III. How to advance social justice

Executive Summary

• Companies are not inherently designed to advance a social justice approach. Historical truths and choices have created an environment where social injustices are structurally embedded in prevailing systems in ways that the business community is not often incentivized, encouraged, or able to fully address.
• The win-win paradigm is no longer a useful touchstone. Companies need to make informed choices that impact stakeholders within their walls and outside of them in a way that challenges existing models and modes of operating for businesses as social institutions.
• Corporate leaders can address external and internal factors that create a challenging landscape for businesses interested in taking meaningful and sustained action on social justice.
• There are tactics to help businesses apply appropriate urgency to approaches, including anticipating missteps, focusing on issues where there is strong internal alignment in place of engagement on every issue, establishing sustained commitments while acknowledging near-term costs, and supporting systemic approaches that level the playing field for the private sector.

Companies are not usually designed to advance a social justice approach. To advance social justice, companies must examine their existing policies and review their desired impact. Adopting a social justice approach also requires transparency and accountability on commitments to social issues. However companies choose to engage social issues, they will face challenges and opportunities.

The final section of the guide offers a tool that spotlights barriers companies face as they build their social engagement strategies. The tool includes high-impact, actionable recommendations for overcoming those barriers and supporting a more equitable society while minimizing risks to business.