Building Consensus Around Just Transition metrics
Action to address climate change is urgent and essential for our shared future. This action should shape better lives for all, not leave the poorest and most marginalized left out and worse off.
We already see the consequences of today’s high levels of inequality all around us in social polarization, political backlash, economic protectionism and instability. Climate action that fuels these dynamics will only increase opposition to the kinds of changes we need to make to build a more sustainable future.
Instead, we need to achieve what is termed a ‘just transition’ – a transition to a low carbon and climate-resilient future that prevents or minimizes harm to vulnerable workers, communities and consumers.
Companies, standard setters and financial institutions increasingly recognize the need to bring a human rights perspective to climate action in service of a just transition. And standard-setters are already reflecting these expectations in the laws, regulations and other standards they develop.
We see more and more organizations using narrative – or ‘qualitative’ – indicators to describe how human rights considerations are integrated into companies’ efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. But we are also hearing an increasing number of organizations call for quantitative, measurable data, to complement these qualitative indicators, to provide a more comprehensive and tangible picture of how impacts on people from climate action are being managed.
As a result, it is clear that quantitative metrics are also needed to measure what is working and what isn’t, to know which are the successful approaches that should be scaled and replicated, and to be able to account for the results.
Shift has been working with a number of other organizations doing leading work in support of a just transition, to build broad consensus around a core set of quantitative, sector-agnostic metrics. These Just Transition metrics can supplement qualitative indicators and help provide the full picture necessary to assess the ‘justness’ of the climate transition.
This set of metrics does not – because it cannot – address all scenarios and variations. However, we believe they provide a sound foundation upon which additional metrics relevant to specific sectors and geographical contexts can be layered.
Throughout the development of the metrics, Shift and our collaborating partners have intentionally kept them within the realm of data that can reasonably be gathered and provided by companies, while recognizing – and hoping – that the art of the possible will improve over time.
The intent is that these metrics can be applied in the context of full ‘transition plans’ or in relation to more diffuse activities targeted at the transition. In either case, the metrics would apply within the same ‘boundaries’ – in terms of facilities, locations or other fields of action – as those plans and activities and their associated climate metrics.
The final set of just transition metrics should be one that can be embedded in sustainability reporting standards alongside important contextual information. Figure 1 illustrates how they might fit into the four-pillar structure that is common to many reporting standards today.
Figure 1
GOVERNANCE – High-level oversight of policy/strategy/transition planning – Human Rights Due Diligence process linked to transition planning and implementation – Approval of targets | STRATEGY – Commitments to Just Transition, decent jobs, social dialogue – Identification of, and meaningful engagement with, affected stakeholders – Workforce composition |
| RISK AND IMPACT MANAGEMENT – Highest risk and impact climate actions and locations -Measures taken to mitigate risksand impacts – Process for identifying and addressing skills gaps and opportunities | METRICS & TARGETS – Job security – Reskilling, upskilling and redeployment – Remuneration & living wage – Engagement with workers and communities |
This version of the metrics builds on our experience working with the Global Reporting Initiative, which has made ground-breaking progress as part of GRI 102: Climate Change Standard, as well as an earlier set of metrics we published in April 2025. This most recent version reflects collaboration and consensus across a range of organizations around the current “best-in-class” metrics.
It is our hope that these metrics bring clarity and value to all stakeholders: companies themselves as they try to measure what matters; data providers and investors who need this information for their own services and decisions; and reporting standard-setters needing to ensure consistency for preparers and insight for users of disclosed information.
We will continue conversations with interested organizations in the months ahead, including to learn more about the use of these metrics in practice, and how they can be further improved and added to in light of experience and further data availability. We welcome all inputs and advice as part of this continuing exploration.
You can download an excel spreadsheet containing our Just Transition Metrics here.
