Introduction: Organizations face mounting pressure to demonstrate authentic sustainability commitments, yet recent reviews identify critical measurement gaps in leadership capabilities that enable credible action (Sajjad et al., 2024). While organizational justice research confirms that fairness perceptions mediate ESG-employee satisfaction links (Susen & Etter, 2024), comprehensive reviews reveal no validated instruments assessing internal justice capabilities that make external sustainability claims credible (Adamovic, 2023). Sustainable development requires not only external commitments but internal organizational conditions promoting employee wellbeing (SDG 3), equitable work systems (SDG 8), and community engagement capacity (SDG 11).


Purpose: This validation study develops the Corporate Social Justice Inventory (CSJI)—a brief, psychometrically sound measure operationalizing how leaders cultivate internal justice as enabling infrastructure for sustainability innovation, directly addressing SDG targets for decent work, wellbeing, and inclusive community development.


Method: Following extensive literature review and expert consultation, the CSJI underwent rigorous validation with 600 diverse North American respondents spanning technical staff to executives across multiple industries. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses with invariance testing established a parsimonious 12-item model comprising four correlated dimensions: Socially Just Supervision (dignifying practices building psychological safety), Fair People Management (equitable HR systems structuring opportunity), Socially Just Culture (justice-inflected climate enabling innovation), and Positive Community Impact (external stakeholder engagement widening solution spaces).


ResultsThe CSJI demonstrates high internal consistency, convergent and discriminant validity, and robust criterion validity through significant associations with job-related wellbeing (SDG 3), organizational commitment, trust, resignation intentions, and citizenship behaviors. Sample invariance confirms measurement stability across organizational levels and contexts.


Conclusion: The CSJI addresses critical measurement voids in sustainable leadership research by specifying actionable micro-level capabilities linking internal justice to external sustainability credibility. By connecting daily leadership practices to innovation outcomes aligned with planetary boundaries, this validated instrument democratizes leadership development for sustainability transitions while providing empirical pathways toward decent work, wellbeing, and inclusive communities.