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Many corporations have retreated on initiatives branded under DEI and ESG banners during President Donald Trump’s second term to protect their businesses from political and legal headaches. But it doesn’t mean companies have stopped investing in efforts that are key to stakeholders and take a longer-term lens than just hitting quarterly earnings estimates.
The Just Capital annual rankings of companies within the Russell 1000 universe identifies what it finds to be the companies making the most “just” investments in their operations across five key categories: workers, communities, shareholders & governance, customers, and the environment. And these investments remain a focus across the market, according to Just Capital’s latest research. But while pressure mounts for corporate boardrooms to deliver on the bottom line as they confront more uncertainty than at any other time in recent history — from an era of global conflict and inflation to the rise of artificial intelligence — there is a shift underway in how and where these investments are being made to maximize future returns.
“Companies are investing more than before in actual stakeholder value creation, they are not pulling back from that, even in a very complex, competitive environment,” said Martin Whittaker, founding CEO of Just Capital.
