists, undermine companies’ ability to hire a diverse workforce, and damage the country's economy. The legislation criminalizes identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer, and imposes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.” The coalition includes CEF members Dow, Google, JP Morgan Chase, Mastercard, McKinsey & Co., Meta, Microsoft, and Unilever. (April 2023)

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a Nasdaq proposal requiring companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange either to have two diverse board directors—one who identifies as female and one who identifies as an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+—or explain why they don’t. Companies must also disclose their board diversity. (Aug 2021)
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PROCTER & GAMBLE — Announced “The Visibility Project,” a new campaign to drive and sustain LGBTQ inclusion in advertisements and marketing to accelerate LGBTQ acceptance. The campaign is in collaboration with GLAAD, an LGBTQ media advocacy organization. (May 2021)
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Procter & Gamble has partnered with the It Gets Better Project to amplify stories from the LGBTQ+ community that celebrate progress and educate the world on the LGBTQ+ experience. (June 2020)

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Business Targets & Actions on Digital Equity

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HP INC. — Committed to delivering “innovative technology” and over $100,000 in grants for each organization participating in a new Digital Equity Accelerator led by the Aspen Digital program. The Accelerator will leverage community leaders and a mentor network to help nonprofits scale their impact in health care, education, and economic opportunity, and to help underserved communities affected by the digital divide. It will pilot in the U.S., India, and Morocco, with plans to expand in subsequent years. (Feb 2022)

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HP INC. — Committed to “accelerating digital equity for 150 million people by 2030.” To meet this goal, it launched HP PATH (Partnership and Technology for Humanity), an accelerator program focused on local health care, education, and economic opportunity initiatives for underserved communities around the world. (June 2021)

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Research on Business and Diversity & Inclusion Generally

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Innovating for Equity: Unlocking Value for Communities and Businesses (Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and World Economic Forum) — Offers scalable lessons on how to drive value creation by addressing systemic socioeconomic exclusion at the local and global levels. Using a series of six case studies, the report outlines a series of social innovation solutions for integrating racial and ethnic equity into business practices and spurring growth. It describes three pathways for social innovators, companies, and governments to foster diversity and growth, including (March 2024):

1. Expanding Markets by providing goods and services that better meet the needs of different communities.
2. Unlocking talent by making hiring processes more equitable.
3. Broadening networks through building more diverse and inclusive supplier ecosystems.

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Tackling Inequality: An Agenda for Business Action (Business Commission to Tackle Inequality (BCTI)) — Provides new analysis into the critical role of the private sector in addressing inequality, and the business case for addressing this, both in reducing systemic risks and creating opportunities for long term growth. The report provides an overview of inequality, its growth and threat to society and business (including increasing operating environment volatility, reducing productivity, increasing supply chain insecurity, regulatory and reputation risks, and access to capital). It then maps out ten actions for businesses to take to address this at a variety of different scopes (own workforce, value chain, consumers, and communities at large), including (May 2023):

1. Implement the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;
2. Make essential products and services more accessible and affordable;
3. Create a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace and value chain;
4. Prepare people for the future of work;
5. Provide safe, secure and sufficient work;
6. Pay and promote living wages and incomes;
7. Support and respect worker representation;
8. Support effective public policy;
9. Adopt responsible tax practices; and
10. Realize the just transition to a net-zero and nature positive economy.

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A new report by the Alliance for Entrepreneurial Equity (AEE) examines the systemic barriers preventing women and people of color from starting, scaling, and owning businesses, and the significant impact that has on the racial wealth gap. Authors argue that creating equity in entrepreneurship will offer compounding benefits to families and communities that can address that gap by generating wealth, creating jobs, providing resilience during economic downturns, and bringing new opportunities to disadvantaged communities. Key findings include (May 2022):

• Barriers exist at all stages of entrepreneurship: getting started, getting capital, getting customers, and getting to scale.
• It’s estimated that it costs “at least a quarter of a million dollars more for a Black or Brown entrepreneur to start the same, exact business as their white peers,” that Black of Brown entrepreneurs typically start with less than a third of the capital of their white peers, and they face more barriers to financing. Venture capital often “bypasses women and people of color.”
• Government contracts represent a massive market opportunity for businesses, but only 9.4% of federal contracts awarded in FY2020 went to minority-owned small businesses and 5% to women-owned.
• Of businesses with employees, only 2% (134,600) are black-owned and only 6% Hispanic-owned (346,800), the report notes. But if the numbers were proportionate to overall population, the numbers would climb to 872,000 and 1.2 million, respectively. 

