About RBIJ.

Our Mission.

Everyone is entitled to respect, equality, fairness, and dignity under the law. Yet systems of justice so often discriminate, over-criminalize, and trap the most vulnerable people in destructive cycles of punishment and poverty. The Responsible Business Initiative for Justice (RBIJ) works with companies to champion  solutions that promote public safety, deliver justice, and strengthen communities.

Our Story.

RBIJ grew out of a diverse collaboration: Lawyers who had witnessed destructive cycles of incarceration firsthand, businesses committed to seeing change within their communities, and government leaders working to secure human rights for all. Out of their collective insights, experiences, and frustrations, a common vision formed that became our central mission — to build an effective criminal justice system that increases safety, deters violence, and is above all fair.

Every human, regardless of their circumstances, is entitled to respect, equality, fairness, and dignity before the law. This universally accepted norm is enshrined in statutes, regulations, international treaties, and agreements. And yet so often systems of justice fail to deliver on this promise and in reality discriminate, over-criminalize, and trap the world’s most vulnerable people in destructive cycles of punishment. This has to change.

Our Principles.

  • Access to fair and equal justice is a fundamental and unequivocal right.

  • Everyone is entitled to respect and dignity in systems of criminal justice.

  • Racism, or any other form of discrimination, has no place in systems of criminal justice.

  • Systems must not criminalize poverty, and socioeconomic circumstances should not determine access to justice.

  • Children are society’s most vulnerable, and must be protected as such in any system of justice.

  • Every sentence must leave room for redemption, and every system must assume people can change. 

  • Criminal justice systems must prioritize public safety, making victims whole, and reducing recidivism. 

  • Excessively punitive and carceral sentences do not protect communities or deter violence.

  • Systems of criminal justice must be designed to rehabilitate and support people in their efforts to rejoin society. 

  • Systems of criminal justice should not act as an obstacle to entering the workforce: no one should lose the right to earn a livelihood as a result of their own former incarceration or the incarceration of their family members.

Our Commitment to Racial Equity.

At the heart of the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice’s (RBIJ) work are our values of racial justice and equity. We are committed to becoming an anti-racist organization that fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion for our staff, interns, board and advisory council members, consultants, and partners.

We also acknowledge the ways that legal structures and systems have been used to harm Black and Brown communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere across the globe.

Read our Racial Justice & Equity Action Plan here.