Part 3: Environmental Justice Roles in Companies
Phoebe Fu, Analyst & Kajsa Hendrickson, Director at Future 500 Published November, 2023
Part 3: Environmental Justice Roles in Companies
See “why” companies should operationalize EJ in part 1 of this series and some best practices in “how” to operationalize in part 2. Here, in part 3, we conclude our series by defining what an effective corporate EJ position looks like based on insightful stakeholder interviews conducted by our team.
Topline Findings: A company’s approach to creating or filling an EJ role internally should consider its sector and internal corporate culture, in addition to the specific communities and external culture where it operates. But importantly, scoping EJ roles the way DEI roles have been done may set a company up for failure. For example, creating “tokenized” EJ roles and one-size-fits-all approaches will more likely produce ineffective outcomes for DEI, or for EJ. Rather, companies should ensure that EJ roles have the requisite authority, staff, cross-functional support, and leadership buy-in to empower the EJ role properly. As one NGO interviewee stated: “Avoid ‘equity washing’ and ‘justice washing’ – it’s obvious when you don’t avoid it, and you won’t get very far.”
Should corporations have positions dedicated to environmental justice? We were told, “Yes, but with some serious caveats.”
One key question we tried answering in our interviews of EJ groups and eNOGs was whether companies should have EJ-focused roles. The resounding answer was “yes, but.” All our interviewees highlighted the risk of tokenizing EJ roles, as is seen as having occurred with DEI positions, undermining the effectiveness of those positions. And they warned against “checking the box” without imbuing the role with decision-making authority. Here are a few key “do’s and don'ts” we gleaned from our interviews:
Do’s:
Hire experienced professionals with EJ training and experience who bring true expertise, lived experience, and informed practices.
Ensure position(s) have decision-making authority, executive/leadership support, and the resources to execute. This means… (next bullet point)
Empower EJ roles with the power to influence the company's larger strategy and cross-functional operational management with respect to EJ. As one interviewee said: “It is short-sighted to hide this [an EJ position] somewhere and hope it works. The key is to have it high in the organizational structure. Shortcomings come from inconsistently bringing these roles into the highest levels of corporate leadership.”
This means encouraging cross-functional training and management structures tied to all internal functions - design, programs, marketing, R&D, HR, etc.
Create realistic timelines for EJ-related workstreams. Creating EJ plans and integrating them across a company takes time. This internal stakeholder work will shift internal thinking, which requires patience and sustained focus.
Don’ts:
Hire well-intentioned individuals within companies who believe in EJ work but may not realize that what they are doing is not EJ-informed or grounded in just practices
Place EJ roles within the marketing or public relations functions because it will be viewed as a superficial (a.k.a., inauthentic) communications campaign instead of something valued and invested in.
Limit the role's influence to make far-reaching changes within the company's operating procedures.
Under-resource EJ roles, so they can’t staff up or hire people who lack expertise or experience in EJ roles.
Treat EJ as separate from core business operations rather than integrated within overarching company values and business practices.
Thinking about EJ in a silo - EJ should be thought of through an intersectional lens complementary and interrelated to issues like climate change, community, equity, etc.
Additional Resources:
Future 500 is a non-profit consultancy that builds trust between companies, advocates, investors, and philanthropists to advance business as a force for good. We specialize in stakeholder engagement, sustainability strategy, and responsible communication. From stakeholder mapping to materiality assessments, partnership development to activist engagement, target setting to CSR reporting strategy, we empower our partners with the skills and relationships needed to systemically tackle today's most pressing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges.
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