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Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Workplace (WBCSD and Korn Ferry) – Examines the challenges for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion efforts as more global organizations accelerate DE&I efforts. Highlights (April 2022):

• Companies that embrace DE&I are 70% more likely to capture new markets, and 75% more likely to see ideas become productized.
• Diverse teams have also been found to be better at solving complex challenges.
• Companies with above-average diversity report 19% higher innovation revenue.
• Diverse and inclusive teams make better decisions 87% of the time.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Key Action Areas for Investors (Principles for Responsible Investment) — Calls on investors to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into their investment and ownership decisions, and to expand the focus of DEI efforts beyond gender and diversity to issues such as inclusion and equity. It highlights business and investment benefits of addressing DEI issues and offers actions for investors to pursue across three key areas: inclusive corporate cultures, inclusive business models, and inclusive societies. (Feb 2022)

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Less than 20% of America’s 100 largest corporate employers are disclosing the majority of 28 human capital metrics covering 6 themes (e.g., workforce DE&I and job stability), according to a new JUST Capital survey. (Oct 2021)
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Women in the Workplace 2021 (McKinsey & Company, LeanIn.Org) — Analyzes the representation of women and the “intersectional experiences” of diverse groups of women in corporate America. Reports that senior-level women are doing more than senior-level men to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace and that representation of women of color falls off relative to men of color and white employees at every corporate level. (Oct 2021)
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S&P 500 companies with “multidimensional” board diversity (e.g., age, gender, race) saw less economic downside and even revenue growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic than companies with less diverse boards, according to data from nonprofit BoardReady. (July 2021)
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Employment inequality is worsening in the U.S. private sector, according to The Job Quality Index. 45% of workers in 2020 were in high-quality jobs (weekly wages above the national average for non-management production jobs) versus 55% in low-quality jobs (weekly wages below the national average). 28% of Hispanic American workers held high-quality jobs in 2020, compared with 29% of Black American workers and 61% of Asian American workers. (May 2021)

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Global retail investors view economic inequality as a bigger investment risk than climate change, according to a recent study by Globescan that involved 27,000 participants across 27 countries. (February 2021)

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"We’re Entering the Age of Corporate Social Justice" (Lily Zheng, Harvard Business Review, June 2020) argues that Corporate Social Justice is a "new paradigm that imagines a healthier and mutually beneficial relationship between companies and the communities they interact with." Companies can respond to this new challenge by:

• Beginning with a goal or vision for a more just society
• Thoughtfully situate your company within the broader ecosystem surrounding that goal
• Build robust and representative working groups that connect the company with its stakeholders
• Take a stance
• Regularly evaluate progress

“Diversity & Inclusion in Corporate Social Engagement” (CEO Force For Good, 2018) explores how companies are integrating diversity and inclusion (D&I) into their corporate citizenship and responsibility priorities. The white paper identifies six trends:

1. Companies are increasingly addressing D&I through corporate social engagement and expect this trend to continue.
2. Companies’ primary motivations for advancing D&I through corporate social engagement are two-fold: to achieve social impact and to develop a more diverse talent pipeline.
3. Developing a strategic, integrated approach across all business functions to corporate social engagement D&I is the biggest challenge — and opportunity.
4. Employees — at all levels — have a critical role in advancing D&I efforts in corporate social engagement.
5. Developing a clear and strategic approach to addressing equity in corporate social engagement is challenging on multiple fronts.
6. There is a need to improve the measurement of D&I in corporate social engagement.  

