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About Imperfect

Imperfect’s Anti-Racist Pledge

To address issues of racial injustice, we all need to take collective action to build the type of systems we want to see. Words mean nothing unless we change our behavior. We commit to progress, action, and accountability. We commit to being actively anti-racist.

This will take time and hard work and we commit to both. We will develop concrete goals and progress metrics, but first need to take the time to determine, with third party support, what they should be. You can expect to hear more in the coming weeks as we begin.

Here is how we’re getting to work:

Supporting Black Communities

  • This work cannot begin without a strong, foundational understanding of racism in America. Imperfect is collecting and sharing resources that amplify Black voices so our community can read, listen, and learn as a step toward racial justice. Dedicated time for employee education, particularly around race as it intersects with food and farming, will be put in place.

  • We are making financial donations and matching employee gifts up to $10,000 to the NAACP and Appetite for Change, an organization that uses food to create health, wealth, and social change in North Minneapolis.

  • We will seek opportunities to partner with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to offer internships and encourage entrepreneurship in the food and sustainability sectors.

Improving Internal Practices

  • We will create an independent Diversity and Inclusion Board to audit our internal policies and processes to ensure equal opportunity and fairness. Additionally, an expert third party will be hired to conduct an internal audit of our practices and diversity efforts.

  • 19.2% of all our employees are Black and 66.1% are non-white, but our senior leadership team does not reflect the same level of representation. Effective immediately, we are mandating diverse candidate slates for all senior hires, independently audited by the Diversity and Inclusion Board, adjusting recruiting timelines, and guaranteeing equal pay for equal work.

  • All people managers and the leadership team will go through anti-racist and implicit bias training programs with bi-annual refreshers.

  • We will publish an annual public impact report tracking our progress in areas such as employee and applicant demographics, marketing, hiring, sourcing practices, partner relationships, and our support of organizations fighting for racial justice. Our hope is that our employees, customers and community hold us accountable.

Sourcing to Promote Racial Justice

  • We will develop and grow long-term relationships with Black-owned farms and producers as part of our sourcing strategy.

  • We are implementing a Code of Conduct for our growers and suppliers to ensure that our partners share our commitment to racial justice. There will be clear consequences for partners who violate this Code of Conduct.

We are committed to change and we will not settle. Thank you for accompanying us on this journey and keeping us accountable.

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Kevin Rasp
Kevin Rasp
4 years ago

These are good steps, but the financial donation is pretty opaque. I only read up to $10k matched, which means that the employees much donate $10k to get the company’s $10k. How about $10k down with an additional $10k matched if employees want to donate?

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Imperfect
Imperfect
4 years ago
Reply to  Kevin Rasp

Hey Kevin! Our sincerest apologies if the donation mechanics were a bit confusing. Here’s how they worked in practice: To date, we raised $10,374 in employee donations. Imperfect already donated $10,000 and will now be matching to the full $10,000 limit. This means as a company we are donating over $30,000 to these two incredible organizations. We hope this helps clarify things. Thanks for reading our blog and supporting these causes with us!

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Tina Kafka
Tina Kafka
4 years ago

I completely support your efforts and from now on I plan deliberately seek out and support companies that have pledged to pay attention to issues of racial and social justice. I especially appreciate that you have outlined the steps you will take to achieve your pledge. Thank you.

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Imperfect
Imperfect
4 years ago
Reply to  Tina Kafka

Thanks for your support, Tina! This work is really important to us and we’re glad to have you as part of our community.

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Jillian Rubel
Jillian Rubel
4 years ago

This is robust and very much appreciated!

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Imperfect
Imperfect
4 years ago
Reply to  Jillian Rubel

It’s our pleasure and duty!

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Sue Beard
Sue Beard
4 years ago

The company integrity to promote racial balance is appreciated

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Sneha Sinha
Sneha Sinha
4 years ago

Love this and love imperfect so much. I would love to see Black farmers and their products highlighted when I’m shopping!

Reply
Emma Heaslet
Emma Heaslet
4 years ago

Given the unique issues that Black and other minority farmers face to secure loans, keep their land, and have access to equal resources, do you plan to support them in ways beyond sourcing?

"…of the country’s 3.4 million total farmers, only 1.3%, or 45,508, are black, according to new figures from the US Department of Agriculture released this month. They own a mere 0.52% of America’s farmland."

Source:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/29/why-have-americas-black-farmers-disappeared?utm_medium=&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=20200608-eng-news-&utm_content=whyisfarmingsowhite

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