About us
Our research, advocacy and activism are aimed at changing corporate behaviour to accelerate climate action and build a more inclusive, resilient economy.
Founded in 2017, Just Share is a South African non-profit organisation using shareholder activism and responsible investment as mechanisms to advance social and environmental justice. We build recognition of climate risk management as a key corporate governance issue, and support capacity in the investment sector for climate-smart capital allocation.
Transitioning to a more equal economy and society requires that companies pay their employees a living wage, reduce vertical income disparities within their organisations, and close the gender pay gap.
We use evidence-based research to inform our advocacy and activism. Our analysis of corporate disclosures forms the basis of investor briefings, reports and rankings, which build financial sector knowledge of the climate and social impacts of listed companies.
We engage directly with corporates, investors, regulators and industry bodies. We buy shares in listed companies, and attend annual general meetings to question boards of directors on key climate, social and governance issues. We file shareholder resolutions to improve disclosure and increase investor awareness of the risks of failing to deal with negative corporate impacts.
We participate in public regulatory and policy reform processes that are key to strengthening oversight of, and accountability for, corporate impacts.
We work to expose corporate lobbying and greenwashing that undermines climate action, and to encourage positive climate engagement by companies and financial institutions.
Funding
Just Share is a registered non-profit organisation, and our operational expenses are funded by donations from philanthropic foundations and individuals.
Just Share’s current funders include the RAITH Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Global Industry Hub.
Just Share is also a registered public benefit organisation and all contributions are tax deductible.
Every contribution helps. Please consider making a donation and becoming part of the movement working to build a more just, equal, and sustainable country.
Our impact
comprehensive benchmark of SA’s top 20 asset managers on responsible investment
South African AGMs strengthened for corporate accountability in 2025
resources in our library to help drive advocacy and activism
Ground-breaking litigation
In December 2025, Just Share launched ground-breaking litigation challenging Thungela Resources Limited’s ongoing refusal to table shareholder-proposed resolutions on climate risk. The outcome of this litigation will be far-reaching for the development of South African corporate law on shareholder rights.
2025 Asset Manager Responsible Investment Benchmark
The Just Share 2025 Asset Manager Responsible Investment Benchmark is the first comprehensive assessment of how the country’s 20 largest asset managers are performing against international best practice standards for responsible investment. Using methodology developed by ShareAction, this benchmark enables direct comparison between South African and international peers across governance and stewardship, climate change, biodiversity, and social impacts. It equips asset managers with clear improvement pathways, enables asset owners and retail investors to make informed decisions based on concrete performance metrics, and provides policymakers with evidence to set appropriate standards—ultimately creating accountability mechanisms that drive meaningful improvements in how South African investment portfolios address systemic risks that threaten both long-term financial returns and the country’s development.
Wage gap reporting and remuneration transparency
In August 2025, Just Share released a briefing on wage gap reporting and remuneration transparency among the JSE Top 40. It found that South Africa’s largest companies take a fragmented and inconsistent approach to wage transparency, limiting stakeholders’ ability to assess internal equity structures or compare wage practices across sectors. The briefing, cited by Mr Price Chair Nigel Payne at the company’s AGM and in an SAFM interview with Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht, showed that despite public commitments to addressing inequality and promoting fair remuneration, most JSE-listed firms have still not voluntarily disclosed their vertical wage gaps ahead of the full implementation of the Companies Amendment Act.
Executive Director, Tracey Davies
Our impact reflects not only the outcomes of our programmes, but the strength of the institution behind them. Since its founding, Just Share has been shaped by the vision of our Executive Director, Tracey Davies, whose leadership established robust systems, sound governance, and an independent, credible voice. As Tracey steps down in 2026, her legacy ensures that Just Share remains well-positioned to drive change long into the future, enabling new leadership to carry our mission forward with confidence.
Corporate anti-climate lobbying
Just Share has played a pioneering role in bringing the issue of corporate anti-climate lobbying into South Africa’s public and policy discourse – an area that, until recently, was poorly understood and rarely scrutinised. In 2022, we published South Africa’s first report unpacking the strategies, narratives, and global context of corporate efforts to delay climate action. In 2025, we released a landmark, evidence-based timeline documenting how, over two decades, the country’s fossil fuel sector has systematically diluted and delayed key climate policies: the Climate Change Act and Carbon Tax Act. Building on this foundation, we continue to track and expose corporate interventions that undermine effective climate regulation, and to challenge the flawed assumptions and misinformation underpinning the fossil fuel industry’s lobbying.
Demanding accountability on legislation
As digital transformation accelerates, legislation has not kept pace, and traditional employment is increasingly replaced by gig work characterised by unstable earnings, unsafe conditions, and growing precarity. These risks are most visible among on-demand delivery drivers contracted by major retailers, whose circumstances deepen vulnerability and inequality. Just Share remains the only organisation consistently demanding accountability on this issue, engaging management and raising questions at AGMs to push retailers to improve working conditions, strengthen safety measures, and increase transparency on pay and rewards.
AGM governance in South Africa
Just Share has had a significant and transformative impact on annual general meeting governance in South Africa, primarily by driving improvements in transparency, accessibility, shareholder engagement, and the substance of corporate disclosure, particularly regarding climate change, inequality, and social justice issues.
Advocacy and activism
Just Share’s advocacy and activism have led to specific company commitments and raised the bar for what shareholders and the public expect from listed companies in terms of good AGM governance. Just Share has also significantly influenced regulatory guidance, with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission releasing a legal opinion and guideline on AGMs which dealt with key issues Just Share had been raising in its advocacy.