Research on Business & Gender

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Lifting financial performance by investing in women (BlackRock) — Companies with the most gender diverse workforces (i.e. neither under- nor over-representation by men or women) outperformed their country and industry group peers with the least diverse workforces by 1.6 percentage points per year on average between 2013 and 2022, based on data from roughly 1,250 MSCI World Index companies. The report found that where middle management best reflects women’s representation in the overall workforce the companies generated higher returns. However, gender diversity tends to deteriorate with seniority, with women being almost equally represented at entry level (49% to 51%); 33% at middle management; 18% at executive level; and just 6% at CEO level. Yet companies with a female CEO have “almost consistently outperformed” companies run by men over the past decade (by 1.0 percentage points on average). (Nov 2023)

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The Status of Women in Agrifood Systems (UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)) — Tackling gender inequalities in agriculture and agrifood systems and empowering women reduces hunger, boosts the economy, and reinforces resilience to shocks like climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to this new report. Women currently earn only 82 cents per dollar men earn. They also have less secure land tenure, and less access to training and credit. Combined with discrimination, these inequalities create a 24% gender gap in productivity. Addressing these inequalities would increase global GDP by nearly $1 trillion and reduce the number of food-insecure people by 45 million. Focusing interventions on empowering women would significantly raise incomes of 58 million people and increase the resilience of an additional 235 million. The report recommends closing gaps related to assets, technology, and resources; providing access to childcare; and improving data gathering to help monitor and accelerate gender equality. (April 2023)

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Women in the U.S. earned 82% as much as men in 2022, similar to what they earned 20 years ago (80%), though up from 65% in 1982, according to new analysis by Pew Research Center. Women workers 25-34 have fared better, growing from 86% parity in 2002 to 92% in 2022. Growing parity may be explained by improvements by women in educational attainment, occupational segregation and work experience. And the continuing gap also reflects the overrepresentation of women in lower-paying occupations relative to their share of the workforce and continuing gender discrimination. (March 2023)

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BLOOMBERG — Published its 2023 Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which recognized 484 companies for high scores among five key social indicators: leadership; gender pay parity; inclusive culture; anti-sexual harassment policies; and external brand. This year, 620 companies disclosed gender-related data, an 11% increase year-over-year. CEF members listed include: Bank of America, BlackRock, Boeing, CBRE, Dow, Ecolab, Ford, General Motors, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, JPMorgan Chase, Marriott International, Mastercard, Morgan Stanley, Procter & Gamble, Schneider Electric, Unilever, Visa, and Wells Fargo. (Feb 2023)

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A new study shows strong correlation between companies’ board gender diversity and their progress toward climate-related goals. The study of the world’s largest 1,000 companies, conducted by investment firm Arabesque using data from ESG Book, found that (March 2022):

• The most diverse 20% of those companies have climate plans more aligned with a global warming cap of 1.5C above pre-industrial average by 2050.
• The least diverse of those companies are aligned with a worst-case global warming scenario of 2.7C or above.

Reuters

Women in the Boardroom: A Global Perspective (Deloitte Global Boardroom Program, in collaboration with The 30% Club) — Analyzes the boardroom gender diversity of nearly 10,500 companies in 72 countries and identifies political, social, and legislative trends. Key findings (Feb 2022):

• Only 6.7% of board chairs and 5% of CEOs are women.
• A global average of 19.7% board seats are held by women, up 2.8 percentage points since 2018. At this rate, “something near parity” could be reached around 2045—seven years earlier than the previous report’s findings.
• Companies with women CEOs have significantly more female representation on their boards than those with male CEOs: 33.5% vs. 19.4%, respectively.

