Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

WHAT WE LEARNED

When we think of JUST business, what do we mean? And who gets to define what is or isn’t JUST? JUST Capital has launched an unprecedented research process to give the American people the space to decide what JUST business looks like. The top issues they surfaced, which related to the stakeholders below, will drive how we measure corporate performance.

EMPLOYEES Does the company treat its employees fairly? Fair wages and benefits and a respectful work environment are some of most important issues.

CONSUMERS How safe and useful are the products a company creates? Americans believe that a JUST company provides trustworthy products and customer service.

ENVIRONMENT Does the company respect and protect our planet? Americans see Earth as a stakeholder, not merely a resource.

LEADERSHIP Is the company transparent and law-abiding? Americans believe that the integrity of corporate leadership is critical to ensure that a company thrives.

COMMUNITY Does the company protect rights and contribute to community? Americans want corporations to be socially aware and support the US economy.

INVESTORS Is the company financially sustainable and creating value? Profitability was also important, when balanced with the needs of other stakeholders.

Drivers of the Public's Perception of Corporate Justness
	DEFINING CORPORATE JUSTNESS JUST Capital gives the public a voice on how they want companies to behave. To date, we have reached over 50,000 Americans with our surveys about corporate behavior. The results from our 2nd annual survey are in and ready for you to explore. See below what 4,000 Americans, from all regions and walks of life, think drives JUST corporate behavior. These issues provide a unified picture of company performance that reflects the priorities of the public. They also form the basis of our benchmark -- it is against these Drivers that we measure corporate performance. The percentages reflect how much weight the public gives to each topic. The higher the number, the more important it is and therefore, the more it affects a company's score in the JUST Ranking. For more information please refer to section 2 of our methodology.
	Relative importance of the drivers of corporate justness 25.5% Worker Pay and Benefits 24% Worker Treatment 17.2% Leadership and Ethics 7.4% Customer Treatment 5.6% Product attributes 5.6% Domestic Job Creation 5% Environmental Impact 4.1% Supply Chain Impact 3.9% Investor Alignment 1.7% Community Well-Being

WORKER PAY & BENEFITS Do Americans believe that corporations, regardless of size, sector or location, have an obligation to pay full-time employees a wage that covers all of their basic living expenses? 76% say yes. Americans shared with us that fair pay and benefits were critical characteristics of a JUST company. But what does fair pay look like? And what specific measures and data would help determine whether a company is doing a good job? Below are Components that Americans said were important in defining fair pay and benefits, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them.

DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE IN PAY Are men and women paid equally? According to our 2015 Survey, 89% of Americans shared with us that equal pay by gender was an important component of measuring JUST worker pay & benefits. PROVIDES PAID TIME OFF Are employees able to take time off without losing income? Over 84% identified paid sick leave, vacation, holidays, and maternity & paternity leave as important to evaluating worker pay & benefits. SPONSORS HEALTH INSURANCE Does the company provide health insurance to its employees? 96% felt that employer-sponsored health insurance was important to measuring JUST worker pay & benefits. PAYS WORKERS FAIRLY COMPARED TO CEO What's the difference between the CEO and average worker's pay? 79% of respondents to our 2015 survey said that CEO pay should be included in measuring JUST worker pay & benefits. HELPS WORKERS PREPARE FOR RETIREMENT Does the company help its employees prepare for retirement? 79% of Americans shared retirement related information about companies should be included in measuring JUST worker pay & benefits. PAYS A LIVING WAGE Is the company's minimum wage high enough to reasonably cover costs for full-time workers? 75% believed that corporations have an obligation to provide a living wage for all employees. PAYS A FAIR WAGE FOR THE INDUSTRY AND JOB LEVEL Does the company pay a fair wage compared to industry standards? 92% said that reasonable wages based on qualifications and job level were important to measuring JUST worker pay & benefits.

WORKER TREATMENT According to a 2014 Gallup poll, only 31.5% of US workers were engaged in their jobs. What does it take to foster a great workplace? And why does it matter? Employees want safe work environments, where they and their colleagues are treated fairly and with respect when it comes to hiring, promotions, and day-to-day activities. Below are the Components that Americans defined as important in measuring JUST worker treatment, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Components below to learn more.

