In response to expectations from consumers and stakeholders, CMOs are now considering their role and the impact of corporate social justice initiatives. While not universally defined, corporate social justice encompasses the organizational values, attitudes and behaviors that contribute to the fair and equitable treatment of all stakeholders within and outside the organization. Knowing your social justice identity can help determine how much to integrate social justice issues into your marketing and branding.

CMOs are well-accustomed to defining and discussing brand mission, vision and values, and, increasingly, are spending more time wrestling with how their organization will engage and communicate brand purpose and culture. On sensitive issues of social justice, CMOs must start by clearly defining or recognizing where the company stands so they can protect their brand and guide employees’ actions. Beginning with crystal clarity of the brand’s position on contentious issues is the foundational step toward development of your marketing social justice strategy.

As part of their evaluation of where the brand stands, CMOs should partner with the rest of the C-suite to answer three main questions: What do we stand for? What do we plan to do? How do we plan to achieve our social justice goals? The answers will help define an organization’s commitment, internal strategy and methods to ensure accountability on contentious social and political issues.