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SEAM Standard Pillar

Social Justice

Real estate influences who has access to opportunity, and who doesn’t. Social Justice in SEAM addresses issues that historically impact how we build, zone, invest, and support impacted parties.

What is Social Justice

Elevating just decision making through the built environment

Buildings don’t exist in a vacuum.

Every project makes choices about who gets hired, who can afford to be there, how the surrounding community is affected, and how far that impact actually reaches. Social Justice within the SEAM Standard helps projects make those decisions with intention, using a structured framework that addresses procurement, the workplace, the community, and access to capital.

Focus areas

Six ways to make just improvements.

Social Justice in SEAM is achieved across 2 concepts, spanning 6 actionable objectives.

Social Equity + Justice

In Procurement

Build inclusive practices into how you hire suppliers, award contracts, and structure leases to broaden economic opportunity.

Social Equity + Justice

In the Workplace

Establish fair treatment, equal pay, and inclusive design standards for everyone who works in or on your project.

Social Equity + Justice

In the Community

Understand and actively manage your project's relationship with the surrounding community, including avoiding involuntary displacement.

Social Equity + Justice

In Capital Access

Structure equity capital and debt financing to include historically underrepresented groups in financial opportunities.

Social Justice Innovation

Social Justice Industry Innovation

Advance new models, programs, and partnerships that push the commercial real estate industry toward more equitable outcomes.

Social Justice Innovation

Design for Embodied Justice

Integrate equity into the physical design decisions, centering voices and needs that have historically been left out of the design process.

Why it matters

Our decisions today shape tomorrow’s impact.

The built environment has historically been shaped by choices that weren’t just or fair to all people. The Social Justice pillar gives certified projects a structured framework to make different decisions through design, investment, and governance that expand access and opportunity for everyone.

Ready to build for justice?

Explore the full SEAM Standard or start your project today to address systemic inequity through the built environment.