PROVIDES A SAFE WORKPLACE Is it safe to go to work? According to our 2015 Survey, 97% of respondents felt that providing a safe work environment was important in measuring JUST worker treatment. PROMOTES WORK-LIFE BALANCE Are work hours reasonable? According to our 2015 Survey, over 88% of Americans believed that reasonable hours on the job was an important part measuring JUST worker treatment. PROVIDES EDUCATION AND TRAINING Does the company support professional development? 92% of Americans believed that employee education & training programs were important in measuring JUST worker treatment. DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE IN HIRING, FIRING, AND PROMOTION PRACTICES Does the company participate in discriminatory practices? 92% of Americans identified non-discriminatory hiring & promotion as important to measure JUST worker treatment. HANDLES GRIEVANCES AND LAYOFFS FAIRLY Does the company treat workers fairly in situations such as layoffs or when employees file complaints? 83% of Americans believed that this Component was important to measuring JUST worker treatment. RESPECTS WORKERS Does the company foster a culture of respect and appreciation in its workforce? 78% or more of respondents selected topics related to workplace respect in defining JUST worker treatment.

LEADERSHIP & ETHICS A corporation's leadership shapes its culture and its future. Yet the Ethics Resource Center found that 60% of ethical misconduct involved someone with managerial authority in 2014. A major factor in how Americans defined corporate JUSTness involved the behavior of corporate leadership. Do leaders behave with integrity and honesty? Do they carefully steward the resources of the corporation? Below are the Components that Americans defined as important in measuring JUST leadership, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Components to learn more.

FOLLOWS LAWS AND REGULATIONS Does company and its leadership abide by US laws? According to our 2015 Survey, 96% indicated that lawful conduct was important in measuring the JUSTness of leadership. HAS LEADERS WITH INTEGRITY Does the company have honest leaders? A high percentage of Americans identified topics such as enforcing ethics policies, honesty, and responsible business practices as important in measuring JUST leadership. IS TRUTHFUL IN ADVERTISING AND LABELLING Does the company misrepresent itself or its products in its communications? According to our 2015 survey, 92% of Americans identified truth in advertising as an important in measuring JUST leadership. PAYS FAIR SHARE OF TAXES Does the company pay a reasonable amount of taxes? 92% of Americans said that paying a fair share or taxes and not exploiting loopholes was important to measuring JUST leadership. MINIMIZES POLITICAL SPENDING Does the company seek to influence politics? 75% of Americans said that the extent to which a company participates in lobbying, seeks to influence politics, or spends on political campaigns was important in measuring JUST leadership.

CUSTOMER TREATMENT A Harris Interactive/RightNow study found that 86% stopped doing business with a company because of a bad customer experience. How does this affect JUSTness – and sales? Americans feel that a company's treatment of its customers reflects its culture and values. Below are Components Americans believed were important in defining JUST customer treatment, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Components to learn more.

PROVIDES FAIR PRICING AND SALES TERMS Are products fairly priced? In our 2015 Survey, over 79% of respondents indicated that appropriate pricing and transparent purchase agreements were important in measuring JUST product attributes. MAINTAINS STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH CUSTOMERS Does the company treat customers fairly? 95% of respondents indicated that knowledgeable and responsive customer service staff was important in measuring JUST customer treatment. DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE IN CUSTOMER TREATMENT Does the company show bias against certain customers? 95% of respondents indicated that fair & equal treatment of all customers/clients was important in measuring JUST customer treatment. PROTECTS CUSTOMER PRIVACY Does the company safeguard their customers' privacy? According to our 2015 Survey, 94% of respondents indicated that customer privacy was important to measuring JUST customer treatment.

PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES Food Safety Magazine found that there were 626 reported food recalls in 2015 alone. Americans believe that the reliability of their purchases are a matter of JUSTness, not just safety. Beliefs about JUSTness are affected if a company's products cause harm – directly or indirectly – or don't provide fair value for the price. Below are the Components that Americans defined as important in measuring JUST products, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Components below to learn more.

MAKES PRODUCTS THAT ARE BENEFICIAL TO HEALTH, ENVIRONMENT, OR SOCIETY Does the company make intrinsically beneficial products? Over 75% of respondents indicated that offering innovative products, healthy products, and/or products that have a low environmental impact were important in measuring JUST product attributes. MAKES QUALITY PRODUCTS Are products well-made? In our 2015 Survey, 97% of respondents indicated that offering reliable and safe products were important in measuring JUST product attributes.

DOMESTIC JOB CREATION Americans see corporations as major drivers of the economy and national wealth. But when American companies outsource labor or find ways to source cheaper labor abroad, the public's perceptions of their JUSTness declines. Below is the Component that Americans defined as important in measuring JUST U.S. job creation, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Component below to learn more.