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BLOOMBERG — Released its 2022 Gender-Equality Index (GEI), which recognizes 418 public companies representing $16 trillion of market capitalization across 45 countries and regions for scoring above the global threshold on providing a gender-inclusive work environment. A record number of companies disclosed their data using the GEI Framework—a 20% increase year-over-year. CEF members included in the Index: Bank of America, BlackRock, CBRE, Dow, Ecolab, Ford, General Motors, HPE, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Marriott International, Mastercard, Morgan Stanley, Schneider Electric, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Visa, Wells Fargo. (Jan 2022)

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List of Research on Business and Gender Issues, 2021-2019 (PDF)

Research on Business & LGBTQ

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HRC FOUNDATION 2022 “CORPORATE EQUALITY INDEX” (CEI) — The Human Rights Campaign Foundation released its annual report measuring company policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. A record 842 companies employing 14.3 million workers earned a perfect rating and the title of “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ+ Equality,” up from just 13 companies in 2002. The Foundation also released new criteria going into effect for the 2023 CEI, including gender-affirming health care and workplace policies. CEF members Apple and JPMorgan Chase & Co. have received a perfect scored every year of the CEI’s 20-year history. CEF members with a perfect rating for 2022: 3M, Amazon, Apple, Archer Daniels Midland, Bank of America, BASF, BlackRock, Bloomberg, Boeing, CBRE, Chevron, Cisco, Comcast NBCUniversal, Dell, Dow, Duke Energy, Ecolab, Google, HP, HPE, Hyatt Hotels, Johnson & Johnson, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Kaiser Permanente, Kimberly-Clark, Liberty Mutual, Lockheed Martin, Marriott International, Mastercard, McDonald’s, McKesson, McKinsey & Co., Meta, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Northrop Grumman, Oracle, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Samsung Electronics America, Siemens, TD Bank Group, The Walt Disney Company, Tiffany & Co., TPG Capital, Unilever, UPS, Visa, and Wells Fargo. (Jan 2022)

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Boosting employment and wage equity for transgender people in the U.S. could boost annual consumer spending by $12 billion a year, according to new research from McKinsey & Co. (Nov 2021)
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“Business Success and Growth Through LGBT—Inclusive Culture” (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 2019) offers best practices for implementing LGBT-inclusive policies and programs based on insight from 70 corporate respondents. The report also highlights research demonstrating the benefits of LGBT-inclusive policies on a company’s employees and bottom line.

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Research on Business & Racial

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20% of companies now have race/ethnicity representation goals, up 4% from 2022, according to a new report of 143 companies from Paradigm. 34% now have gender representation goals, up 8% from 2022. Companies with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) leaders also increased by 6%. However, companies that have DEI budgets decreased 4% to 54% in 2023. (Dec 2023)

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Of the 323,094 jobs added by 88 S&P 100 companies in 2021 (the first year after the Black Lives Matter protests), 94% went to people of color, according to new analysis by Bloomberg News. 40% of hires were Hispanic, 23% Black, 22% Asian, 6% White, and 8% other races. The majority of growth came in less-senior roles but racial diversity increased also among executives, managers, and professionals. At companies where employment shrank in 2021, White workers made up 68.5% of the losses, while Black made up 16.5%, Hispanic 9.7% and Asian 2.3%.

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2023 Edelman Trust Barometer (Edelman) — 69% of Americans surveyed say they are concerned about systemic racism and racial injustice, up 8% from last year, according to this annual survey of 3,500 respondents. Other key findings include (May 2023):

• 57% of respondents felt the country had made little or no progress, or things have gotten worse in addressing systemic racism in the last year, up from 52% in 2022;
• Less than half of respondents trusted any institutions to do what is right when it comes to responding to systemic racism in the U.S., with businesses and NGOs the least distrusted (47% trusted), but down from 50% and 48% respectively from the previous year. However, 72% of employees trust their employer to do what is right;
• No business sector was seen as doing well in addressing racism in its industry (with all sectors scoring 50% or below);
• While 60% of executives said their organizations are making “a lot of meaningful progress on addressing racism and racial inequities in the workplace,” only 28% of mid-level employees and 18% of associates said so;
• Employees at organizations where a lot of progress addressing racism is seen are far more likely to stay working for the company (39%), recommend their employer (36%), feel like they fit in (35%), and do more than expected for the company (34%);
• 80% of employees said Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives in the workplace were an effective measure to address racism; and
• 62% of respondents said companies are doing mediocre or worse living up to their commitments to address racism both inside their organizations and in broader society, up from 56% in 2022.

