15 December 2023 – Where does a business begin its conversation and work on social justice? While Diversity and Inclusion represent the institutional aspect of social justice, business plays a broader societal role that is more relevant today than ever before.

Climate change's very visible and global impact on society is dominating news time and conversation like never before. The interconnectedness of environmental and social justice is increasingly evident. As a powerful change agent, business has a decisive role in promoting collaborative, strategic interventions to transform, mitigate, and adapt to emerging environmental and social realities. The Edelman Trust Barometer for 2023 revealed that business is the only trusted institution globally, even as respondents were aware of the risk that businesses could be politicised in addressing social issues.

There is a growing expectation that business will step in to lead in tackling environmental and social challenges, alongside an increased interest in the leadership and activism that business can provide. With this increasing expectation in the private sector, business need clarity on the many dimensions of social justice and their interconnectedness to contextualise problems and opportunities and drive change through strategic planning and action.

The Business and Social Justice online course has built on the foundational ideas laid out in an ambitious CISL publication to propose a six-dimensional framework that equips business with the conceptual understanding and practical tools to drive change in their context.

While each dimension could be examined as a critical aspect of a business’s engagement, they are to be read as interconnected and mutually influencing aspects that are constantly evolving as a response to socio-cultural and political change.

While an obvious dimension of equality would be distribution, which refers to the dissemination of costs (e.g. Environmental risks) and benefits (e.g. Resources and opportunities), grey areas need closer examination. For instance, for those who argue for individual freedoms and liberties, including the liberty to accumulate wealth, the idea of the state intervening to re-distribute wealth would seem problematic. A follow-up question would be the role of business in facilitating a more equitable distribution of this wealth, with some examples worthy of further exploration and potential emulation.

There is also the undeniable politics of recognition seeking answers to questions on identity. Do we all have an equal right and opportunity to participate in activities that help us generate and accumulate wealth or even to define what we mean by wealth? How does the right to self-determination influence indigenous stewardship of land and other natural resources? Why is it that minoritised communities find themselves at a disproportionate disadvantage when it comes to accessing opportunities in education and work, even as they are persecuted more often or find themselves living in environmentally or socially unsafe areas? How does culture influence our recognition of gender rights? Furthermore, even where there is an opportunity to access resources, are people empowered to do so with adequate capabilities? How does this gap, for example, impact those with a disability?

These dimensions of distribution, recognition, freedom and capabilities are further encompassed by the dimensions of space and time. One way to understand how time affects social justice is to reflect on our current reckless use of natural resources and its impact on the ability of future generations to live lives of a similar quality to ours. We need to consider space as both geographical and political and consider how business activity in one location (e.g., the mining of fossil fuels) impacts across geographies through raging wildfires and catastrophic floods.

Any business that values its role and purpose in society as going beyond profit maximisation must engage with these expansive questions in depth. The crisis of climate change has worsened social inequality. As society looks to business to lead us out of this escalating emergency, recognising the interconnectedness of social and environmental justice is critical. It is also self-evident that business relies heavily on a healthy planet and society for its survival, and global warming is radically reshaping economies.

A simple and obvious place to start would be to look within the organisation through the institutional lens of diversity, equity and inclusion. This could mirror an organisation’s commitment and ability to understand the complex challenges of environmental and social justice and draw on the most creative and effective solutions. 

To think of social justice as merely transactional - as a flow of goodwill from business to its employees and broader value chain - would be a mistake. As the devastating effect of climate change disrupts our familiar and habituated ways of living and working, we need to search for solutions together, as equals, drawing on our collective intelligence born out of cultural and social diversity. Social justice requires us to collectively work towards transforming our institutions, economies and governments so they can deliver a safe and just future for all life.

Join us on the next iteration of the Business and Social Justice online course to learn alongside our students from around the world, contributors from diverse disciplines and geographies and in a learning space that nurtures collective, collaborative ways of working together. Set off on a journey of discovery powered by a personal action plan to leverage the power and agency of business to address the most pressing environmental and social injustice challenges.

CISL Newsletter

Do you want to receive information about CISL's research, news and events? Click here to request the CISL monthly newsletter.