CREATES JOBS IN THE U.S. Does the company support jobs here in the US? According to our 2015 survey, more than 86% of Americans felt that job creation and offshoring practices were important to measuring this Driver. To evaluate this Component, we plan to look at the change in the company's US workforce.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, 63% of worldwide emissions of industrial CO2 and methane can be traced to only 90 companies. The weight of evidence tells us that corporations play a tremendous role in harming – or protecting – the environment. Americans saw the planet as a key stakeholder affected by corporations. Do companies work to protect the environment and conserve resources? What role do they play in environmental damage? Below are the Components that Americans defined as important in measuring JUST environmental impact, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Components to learn more.

MINIMIZES POLLUTION Does the company work to reduce environmental pollution? Americans said that environmental accidents (94%) and emissions (87%) were important in measuring JUST environmental impact. HAS ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT Do company policies and practices work to prevent environmental incidents? Americans said that activities such as repairing damage to land (93%) and the use of renewable energy (85%) were important in measuring JUST environmental impact. USES RESOURCES EFFICIENTLY Does the company conserve resources? Americans said that energy efficiency (93%), recycling (93%), and water usage (83%) were important in measuring JUST environmental impact.

SUPPLY CHAIN IMPACT Research by the International Labor Organization estimates that forced labor generates annual profits of $150 billion per year. Among those profiting are corporations, which may purchase products or source materials from companies that disregard basic human rights, use child labor, or have unsafe working conditions. A major factor in how Americans defined corporate JUSTness involved safe and fair treatment of workers in a company's supply chain. Below are the Components that Americans defined as important in measuring JUST supply chain activity, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Components to learn more.

DOES NOT HAVE SUPPLIERS WITH ABUSIVE CONDITIONS Does the company buy from suppliers who subject their employees to abusive conditions? 94% of respondents said that forced labor, child labor, and generally abusive conditions were important to measuring JUST supply chain impact. DOES NOT CAUSE OR CONTRIBUTE TO CONFLICT ABROAD Does the company directly or indirectly support international conflict? 78% of respondents said that determining whether companies support conflict in sourcing materials was important to measuring JUST supply chain impact. DOES NOT DO BUSINESS WITH REPRESSIVE GOVERNMENTS Does the company do business with repressive governments? 76% of Americans said that avoiding this type of business was important to measuring JUST supply chain impact.

INVESTOR ALIGNMENT Americans recognized that a company must create value for its shareholders. When balanced with other stakeholders and issues of corporate JUSTness, profitability and stock value were also seen as a components of JUSTness. Below are Components Americans defined as important in defining fair investor treatment, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Components to learn more.

IS TRANSPARENT AND ACCURATE IN FINANCIAL REPORTING Is financial reporting transparent? According to our 2015 Survey, respondents shared that accurate (93%), clear (88%) reporting was important in measuring JUST investor/shareholder treatment. IS PROFITABLE OVER THE LONG-TERM Is the company attentive to long-term, rather than short-term, profits? According to our 2015 Survey, 85% indicated that long-term profitability was important to measuring shareholder/investor alignment. PROVIDES INVESTOR RETURN Do investors receive a return? According to our 2015 Survey, 82% indicated that investor dividends were important to measuring JUST investor/shareholder alignment.

COMMUNITY WELL-BEING Americans shared that their perceptions of a corporation's JUSTness were also shaped by how it relates to its local community, in terms of charitable efforts, communication, and more. Below are Components Americans defined as important in defining JUST community well-being, and how we are measuring corporate performance for each of them. Click on the Components to learn more.

MAINTAINS STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH COMMUNITIES Is the company connected to its local community? According to our 2015 Survey, at least 77% of respondents selected community-related issues as important to measure JUST community well-being. CONTRIBUTES TO CHARITABLE CAUSES Does the company practice philanthropy? According to our 2015 survey, at least 79% of respondents felt that philanthropy related topics were important to measuring community well-being.

JUST CAPITAL FOUNDATION, INC., 44 EAST 30TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY, 10016, UNITED STATES(646) 854-2141CONTACTUS@JUSTCAPITAL.COM

DRIVERS WORKER PAY AND BENEFIT WORKER TREATMENT LEADERSHIP AND ETHICS CUSTOMER TREATMENT PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES DOMESTIC JOB CREATION ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SUPPLY CHAIN IMPACT INVESTOR ALIGNMENT COMMUNITY WELL-BEING