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Racial and ethnic minorities hold 20% of board seats at Russell 3000 companies, up from 12% in 2019 and a historic first, according to ISS Corporate Solutions. Directorships by Black individuals saw the largest growth (90% since 2019) with 8.9% of all board seats now held by Black directors. However, this is significantly smaller than minorities’ share of the U.S. population; Latinos, for example make up 18.9% of the U.S. population but just 3.6% of board seats. (Feb 2023)

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Exposé of Women’s Workplace Experiences Challenges Antiracist Leaders to Step Up (Catalyst) — 51% of women from marginalized racial and ethnic groups have experienced racism in their current workplace, according to a new survey of 2,734 women in Australia, Canada, South Africa, the UK, and the U.S. Women with darker skin tones, that are queer, and transgender are particularly likely to experience racism at work. 25% of respondents also believed that senior leaders in their organization would discriminate against an employee based on their ethnicity, race, or culture. In work cultures where differences are valued, employees are less likely to experience racism at work (43% v. 61%). These “diversity climates” are also linked to increased job satisfaction and engagement and decreased employee withdrawal. The report then highlights the role senior leaders can play in interrupting racism and offers advice on how to do so, including: using allyship and curiosity to prevent the experiences of racism; strengthening the organizational climate; and creating accountability programs. (Feb 2023)

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Food and Beverage Company Racial Justice Actions: Response to the Murder of George Floyd (Healthy Food America) — Reviews the statements, commitments, and actions of 25 U.S. food and beverage companies to advance racial justice since the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. The report finds that most companies are making headway on espoused commitments; however, less than half made high-impact actions such as promoting anti-racist public policies and increasing workforce diversity. The most common activities were charitable donations and organizing employee conversations or trainings on race. Researchers also noted that publicly available information on corporate racial justice actions was difficult to find, citing an inability to determine the status of any action category for 36% of the companies. (Oct 2022)

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Race in the workplace: The frontline experience (McKinsey & Company) — Explores how frontline employees of color face specific challenges related to workplace experience and advancement, and what companies can do to support them. Frontline workers, despite being the largest and most diverse part of the workforce, have not benefited adequately from corporate DEI initiatives, the report finds. Frontline hourly workers, in particular, are 20% less likely than corporate employees to believe that their companies’ DEI policies are effective, with Black employees feeling least enfranchised among them. The report offers steps companies could take to improve job quality and better support frontline workers of color to develop and progress in their careers, including (Aug 2022):

• Create platforms that give frontline workers a greater voice in the company’s decision-making.
• Expand benefits to “raise the floor” for frontline workers. Include offerings like mental health support, greater flexibility in the workplace, improved transparency and predictability in scheduling, and stock ownership plans to promote wealth creation.
• Overhaul the talent management system, including the creation of individual development plans.
• Formalize paths for advancement, including the identification of “gateway jobs” within the company, and ensure that the necessary mentorship and skills-development opportunities are in place.

JUST Capital, a research and ratings nonprofit that evaluates corporate and investor performance against public priorities, has released its 2022 Corporate Racial Equity Tracker. The Tracker provides an accounting of commitments and actions by the 100 largest U.S. employers across six specific dimensions of racial equity: anti-discrimination policies, pay equity, diversity data, education and training, community investments, and response to mass incarceration. Key findings include (June 2022):

• Workforce and board diversity disclosures increased overall, and the number of companies that disclosed conducting pay equity analyses went up 33% over last year.
• Overall, companies continue to lag when it comes to disclosing the results of their pay equity analyses, racial and ethnic diversity targets, and details on anti-harassment training.
• Few companies disclose commitments to advancing racial equity in the communities they most impact, like spending on local suppliers and having re-entry or second chance policies.

