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About the Center for Business & Social Justice

The Center for Business & Social Justice's role is to work with the private sector to advance social justice and equity, moving beyond statements and one-off actions to embedded and systemic approaches.

The Center for Business & Social Justice (CBSJ) at BSR was conceived amid what some considered to be the dawn of a new era for corporate social justice and in the wake of an ambitious and unprecedented string of corporate commitments, requirements, and landscape shifts on a range of topics, including the integration of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations and the private sector’s role on social equity challenges. This included:

Business Roundtable's 2019 statement on the purpose of a corporation to serve a broader set of stakeholders, which disrupted 50 years of stakeholder primacy
The 2020 finding that a majority of companies discussed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) topics in their earnings calls.
A surge in corporate interest in efforts to address racial injustices which led to more than $340B in racial equity commitments from over 1,300 Fortune 1000 companies between May 2020 to October 2022,
Evolutions in the corporate disclosure landscape which have elevated the importance of business’ outward impacts on people and planet, and a need to shift historically voluntary efforts to mandatory requirements.

These, and other activities, seem to indicate an increased appetite among the private sector to achieve long-term financial value while also serving as a conduit and collaborator in the overall effort to build a more just and sustainable world.

How can companies get support for incorporating a social justice approach?

This guide aims to provide a framework for taking a social justice approach and share tactical guidance for applying this to corporate strategy. If you’re intrigued by the contents of this guide and ready for more hands-on support to take the next steps, we’re here to support your journey.

Looking for support to identify, mitigate, and manage social risks?

BSR provides insights and develops sustainable business strategies for companies working across most major global business sectors. Our experts can help your business transform to meet existing and emerging sustainability challenges, enabling you to see around the corner and to be prepared with strategies and roadmaps that anticipate risks and capture opportunities to create long-term value on a wide range of environmental, societal, and governance issues.

Our teams also work with companies seeking to understand and navigate the increasingly complex and fragmented global human rights landscape, preparing them to comply with emerging legislation, and partnering across their value chains to collaboratively manage human rights issues and address the systemic causes of human rights abuses. Our services include: human rights impact assessments; development and implementation of corporate human rights policies, strategies and governance; reporting, and stakeholder engagement.

Interested in collaborating with peers to tackle social justice issues at scale?

The Center is particularly eager to collaborate on approaches that fall within its issue-based cohorts—gender equity, racial equity, worker well-being, and civic engagement.

The intention of this guide is not to provide a static, one-size-fits-all framework but rather to create a foundation for the Center, companies, and other stakeholders and impacted communities to work together to proactively implement and test strategies for the advancement of social justice with business leadership and support.

Acknowledgments

This guide was researched and managed by Jessica Custer with direction from the Center's team, co-directors Jen Stark and Jarrid Green, and manager Ashley Lin; with ongoing feedback from Alisha Thompson, and Scarlet George. Many colleagues shaped the materials and their contributions are deeply appreciated: Laura Gitman, Beth Richmond, Berkley Rothmeier, David Korngold, David Stearns, Deb Gallagher, Dunstan Allison-Hope, Hugh Brown, Jenny Vaughn, MaryAnne Howland, Ouida Chichester, Salah Husseini, and Sara Enright.

Since 2021, the Center for Business and Social Justice held listening sessions with dozens of BSR members as well as civil society partners, in addition to conducting a member-wide survey and delivering programming. It is our hope participants see their inputs reflected in the findings.

We appreciate the guidance of CBSJ Advisory Council Members and a panel of external expert reviewers, including:

Erin Johansson, Research Director, Jobs With Justice
Corey Jones, Founder of PrismWork
Alison Taylor, NYU Stern School of Business
Renee Morgan, Social Justice Director, Adasina Social Capital
Carrie Oliver Sr., Innovation Manager, Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement
Aditi Mohapatra, VP, Global Social Impact and Sustainability, Expedia Group
Bo Young Lee, President, Advisory Services, AnitaB.org

This work would not be possible without the trust-based philanthropy demonstrated by Tara Health Foundation in their support of CBSJ and their ongoing efforts to answer the question: “What does good corporate behavior look like?”

CBSJ welcomes input from companies, experts, and stakeholders.

Social justice is an evolving pursuit, and we would like this guidance to serve as the basis for ongoing dialogue and collaboration. We expect testing of the guide to drive learning that results in both improvements upon the initial ideas included in the guide itself as well as deepening of experience, expertise, and guidance in specific focus areas, such as by industry, function, and issue area. We welcome input, ideas, and feedback.