Since 2014, the Just program has worked with over 400 companies on their Just labels. Today, 200 organizations proudly hold active Just labels, while nearly 80 others are actively pursuing theirs. Just is a voluntary disclosure tool and transparency platform that helps organizations measure and improve their commitment to social equity and diversity in the workplace. By showcasing measurable actions, Just fosters accountability and inspires meaningful change across industries.
While it is becoming more common for architecture firms to secure their Just Labels, it is less common for construction companies. However, more and more of them are seeing the program’s value. We spoke with a couple of these organizations to learn why they chose Just and what it means to them. They highlighted both internal and external benefits, and their enthusiasm was clear. Some are already working on groundbreaking projects—pushing the boundaries toward zero-carbon or zero-energy buildings, regenerative construction practices, or participating in Living Building Challenge projects. Others are eager to be a part of this transformative movement.
I had the pleasure of speaking with leaders from two Just labeled construction firms, Consigli Construction and DPR Construction. At Consigli, I connected with Elizabeth Allen, Sustainability Manager, and Kena David, Director of Sustainability. Elizabeth played a key role in helping the company earn the Just label in 2023, and now she and Kena are collaborating on their renewal efforts for the upcoming year. At DPR Construction, I connected with Cari Williams, Global Social Responsibility Leader, who has led DPR Construction’s Just label work since 2021.
According to Elizabeth Allen, “The Just program gave Consigli the opportunity to evaluate and reflect on its current policies, practices, and culture around social impact.” She explains that the Consigli team focused on three key areas: “what we were already doing well, what we could change immediately, and where there were opportunities to make long-term changes to our policies and culture.”
What’s the motivation? Kena David says that Consigli saw value in the program. It brought them recognition among other firms who want to pursue a Living Building Challenge project. It also served as a catalyst for implementing ideas that had been in development. For instance, the program inspired them to enhance their paid volunteer time off benefit, encouraging employees to engage with their communities—a step that had been considered previously but gained momentum through their involvement with the Just label.
“The goal of the Just label,” David says, “is not to get on LBC projects. It is to become a better organization — for our team, our projects, our collaborators, and our community.”
The construction sector faces some areas for growth that often emerge during the Just label process. A prominent area being gender diversity. In the built environment, construction tends to be one of the least gender-diverse industries, although gains have been made in recent decades. The Just program helps organizations analyze their data and benchmark performance against their own internal and sector-specific norms. While also helping them create a roadmap for continuous growth and improvement.
Parental leave is another topic that bubbles up against some cultural norms in this sector. David reports that “the Just process incited and spurred conversations about parental leave and our executives have been considering these issues in a deeper way than ever before. This is big, because in construction there is a culture of not taking much time off at all.”
Williams, at DPR, points out that the construction industry’s greatest challenge is continued and deepening workforce shortages. “We are faced with an aging workforce and younger people are showing less interest in joining our industry,” she says. “Some ways that we are combating these challenges are by providing additional training opportunities for new and existing talent, offering better wages and benefits, and expanding the pool of available labor by doubling down on accessing diverse talent.”
This context was key to why DPR applied for the Just label (2.0). “The process highlighted gaps in our data and reinforced the need to improve our systems,” she says. “Our technology team worked with us to develop robust dashboards for our representation data. The other challenge was modeling the living wage for our large and diverse employee base. We had a data ninja assess every employee!”
She says that the label “helps us win work with customers that make social responsibility a priority and those that are pursuing LBC and other high level certifications.” But it also helps DPR recruit and retain talent and improve employee engagement. “We have found that the label provides external benchmarking, validates we are on the right track and provides transparency, internally and externally,” she says. “Most importantly, pursuit of Just label aligns with our central beliefs: Respect for the Individual and Change the World and our Mission 2030: to be one of the most admired companies.”
Consigli’s David reflects that “it is not common yet in construction firms to be talking about organizational aims and equity topics in this way. But that just means that we have to talk about why it’s important to us. We have found that the best things about the Just process have been accountability and transparency.”
The Just program offers a unique opportunity for organizations to evaluate their policies, culture, and practices around equity and social impact while providing a framework for improvement. Organizations like Consigli Construction and DPR Construction have already seen the value—not only in gaining recognition for projects like the Living Building Challenge but also in enhancing employee engagement, attracting diverse talent, and initiating conversations and actions around critical topics like gender diversity, parental leave, and workforce development.
The Just label is more than a badge—it’s a commitment to social equity, transparency, and continuous improvement. Learn how your organization can join this movement and shape the future of equity in the built environment.
Discover how the Just label can support your commitment to equity and transparency! Join our monthly info session to learn more, and explore the details of the label in the Just 3.0 Program Manual.
