People First Policy empowers business leaders to engage civically and advocate for transformative change, recognizing that striving for a People First Economy means going beyond adopting people-first company policies to require bold, systemic action driven by businesses committed to making lasting impact. Local and state policies shape the foundation of economic systems, influencing businesses, workers, and communities alike, with elected officials depending on voices of business leaders alongside grassroots advocates to advance solutions benefiting everyone. People First Policy recognizes businesses not just as stakeholders in this process but as essential partners in driving equitable, community-centered change, empowering business leaders to engage in civic advocacy and become champions for policies that strengthen their businesses, the environment, and the communities they serve by understanding policy proposals, evaluating their impact, and speaking up. People First Policy is guided by four core values: Accessibility, creating accessibility to a socially and environmentally resilient economy for all people by prioritizing justice, equity, diversity, inclusion (JEDI), and anti-racism through public learning, transparency, and community building; Accountability, challenging economic and systemic structures that inhibit equity by holding themselves and partners accountable to data and community-informed metrics; Stakeholder Governance, recognizing that people and the planet must be of equal or higher value than short-term profits; and Interdependence, collaboratively fostering thriving, interdependent economic ecosystems rooted in human-scale relationships.
Why it matters: People First Policy recognizes that creating a People First Economy requires businesses to engage in civic advocacy and policy change rather than limiting themselves to voluntary company policies, demonstrating that systemic transformation demands business leaders using their influence with elected officials alongside grassroots advocates. By empowering business leaders to understand, evaluate, and champion policies at local and state levels where economic systems’ foundations are shaped, People First Policy addresses the reality that businesses are essential partners in driving equitable change, not passive recipients of policy. The organization’s core values prioritizing JEDI and anti-racism, accountability to community-informed metrics, stakeholder governance elevating people and planet over short-term profits, and interdependent economic ecosystems show that building a resilient economy requires businesses challenging the systemic structures inhibiting equity rather than merely operating within them.
