Just

1. Review the Just 3.0 Program Manual: Download and read the current Just Program Manual from the ILFI website (living-future.org/just) to understand all indicators, scoring criteria, and disclosure requirements before beginning.

1. Conduct an Internal Gap Assessment: Map your organization's current policies and data against Just's social equity indicators — covering areas like pay equity, benefits, diversity, worker safety, and environmental stewardship — to identify gaps and areas for improvement.

1. Gather Supporting Data: Collect quantitative and qualitative data for each indicator. This includes HR records, pay scales, demographic data, benefits documentation, safety records, and community investment figures.

1. Complete the Self-Assessment Disclosure: Fill out the Just self-assessment form, entering your organization's performance data across all required indicator categories. Be prepared to disclose this information publicly.

1. Submit Your Application and Pay Fees: Submit your completed disclosure through the ILFI portal along with the applicable application fee. ILFI membership may reduce costs.

1. ILFI Review: ILFI staff review your submission for completeness and consistency. They may follow up with questions or requests for clarification on specific data points.

1. Receive Your Just Label: Once approved, your organization receives its Just label and a public profile on the Just registry, where stakeholders can view your disclosed metrics.

1. Maintain and Renew: Keep your data current and renew your label every two years by updating your disclosure and paying the renewal fee to maintain active status.

The Just label evaluates organizations across a structured set of social equity and transparency indicators organized into several core categories. In Just 3.0, these categories include: Diversity + Inclusion (workforce demographic representation, leadership diversity, pay equity across gender and race); Equity (living wage compliance, pay ratio between highest and lowest earners, benefits equity); Employee Health + Wellbeing (healthcare coverage, paid leave, parental leave, mental health support); Worker Safety (injury and illness rates, safety programs, worker protections); Local Benefit (local hiring practices, community investment, supplier diversity); and Environmental Stewardship (organizational carbon footprint, sustainability commitments, environmental policies).

Each indicator is scored on a tiered scale, and organizations receive a composite disclosure profile rather than a single pass/fail score. The label does not require organizations to achieve a minimum threshold across all categories — instead, it rewards transparency and public disclosure of actual performance, even where gaps exist. This approach encourages honest reporting and continuous improvement over time.

Organizations are assessed on the quality and completeness of their disclosures as well as the actual performance data submitted. ILFI reviews submissions for internal consistency and completeness before issuing the label, but does not conduct independent third-party verification of the underlying data. The public nature of the registry creates accountability through stakeholder scrutiny.

The Just label occupies a distinctive niche in the corporate social responsibility and ESG disclosure landscape as one of the few tools focused specifically on organizational-level social equity transparency rather than environmental performance. Launched by ILFI in 2013, it has grown steadily but remains a relatively niche program compared to mainstream ESG frameworks like B Corp Certification, which has certified over 8,000 companies globally. Just's adoption is strongest among architecture, construction, technology, and mission-driven nonprofit sectors — industries that overlap with ILFI's broader Living Building Challenge community.

The program's self-disclosure model is both its key differentiator and its primary limitation. Unlike B Corp or SA8000, which involve third-party audits, Just relies on organizational self-reporting with ILFI review for completeness. This makes it more accessible and affordable, but also means it carries less independent verification credibility. As ESG scrutiny intensifies and greenwashing concerns grow, some stakeholders may prefer more rigorously audited alternatives. However, Just's radical transparency approach — making all data publicly visible — provides a form of accountability through public scrutiny that partially compensates for the lack of third-party audits.

Demand for social equity disclosure tools is growing in line with broader ESG reporting trends, increasing investor focus on the "S" in ESG, and regulatory momentum around pay transparency and workforce reporting. The launch of Just 3.0 signals ILFI's commitment to keeping the program current with evolving expectations. Just is particularly well-positioned for organizations already engaged with ILFI's Living Building Challenge or other Living Future programs, where it serves as a complementary social equity credential alongside environmental certifications.

The Just label was created by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) and launched in 2013 as a voluntary social equity disclosure tool. ILFI developed Just in response to a recognized gap in the sustainability certification landscape: while environmental performance had robust rating systems (including ILFI's own Living Building Challenge), there was no equivalent transparent framework for organizations to disclose and be held accountable for their social equity practices. The program was designed to complement ILFI's environmental programs by addressing the human and organizational dimensions of a "living future."

The program has evolved through multiple versions since its launch. Just 2.0 expanded and refined the indicator set, and the recent launch of Just 3.0 represents the most significant update, modernizing the framework to reflect current best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion, pay transparency, and worker wellbeing. Over its history, Just has attracted participants ranging from small nonprofits to large corporations including Google and Interface, demonstrating its applicability across organizational sizes and sectors. The program remains headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and is governed by ILFI as a nonprofit organization committed to advancing regenerative design and social equity.