Yusuf George, Managing Director, Corporate Engagement, JUST Capital

JUST Capital is an independent nonprofit that was founded in 2013 by a group of business and civil leaders including Paul Tudor Jones II, Deepak Chopra, Rinaldo Brutoco, Arianna Huffington, Paul Scialla, and others.  The organization works to include the American public in the conversation around corporate citizenship by identifying what issues are most important to the public, using that data to develop a definition of just business behavior, and then ranking the companies on the Russell 1000 index according to that criteria.  The research, indexes, and data-driven tools that JUST Capital produces help people to make more informed decisions about where to invest, work, and buy to direct capital towards companies that are advancing a more just future. 

Over the last five years, the annual survey of the American public has engaged with over 96,000 Americans from different cities around the country and has identified behaviors of just companies which include:

• Paying employees a fair and living wage
• Ensuring gender pay equity
• Providing good benefits
• Treating customers fairly
• Protecting privacy
• Creating diverse and inclusive workplaces
• Caring for the communities the business operates in both locally and abroad
• Protecting the environment
• Generating financial profits

The analysis of the companies on the Russell 1000 includes consideration of hundreds of thousands of data points from public documents including corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, proxy statements, information from third party vendors, and other public sources.  The ranking methodology is completely transparent and fully available online. 

After the rankings have been completed, companies are provided with six weeks to review their results and to clarify any errors or omissions.  This collaboration ensures that the rankings are based on information that is as complete and accurate as possible.  The complete 2020 rankings report can be found here. 

The response from companies has been tremendous.  Over 40% of companies actively engage with JUST Capital to ensure recognition for their initiatives, better understand the data and scores, and learn how to improve their rankings.  While JUST Capital does not offer advisory services, they do produce thought leadership that highlights best practices.  They have also developed a suite of data driven tools to help companies on their journey towards becoming more just.     

These resources are helping to progress the development of standards for corporate responsibility, incentivize companies to meet or exceed those standards, and reward companies for exceptional performance.  The highest-ranking companies are included in an ETF licensed by Goldman Sachs which provides investors with a convenient method of supporting more just companies. 

How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted JUST Capital?

It has significantly changed both the focus of our data collection and the way in which we engage with companies and other organizations. 

Once it became clear that COVID-19 was a global issue, we began tracking how companies were engaging their stakeholders around it.  We also began conducting weekly surveys of the American public to better understand their views of just business behaviors during the crisis.  We wanted to know how companies were stepping up to support their employees, customers, and communities in this moment and how the public was feeling about those actions.   

We began in mid-March by tracking company announcements from the 100 largest U.S. employers across 22 different data points on issues including:

• Giving the CDC recommended 14 days of paid sick leave
• Offering hazard pay for frontline workers
• Providing community relief funds
• Implementing measures to keep employees and customers safe such as providing PPE
• Supporting the opportunity for employees to work from home when feasible
• Allowing front line employees the option to shelter in place instead of coming in to work without fear of losing their jobs

We compiled the results into our COVID-19 Corporate Response Tracker.  We were the first to aggregate this kind of data at scale and it was met with a significant amount of interest.  It allowed us an unprecedented opportunity to engage with senior executives at these companies who were eager to learn what we were seeing from their peers and the broader marketplace. 

We’ve also seen a lot of interest in our research from investors to help with their investment decisions, academic institutions to guide their own research, and the media for developing stories around companies that are leading the way.  Just last week, Forbes released an article we helped with titled The Forbes Corporate Responders which is a ranking of the nation’s top employers’ responses to the pandemic.  It’s very exciting to see our data being used so much in the general marketplace.  We see it as a good measure of stakeholder capitalism* so we’ll be folding many if not all of these metrics into our annual rankings process. 

*Stakeholder capitalism is the concept that what a company is doing should be working for ALL stakeholders.  For example, a true model of stakeholder capitalism based on public opinion would put employees first, then customers, suppliers, communities, the environment, and finally the shareholders. 