JUST Capital identified CEF members JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and Wells Fargo among the top performers, based on having released at least 15 of the 23 types of disclosures in the study. (June 2022)

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As of September 2021, 55% of Russell 1000 companies had disclosed some type of racial and ethnic workforce data (up from 32% in January 2021) and the number of companies disclosing an EEO-1 Report or Intersectional Data—“the gold standard”—had more than doubled to 11% (up from September 2020), according to JUST Capital. 20% publicly reported “highly generalized” Overall People of Color Data. (Feb 2022)

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List of Research on Business and Racial Issues, 2021-2019 (PDF)

Climate change is the "single biggest health threat facing humanity," according to a new WHO report. (Oct 2021)
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Communities of color and low-income residents in the U.S. face much higher urban heat extremes than people living in richer, whiter urban neighborhoods, according to a paper in Earth’s Future that examined urban extreme summer temperature events in 1,056 U.S. counties. Disparities appeared in over 70% of counties, with higher-poverty areas seeing summer land surface temperatures up to 7°F higher than that in rich areas. (July 2021)
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US health care costs caused by climate change and fossil-fuel-generated air pollution exceed $800 billion per year and are rising, according to a new NRDC report: The Costs of Inaction: The Economic Burden of Fossil Fuels and Climate Change on Health in the United States. (May 2021)
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PM2.5 Polluters Disproportionately and Systemically Affect People of Color in the United States (Science Advances) — Finds air pollution disproportionately affects communities of color in the U.S., consistent across states, urban and rural environments, income levels, exposure levels, and different types of pollution. Identifies the most inequitable emission source types by state and city, highlighting potential opportunities for addressing this persistent environmental inequity. (May 2021)

Your ZIP Code Might Determine How Long You Live—and the Difference Could Be Decades (TIME Magazine) — Finds 56 of the 500 largest cities in the U.S. are home to people who can expect to live at least 20 fewer years than those in other neighborhoods, even if they’re just blocks or miles away. (June 2019)

The Climate Justice Playbook for Business (B Lab, et al.) — A practical guide to help business leaders understand the intersection of climate action and social justice. (May 2021)
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Corporate Insights into the CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity (JUST Capital, PolicyLink, and FSG) — Explores the challenges business leaders are grappling with around advancing racial equity and outlines actions CEOs may take to help promote equity and justice in their workplaces, the communities they operate in, and society as a whole. (May 2021)

Neglected: Environmental Justice Impacts of Plastic Pollution (UN Environment Program) — Showcases how environmental injustices are linked to plastic production and exist at all stages of the production and use cycle. Calls on business and governments to take urgent action to better monitor plastic waste, examine its health impacts, and invest in waste management. (April 2021)

Environmental Justice: Lessons from the Past and a Look to the Future (Resources for the Future/Urban Institute) — A new environmental justice (EJ) webinar series. The panel of experts reviewed the trajectory of EJ activism and its grounding in research, focusing on when and how scholars have provided the evidence necessary for legal remedy, policy change, or citizen awareness campaigns. With this grounding in history, the panelists then discussed the current policy imperatives and remaining gaps in knowledge.

Spectrum of Community Engagement to Ownership (Movement Strategy Center) — Charts a pathway to strengthen and transform local democracies.

Inclusive Procurement And Contracting: Building a Field of Policy and Practice (Emerald Cities Collaborative) — Surveys the current landscape for inclusive procurement and contracting policies and practices in the infrastructure and construction industries.

Revolutionary Power Book (Shalanda Baker) — A playbook for the energy transformation complete with a step-by-step analysis of the key energy policy areas that are ripe for intervention. Baker tells the stories of those who have been left behind in our current system and those who are working to be architects of a more just system. She draws from her experience as an energy-justice advocate, a lawyer, and a queer woman of color to inspire activists working to build our new energy system.

Solar with Justice: Strategies for Powering Up Under-Resourced Communities and Growing an Inclusive Solar Market (Clean Energy States Alliance) — Strategies for powering up under-resourced communities and growing an inclusive solar market.

Diversity Best Practices Guide for the Solar Industry (Solar Energy Industries Association and The Solar Foundation) — A guide of best practices for improving D&I in the solar industry. This report is a companion to its 2019 Solar Industry Diversity Study.

