JUST Label - Sharing our commitment to a more equitable future
Alberta Ecotrust is excited to announce and share our JUST Label from the International Living Future Institute.
We first learned about the JUST program through a team-wide engagement and training program with EcoAmmo and Red-5 in 2020. Our training at the time focused on building a culture of continuous improvement at Alberta Ecotrust, and one thing our team identified was the need to be even more intentional about creating an equitable, diverse, and inclusive workplace.
The JUST program aligned with our thinking and provided a good opportunity for us to act on this commitment. The program is a voluntary disclosure tool - like a nutrition label - for organizations like ourselves who want to demonstrate their commitment to social justice and employee engagement.
As part of the JUST program, we measure and report on a range of organization and employee-related indicators. Each indicator outlines measurable accountabilities along different levels of performance, which are displayed on the label in a simple and elegant manner. The International Living Future Institute also hosts a publicly viewable database so that anyone can dig deeper into our organizational policies and practices.
For Alberta Ecotrust, we strive to be as transparent and accountable as possible in our pursuit of healthy ecosystems and a low carbon future. This includes how we support our team members and develop progressive policies and practices. The process of participating in the JUST program has identified many areas where we can improve, and also given us a framework for measuring and tracking on a regular basis.
We hope the program will act as a roadmap for how we can make progress as an organization while being honest about where we currently stand.
What is next for Alberta Ecotrust and our journey towards a more equitable future?
We recognize that measuring and disclosing information as part of the JUST program is one of many necessary and ongoing steps we need to take as an organization in pursuit of a more sustainable future.
An internal working group at Alberta Ecotrust will continue to use the information and work on those opportunities for improvement identified in our initial JUST assessment. Focus areas this year include improving organizational policies and procedures around employee health and well-being, and employee benefits and retirement supports.
At the same time, we are working with Future Ancestors over the next 6 months to evaluate our existing programs and governance structure through an equity lens.
Through the Climate Innovation Grant Program, which is currently accepting expressions of interest, we are looking to support projects acting on climate change, and working to increase social equity in Calgary and Edmonton. The deadline to submit your application is April 22.
We are updating the objectives, program criteria, and application process for the Environmental Grant Program through a series of community engagements this Spring.
Our goal is to update the program to align better with more significant environmental impacts as well as the needs of the community, including how we can continue to advance both important environmental solutions and social equity at the same time.
As a transparency platform, JUST makes our label and relevant policy information publicly available in their database. You can view that information here.