What do you actually do all day? 

My role is centered around corporate and investor engagement, strategy, and strategic partnerships.  At the moment I’m incredibly focused on engaging companies around their COVID-19 responses.  The entire team has been working tirelessly to develop resources we can easily share with leaders such as our handouts on Bonus and Wage Increases for Frontline Workers During Coronavirus, Paid Sick Leave During the Coronavirus Crisis, and Providing PPE for Frontline Workers. 

Much of my time these days is spent meeting (virtually) with leadership teams to help them understand the larger trends in US corporate coronavirus response as well as the benefits of having policies in place that protect employees, customers, and communities. 

I’ve also been writing a lot about the shared corporate responsibility for justice.  COVID-19 has impacted Black and Brown communities disproportionately, and the death of George Floyd and the resulting protests have left many Americans feeling deeply worried, saddened, angered and confused but unsure of what to do in this moment.  I recently published an article on LinkedIn with some resources to help companies and people better understand the issues and how to support Black and Brown communities.  I also just wrote an article for Forbes titled Corporate America: Speaking Up On Systemic Racism Is Only The First Step. Now Let’s Act.

The way my role has pivoted during this crisis is a great example of how responsive and iterative our engagement strategy has been and I love that we’re always trying a lot of new and different approaches.  

In addition to leading our COVID-19 engagement, I co-lead our Quarterly JUST Call series that we do in partnership with CNBC.  They’re modeled after traditional earnings calls but they focus on discussing a company’s social and environmental issues instead.  It’s a wonderful opportunity for CEOs to engage on these types of issues and provides them with a platform for speaking to different communities beyond investors and analysts.  These calls are part of a larger shift in the way that companies are approaching the impact that they have on stakeholders beyond the investor community. 

I also do a lot of presenting to corporate leaders about materiality, the data we collect, our ranking methodology, trends, and what’s important to the American public.  Another important part of my role is convening various stakeholders to discuss specific rankings topics in depth so that we can improve our methodology and help companies to improve their metrics and strategy. 

What are some of the key skills for success in this role? 

My background is in the capital markets and investment space, which is really helpful here.  We talk a lot about the fact that you don’t need to give up profits in order to be a good corporate citizen, and I think that the conversation with corporate stakeholders is easier when you can use their language and truly understand the tradeoffs they’re considering and their implications.

You also need to be comfortable with breaking new ground.  We’re not a traditional ratings organization – if we were my role would be mostly corporate engagement focused on sales.  Instead, my focus is on collaborative engagement with companies around these tough issues to help us all move forward, and there’s not really an established framework for that. 

What is your favorite part of your job?

I grew up in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, which at the time was really impoverished.  Growing up in that environment has really driven me to pursue a career that is focused on systemic change.  What I’m most excited about with my work at JUST Capital is that we sit at the nexus of the nonprofit, corporate, and investor communities.  We have the ability to create large scale systemic changes because when companies are driven to do well by their communities and employees, you can really see the impact it has on people.  It’s what I love about coming to work.   

What is the hardest part of your job?

Our biggest challenge right now is just how fluid the COVID-19 situation is and staying on top of the best practices as they evolve.  For example, as we continue to reopen the country, the conversation is shifting from how to protect people during the immediate crisis to how non-essential companies can operate safely.  This is a new component to the conversation; the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines for office buildings only came out last week.   

From a day-to-day perspective – we think really big here, which is amazing.  From a practical standpoint it can be tricky to find the right balance between working exclusively on our big, impactful goals and pursuing those smaller, more tactical wins that can also add up to change.  We want to make sure we’re making as big an impact as possible so we need to make sure we don’t get too distracted by the projects that we know we can accomplish but might not directly support our larger goals.  