Resources demonstrating  problems with "Opportunity Zones:"

• The Biggest Problem With Opportunity Zones (Bloomberg)
• Potential Flaws of Opportunity Zones Loom, as Do Risks of Large-Scale Tax Avoidance (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
• The Problem With Opportunity Zones (Governing Institute)
  

Helpful resources to defining EJ

• EPA
• UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
• Sierra Club
• Principles of Environmental Justice (ejnet.org) — Delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held on October 24-27, 1991, in Washington DC, drafted and adopted these 17 principles of Environmental Justice. Since then, the Principles have served as a defining document for the growing grassroots movement for environmental justice
• Climate Justice Alliance's Just Transition Principles — Articulates the shared analysis & principles held by members of the Climate Justice Alliance, recognizing that a Just Transition will look different in different places
• Climate and Environmental Justice Explained (Grist) — 3-minute video

EJ reading lists

• Summer Reading List on Climate Justice (Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School)
• Read Up on the Links Between Racism and the Environment (NY Times)
• Environmental Personhood: A Radical Approach to Climate Justice (Nonprofit Quarterly) — Reports on a shift in the contemporary environmental justice movement that has seen “environmental personhood” have an increasing influence on global legal developments. Environmental personhood assigns legal status to natural entities (think forests, animals) and its increased appeal reflects “the influence of indigenous ways of seeing the relationship between human beings and the world.”
  

CFA Institute launched a voluntary Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Code (USA and Canada) (“DEI Code”) to drive DEI action among investment institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Signatories commit to a set of core principles (Pipeline, Talent Acquisition, Promotion and Retention, Leadership, Influence, Measurement). CFA Institute plans to publish regional DEI Codes with tailored guidance, followed by a global code. (Feb 2022)

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Corporate Insights into the CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity (JUST Capital, PolicyLink, and FSG) — Explores the challenges business leaders are grappling with around advancing racial equity and outlines actions CEOs may take to help promote equity and justice in their workplaces, the communities they operate in, and society as a whole. (May 2021)

DEI Dashboard (ADP) — Enables companies to analyze the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) aspects of their businesses and to set, track, and expand their DEI goals. The tool is part of ADP’s DataCloud suite and allows clients to breakdown the workforces by organization, department, and job level and compare metrics to other businesses. (April 2021)

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Social Vulnerability Index (CDC) — Uses 15 U.S. census variables to help local officials identify communities that may need support before, during, or after disasters.

Social Determinants: Acting to Achieve Well-being for All (Business Group on health) —  A members-only guide summarizing what social determinants are, their alignment with business priorities, ways to identify employee needs, and actionable approaches to filling gaps with internal benefits and programs. (October 2020)

Your ZIP Code Might Determine How Long You Live—and the Difference Could Be Decades (TIME Magazine) — Finds 56 of the 500 largest cities in the U.S. are home to people who can expect to live at least 20 fewer years than those in other neighborhoods, even if they’re just blocks or miles away. (June 2019)

Collaboration on Digital Inclusion & Equity

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Alliance for Global Inclusion — A tech-industry coalition—led by Intel, Dell, Nasdaq, Snap, and NTT Data—to accelerate the refinement and adoption of inclusive business practices across industries by creating a unified set of diversity and inclusion goals and metrics. It aims to address 4 areas: (1) Leadership representation, (2) Inclusive language, (3) Inclusive product development, and (4) STEM readiness in underserved communities. Companies are welcome to join. (May 2021)

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The Take on Race Coalition, led by Procter & Gamble, announced a new initiative (“One Million Connected Devices Now”) to deliver one million connected devices to students lacking access to digital devices and tools. The Partners include Comcast, Dell Technologies, Dow Jones, Fidelity, Intel, Microsoft Corp, PNC Bank, PolicyLink, and Walmart. Additional partners are welcome. (February 2021)

