ARG is officially a Just Organization!

ARG is pleased to announce that we are officially a Just Organization! The Just Label is a program developed by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI) in 2014 as a way for organizations to evaluate their operations through a social equity lens. Just is not a certification program, but rather a transparency platform that provides companies with the opportunity to disclose their policies and practices on a variety of human resource management and community stewardship issues. Since the Just Label is renewed every two years, it also serves as a way to track an organization’s progress as it endeavors to create a more socially just and equitable workplace.

The Just program is composed of 22 different social and equity indicators which delineate measurable benchmarks that translate to four levels of performance. Each indicator falls into one of the following six general categories:

• Diversity & Inclusion
• Equity
• Employee Health
• Employee Benefits
• Stewardship
• Purchasing & Supply Chain

ARG chose to apply for the Just Label to demonstrate our commitment to creating a more just, equitable, and inclusive workplace for our employees and in the field of architecture and historic preservation planning more broadly. Pursuit of the Just Label also aligns with the mission of ARG’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force to identify opportunities to engage with and promote the inclusion and equity of historically underrepresented voices in the communities we serve.

ARG began preparing our Just application materials in 2021. Over the course of two years, we conducted an employee engagement and inclusion survey through a third-party organization, we gathered data on our sustainable purchasing practices across our three offices, and we formalized and developed a number of polices related to diversity, pay equity, and employee health and wellbeing. Pursuit of the Just Label gave ARG the space to step back and take the time necessary to thoroughly evaluate our current policies and practices, and determine how they could be enhanced in order to better serve our employees, the communities in which we live and work, and the architecture and preservation fields in general.