Amid America’s racial injustice reckoning, the public and investor community alike have voiced increasing support for corporate action on racial equity. To accelerate the transformative change we need, business leaders and investors must leverage their power and capital in mutually reinforcing ways. As CEOs face the daunting challenge of evolving their business models and practices to meet this historic moment, and investors grapple with realigning their investment strategies within the current movement, there remains an urgent imperative to set the baseline for what it means to be an antiracist, equitable market actor.
PolicyLink, FSG, and JUST Capital are developing the urgently-needed roadmaps and racial equity standards to pave the way for corporations and investors. We are innovating from the ground up informed by the expertise, wisdom, and resilience of people of color and low-income communities and working together with a strong ecosystem of partners, including B Lab, CapEQ, and the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).
This session will highlight the 2021 CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity (see the 2020 version attached, outlining the innovative actions that companies can take within their four walls, communities, and society to help build an equitable nation) and our work developing robust corporate standards for racial equity. We will also discuss the development of our forthcoming Investor Blueprint for Racial Equity to support investors with (1) assessing the intended and unintended impact of current investment practices and policies on people of color and low income communities, (2) effectively deploying capital to advance racial equity, and (3) evaluating investment portfolios across the board for just and equitable outcomes. The session will include a preview of our partnership with the GIIN and CapEQ in developing racial equity impact investment standards for IRIS+ (the Impact Reporting and Investment Standards platform and generally accepted system for measuring, managing, and optimizing impact).
Speakers will represent experts from:
- PolicyLink, a national policy and research institute advancing racial and economic equity. PolicyLink’s mission is to ensure all people in America can participate in a just society, prosper in an equitable economy and reach their full potential.
- JUST Capital, a leading organization evaluating companies on stakeholder capitalism. JUST Capital identifies what specifically companies can do to create value for all their stakeholders.
- FSG, a mission-driven consulting firm supporting leaders in creating large-scale, lasting social change. Through strategy, evaluation, and research, FSG helps many types of actors make progress against the world’s toughest problems.
- CapEQ, an Impact Investment & Advisory Firm that helps investors and businesses achieve superior financial returns through social impact.
- One additional panel member will likely represent B Lab, a global leader in economic systems change that creates standards, policies, and tools for business, and certifies companies—known as B Corps—who are leading the way.
- One additional panel member will likely represent an impact investing firm or CDFI that deploys capital through a social justice investing framework. They will discuss the benefits of their investment approach as well as the urgent need to overlay a racial equity lens and racial equity metrics within prevailing frameworks.