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The World Economic Forum launched the Essential Digital Infrastructure and Services Network (EDISON) Alliance to accelerate digital inclusion, address inequality, and connect critical sectors of the economy. This is the first global cross-sector Alliance focused on digital equality and includes Google, Mastercard, and Verizon. (January 2021)
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Collaboration on Racial Diversity & Equity

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Corporate Racial Equity Alliance — PolicyLink, JUST Capital, and FSG launched the alliance to support “the evolution of antiracist, equitable corporations” and released their 2021 CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity to help corporate leaders navigate racial-equity work in the workplace, communities, and society. The alliance will develop corporate racial-equity standards to create alignment in measuring, reporting, and incentivizing progress. (July 2021)
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The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) launched as a new convener, incubator, and funder for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. TAAF has raised an initial $250 million from various sources—including Amazon, Citigroup, Coca-Cola, UBS Group, Walmart, and the National Basketball Association—to fund anti-hate programs, education, and data and research. TAAF is inviting additional business leaders to join the "AAPI Giving Challenge" to help unlock additional funds and resources for AAPI communities. (May 2021)

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Hundreds of executives, nonprofits, and companies—including Amazon, Apple, Bank of America, BlackRock, Cisco, Dell Technologies, Facebook, Ford, General Motors, Google, JetBlue, Johnson & Johnson, Mastercard, and McKinsey & Co.—signed a public statement opposing “any discriminatory legislation.” The statement, titled “We Stand for Democracy,” was featured in advertisements in the New York Times and The Washington Post. (April 2021)

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NinetytoZero — A new initiative that provides a roadmap to reduce the racial wealth gap from 90% to zero across all sectors of the economy. Involved partner organizations and companies—including Goldman Sachs, McKinsey & Co., and Starbucks—have committed to a set of 7 actions to advance racial equity by growing Black talent and investing in Black businesses. Additional partners welcomed. (April 2021)

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The World Economic Forum launched Partnering for Racial Justice in Business Initiative, a new coalition to build more equitable and just workplaces. Three steps required to join the initiative include: 1) Racial and ethnic equity must be placed on the board’s agenda; 2) Companies must make at least one commitment towards racial and ethnic justice in their organizations; 3) Companies must put a long-term strategy in place towards becoming an anti-racist organization. Founding members include Bank of America, BlackRock, Bloomberg, Cisco Systems, Facebook, Google, HP, Johnson & Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Mastercard, McKinsey & Company, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and UPS. (January 2021)
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Collaboration on General Inclusion & Equity

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NEW CORPORATE COMMITMENTS TO HIRE REFUGEES — 46 companies that are part of the Tent Partnership for Refugees committed to hire 22,725 refugees in full time positions in the U.S., helping to advance the economic and social integration of refugees across the country. This is the most significant set of business commitments in support of refugees on record. CEF member commitments include: Amazon will hire at least 5,000 refugees; Hyatt will hire 500; Marriott International, 1,500; and PepsiCo, 500, all over a three year period. The complete list of commitments is here. (Sept 2022)

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Global Parity Alliance — The World Economic Forum in collaboration with McKinsey & Co. launched this new global cross-industry group to “promote and accelerate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) outcomes, by sharing proven DE&I best practices and practical insights from leading organizations.” The 23 Founding Members of the group include CEF members Cisco, McKinsey & Co., and Schneider Electric. (April 2022)

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Algorithmic Bias Safeguards for Workforce (the Data & Trust Alliance) — A new set of criteria and educational resources to help companies in the alliance “mitigate data and algorithmic bias” in HR and workforce decisions, and evaluate vendors’ “commitment to algorithmic safety.” 13 companies in the alliance will adopt the Safeguards, including CEF members General Motors, Mastercard, and Meta. (Dec 2021)

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Second Chance Business Coalition — A cross-sector coalition of 29 large US employers committed to expanding second chance hiring and advancement practices for people with criminal records. Co-chaired by JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and Eaton CEO Craig Arnold, members include Bank of America, Cisco, GM, JPMorgan & Chase, Mastercard, McDonald’s, Microsoft, P&G, PepsiCo, and Visa. (May 2021)

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