As part of MSR Design’s vision to enrich lives by designing a better future, we have renewed our Just 2.0 label. A nutrition label for socially just and equitable organizations, Just marks the beginning of a new era of corporate transparency. ILFI invites organizations everywhere to evaluate themselves through this social justice and equity lens and become a Just organization.

MSR Design was the first Minnesota architecture firm to have a Just 2.0 label and is currently one of only three firms in the state to have one. Participating in the program helps us nurture a culture that values diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“We strive for continual growth in every aspect of our practice,” says MSR Design CEO Traci Lesneski. “When we adopted the label in 2020, we committed to using it year over year as a roadmap for improvement. It’s gratifying to see evidence of our efforts reflected in higher scores for this renewal.”

We have made notable progress in our efforts to embed social justice and equity in our policies and practices since signing onto the program in 2020. The Just label documents our level of performance in six different areas: diversity and inclusion, equity, employee health, employee benefits, stewardship, and purchasing and supply chain. Specifically, our scores increased in the gender diversity (where we achieved a level 4, the highest score possible), ethnic diversity, and inclusion subcategories under diversity and inclusion; in the training and education subcategory under employee benefits; and in the animal welfare subcategory under stewardship.

We continue to maintain the highest score (level 4) in several subcategories, including employee engagement under diversity and inclusion, which calls for organizations to work proactively to advance a culture where employees feel inspired, motivated, and engaged. In the equity area, we again achieved a level 4 score in three subcategories: full-time employment, pay-scale equity, and gender pay equity. For employee health, we scored another level 4 for well-being, and for stewardship, we achieved another level 4 for charitable giving.

“The label isn’t an end-game—it’s an ongoing process,” Traci adds. “The Just 2.0 program provides a framework to put our firm’s values to work. The renewal has helped bring more intentionality to key efforts, in turn creating meaningful impact.”