Not everyone understands the kind of change that we’re trying to bring about and it can be difficult to draw direct lines to our outcomes.  In many respects, it’s easier for a traditional nonprofit to demonstrate their impact – we’ve fed this many people, created this many jobs, planted this many trees.  Our work is often the behind the scenes effort that brings about the policy changes that make it possible for wider change to occur.  For example, it’s hard to quantify the impact of our efforts in helping companies to incorporate better human capital metrics into their ESG strategies, but it’s absolutely critical work.  Thankfully we have a great team and supporters that understand how it’s all connected. 

What is your proudest professional achievement?

Just a few weeks ago I had a company tell me that they extended hazard pay to tens of thousands of frontline workers because of the conversations we had with them.  It’s really rewarding to see the rapid large-scale change that our research can bring about and it feels incredible to know that we played a role in helping so many people.

I’m always proudest when a company representative tells me “we’ve made changes because of you.”  As another example, some large national retailers have made changes to their privacy policies because of our work.  When you think about it, that impacts millions of customers around the country.  And as a customer, it’s just so encouraging to know that they’ve got my best interests in mind.  Those are the game changer successes that we can tie back to our efforts and it feels great. 

It’s also been wonderful to watch as JUST Capital has grown.  When I joined, we were an office of just 10 people and now we’re up to 30.  We’re getting recognized at more and more events and it’s exciting to see how our reach has expanded. 

What are the game changers in your world?  

This crisis and our response to it have truly highlighted the value of the data and research we provide to our stakeholders.  It’s helped us to establish a level of trust and build relationships with C-suite executives much faster than we would have under business as usual.  We had certainly been working towards that aim before the pandemic, but this has really accelerated that process and it will enable us to share even more insights into other areas that will bring about even greater change.  We consider ourselves very fortunate to be seen as a trusted third-party researcher on these issues. 

We also need a lot more education on the issues that we’re trying to measure as well as a lot more data, sometimes it simply doesn’t exist.  A lot of human capital metrics are just beginning to get measured.  Issues such as the ethnic or racial makeup of your workforce, gender pay equity, having a second chance policy, or the financial wellbeing of your employees are not issues many companies have measured or disclosed before.  We’re taking a comprehensive approach to working with academics and senior advisors to really understand these issues with the knowledge that we may not be able to measure some of them right now, but we’re building roadmaps and a path to the future.  There’s not always a simple solution.

Better metrics could really help increase disclosure and target setting.  Approximately 86% of the Russell 1000 companies have diversity and inclusion policies, but only 16% of those companies have targets.  As we start to better understand the barriers, we can begin to develop best practices that can help these initiatives move forward. 

What was your path to this role? 

I’ve always had a personal connection with the nonprofit world, I currently sit on the board of four nonprofit organizations.  When I learned that this team was looking for someone to perform research on these topics for the investor community, I jumped at the chance to interview for the opportunity.  When I met with the CEO, we came up with the idea of something more like a strategic engagement role and worked together to develop it. 

What’s your advice to someone interested in a role like this?

When we hire, we’re looking for people who are entrepreneurial.  The model we’re creating is brand new.  We’re a small team of thirty, so oftentimes when people bring up great ideas, they get implemented.  It’s very exciting from that standpoint.

You also need to have a good understanding of the nuances of these issues.  We partner with a lot of companies and it’s important to be able to help them navigate uncharted territory effectively. 

What are your favorite resources? 

Organizations like the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) are all taking the right approach to developing frameworks.

The Net Impact conference is great for MBA students who want to learn directly from practitioners. 

SASB has a valuable metrics conference, as does Sustainable Brands. 

There are also a number of other organizations that are really digging into this space and producing some great content including Catalyst, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Ford Foundation. 

Who (or what) is your sustainability hero?  

Nelson Mandela.  He did so much over his lifetime to listen to the voice of the people and utilize that to create change.  To a large degree it’s inspired our work – we’re listening to the voice of the American public and helping companies to connect with that and do better.