Lighthouse Action on Social Justice Through Stakeholder Inclusion

The report argues that stakeholder inclusion—recognizing, co-designing, and partnering with impacted communities—is essential for businesses to move beyond shareholder primacy toward a more equitable global economy. It categorizes corporate action into three areas: bold investments in impacted communities, influencing public policy, and implementing rigorous accountability and power-sharing in supply chains. Through case studies of companies like Unilever, Mastercard, and Patagonia, the document demonstrates how integrating social justice into business models can address systemic inequalities, such as the racial wealth gap and poverty among smallholder farmers.

• Corporate action on social justice requires a four-part approach to stakeholder inclusion: recognition of systemic inequalities, co-designing priorities with impacted communities, establishing equitable partnership models, and implementing learning and accountability mechanisms.
• The report identifies five drivers of current corporate momentum toward social justice: the increased visibility of systemic inequalities (exacerbated by COVID-19), ongoing social activism regarding intersectional justice, the rise of ESG reporting and mandatory human rights due diligence (mHREDD) legislation, a more ambitious diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) agenda, and the reimagining of corporate social impact partnerships.
• The Resilience Fund for Women in Global Value Chains uses a 'decolonized approach' to shift power from funders to grantees by employing a shared-governance board with equal representation from corporate investors and women's funds/local organizations.
• Mastercard's 'In Solidarity' initiative commits $500 million over five years to Black communities in seven U.S. cities, focusing on Black-owned business growth, access to capital, and the creation of the Center for Black Entrepreneurship.
• The Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation, has provided more than 6 million people in Africa with improved access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) through projects co-designed with local communities.
• The Open for Business coalition, comprising 39 companies, advocates for LGBT+ inclusive policies globally by using economic data to demonstrate that inclusive economies are more competitive.
• Salesforce's Racial Equality and Justice Task Force uses a '4 Ps' framework—people, purchasing, philanthropy, and policy—to advocate for police reform, voting rights, and hate crimes legislation in the U.S.
• Unilever has committed to ensuring that all direct providers of goods and services earn a living wage or living income by 2030, viewing this as a necessary step toward a new form of capitalism.
• The Farmer Income Lab, founded by Mars, found that to move smallholder farmers out of poverty, incomes must increase by 100% to 200%, as common interventions typically only raise incomes by more than 50% in a few cases.
• Patagonia implements the Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) in its Indian apparel supply chain to improve soil health and farmer well-being, providing farmers with a guaranteed market by committing to source cotton before the sowing season.
• The Amul dairy cooperative in India is owned and run democratically by 3.6 million smallholder farmers, allowing them to receive 80–86% of sales proceeds, compared to 25–40% in other countries.

APA

World Economic Forum (2021). Lighthouse Action on Social Justice Through Stakeholder Inclusion. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Lighthouse_Action_Social_Justice_Stakeholder_Inclusion_2021.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Lighthouse Action on Social Justice Through Stakeholder Inclusion. 2021. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Lighthouse_Action_Social_Justice_Stakeholder_Inclusion_2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Lighthouse Action on Social Justice Through Stakeholder Inclusion |date=September 2021 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Lighthouse_Action_Social_Justice_Stakeholder_Inclusion_2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2021lighthouse, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Lighthouse Action on Social Justice Through Stakeholder Inclusion}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Lighthouse_Action_Social_Justice_Stakeholder_Inclusion_2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }