Perspectives A JUST Journey

As a building consultancy with humble beginnings, BranchPattern has always been driven by a deep commitment to conscious decision-making that prioritizes the well-being of our society and the environment. In 2018, after recognizing the need to demonstrate this commitment transparently, we embarked on a journey to pursue a JUST Label.

What is JUST?

Created by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), “JUST is a nutrition label for socially just and equitable organizations. As a voluntary disclosure tool for organizations rather than a certification program, it is a transparency platform for organizations to disclose their operations, including how they treat their employees and where they make financial and community investments.”

The label is currently based on the following indicators:

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

A Holistic Approach to Social Equity

A cornerstone of our journey has been our approach to cultivating social equity within our organization. One of the primary objectives of the JUST Program is “to elevate the discussion around social justice concerns in all organizations.” As we pursue and uphold our JUST Label, BranchPattern remains dedicated to prioritizing social equity in both policy and practice.

Below, we highlight some categories where we’ve made significant strides. Our emphasis on these categories doesn’t diminish the importance of others; rather, it reflects the tangible impact of our efforts and our pride in the results.

Family/Medical Leave

To create a workplace that is attractive to both families and women in STEM, we overhauled our parental leave policy. Non-birthing parents are now entitled to a standard two-week leave, in line with industry norms in AEC. For birthing parents, we extended the leave duration from six to eight weeks, surpassing the industry standard. The enthusiastic response from our employees underscores the positive impact of these changes.

Gender Diversity

Efforts to enhance gender diversity have yielded impressive results, with the representation of women in our workforce reaching an all-time high of 43% in 2023, a substantial increase from 35% in 2021. This remarkable rise underscores our unwavering commitment to building a diverse and inclusive workplace.

Volunteering, Local Communities & Charitable Giving

Connections between our employees and the communities where we work and live are actively encouraged within the organization. To further empower our employees to make a positive impact, we provide 16 hours of paid volunteer time off annually. This policy offers our team the flexibility to support their chosen causes and contribute to their local communities.

A dedicated Stewardship Committee was established to serve as a vital link between our organization, our employees, and the local communities. This committee organizes volunteer events, activities, and charitable donations, fostering a deeper sense of community engagement.

We’ve observed that these initiatives have had a notable positive impact on employee morale, especially when we report our charitable contributions at the end of the year.

Learning from Past Certifications

In 2020, the JUST Program was updated to provide a more comprehensive snapshot of organization “health.” Following this update, we successfully applied for JUST Labels in 2021 and 2023, making significant improvements in each of the expanded eight categories.

1. Charitable Giving
2. Equitable Purchasing
3. Family Medical Leave
4. Gender Diversity
5. Local Communities
6. Physical Health
7. Retirement Provision
8. Volunteering

Areas of Improvement

As exciting as it is to see where we’ve progressed each year, we also take stock of opportunities for growth and improvement. For example, in the Living Wage & Well-Being categories our score fell one notch between our 2021 and 2023 applications. Upon recognizing this decline, we proactively initiated steps to rectify our trajectory.

Living Wage

Contributing factors that caused our score to fall in this category included inflation and *cost of living in certain geographical areas. Recognizing this, BranchPattern is pivoting to lessen the impact of these factors on employees. We are determined to make progress in this category, just as in other areas, by focusing on finding solutions that support our employees and their families in all the communities where we operate.

*We measure living wages according to the MIT standard for a family of two adults and one child.

Well-Being

BranchPattern has provided employees with a wellness program called “Better Built You” for more than five years. This program includes monthly challenges that encourage employees to make healthy choices and rewards participants for those choices. Employees are also provided reimbursements for gym memberships, unlimited Owner-Time-Off after they have completed six months or 1,000 hours with the firm, and a variety of socials that encourage camaraderie and connection. These efforts have resulted in lower turnover, more engaged employees, and a 2023 Zweig’s Best Places to Work award, and are sure to upgrade our organization’s status from Level 3 to Level 4.