Assess impact

Tool designed to help organisations measure and manage their impact on workers, community, environment, and customers.

Use this resource to:

• Identify sustainability topics: Fill in the online questionnaire to understand performance on sustainability topics that are likely relevant to manage, based on the organisation’s size, sector, and geography. B Lab’s questionnaire is developed through research and public consultation, and so provides an evidence-based starting point for identifying sustainability topics to measure.
• Measure sustainability performance: Use the B Impact Assessment as a set of metrics. The questionnaire enables organisations to quickly get started collecting information on performance on sustainability topics that are likely relevant to manage, based on the organisation’s size, sector, and geography.
• Assess impacts: Fill in the questionnaire to track change in performance over time. Each question is scored – some with reference to social or ecological thresholds – to help the organisation determine whether it is performing sustainably on that topic.
• Benchmark: Compare performance with peers on each sustainability topic or as a whole organisation. If an organisation scores 80 points or above on the questionnaire, it can apply to be certified as a B Corp. The tool provides guidance to help organisations improve their score every year, and all B Corps must update their responses to the self-assessment to re-certify every three years.

Practice standards that provide a common language and a system for integrating sustainable development issues, the Sustainable Development Goals and impact management into business and investment decision-making. These practice standards also outline the ‘ABC’ classification methodology, which helps organisations assess whether an impact ‘Acts to reduce harm’, ‘Benefits stakeholders’, or ‘Contributes to solutions’ in relation to the SDGs.

Use this resource to:

Set up processes and embed practices that orient an organisation towards achieving the SDGs. The SDG Impact Standard contains practice indicators that are relevant to several actions. Use the links below to access guidance for different practice indicators. Alternatively, view the whole guidance document here.

• Governance, strategy, and management approach:
  • 2.1.1 / 2.1.2 / 2.1.3 / 2.1.4 / 2.1.5 / 2.1.6 / 2.1.7
  • 4.1 / 4.2 / 4.3
• Set and revise objectives:
  • 1.1.1 / 1.1.2 / 1.1.3 / 1.1.4 / 1.1.5 / 1.1.6 / 1.1.7 / 1.1.8 / 1.1.9 / 1.1.10 / 1.1.11
  • 1.2.1 / 1.2.2 / 1.2.3 / 1.2.4 / 1.2.5 / 1.2.6 / 1.2.7
• Identify sustainability topics:
  • 1.1.6 / 1.1.7 / 1.1.8
  • 2.2.1 / 2.2.2 / 2.2.3
• Measure sustainability performance:
  • 2.1.6
  • 2.2.4
  • 2.3.2
• Assess impact:
  • 2.1.6
  • 2.2.1 / 2.2.2 / 2.2.3 / 2.2.4
  • 2.3.1 / 2.3.2 / 2.3.3 / 2.3.4
• Estimate value created:
  • 2.2.1 / 2.2.4 / 2.2.5
• Verify:
  • 2.2.6
  • 3.6
• Integrate and act:
  • 2.2.5
  • 2.3.1 / 2.3.2 / 2.3.3 / 2.3.4 / 2.3.5
• Disclose:
  • 3.1 / 3.2 / 3.3 / 3.4 / 3.5 / 3.6

Tool for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The CDP Disclosure System supports companies in making their environmental impact transparent to stakeholders, better understanding how they can reduce their impact, and act to become environmental leaders.

Tool designed to help organisations measure and manage their impacts in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Guidance to help an organisation maximise the positive social value it creates.

Use this resource to:

• Set and revise objectives: Use the guidance on engaging stakeholders and understanding their objectives and needs in order to design a business model around delivering these objectives.
• Assess impact: Check whether the organisation has all the information it needs to assess impact. The guidance contains 10 questions that guide impact assessment and function as a checklist to ensure all necessary contextual information is collected.
• Integrate and act: Follow the guide to integrate information on social value into management decision-making.

Guidance that provides a brief introduction to a leading methodology for translating planetary thresholds related to greenhouse gas emissions into company-specific targets. It also provides further links to more detailed implementation guidance.

Use this resource to:

• Set and revise objectives: Set a company-specific target for greenhouse gas emissions that incorporates an ecological threshold for a given global warming scenario.
• Assess impact: Assess performance against a company-specific target for greenhouse gas emissions that references an ecological threshold. 

Guidance for setting science based targets related to nature. More generally, the SBTN is embarking on a multi-year strategy to develop guidance for translating planetary thresholds and societal goals into company-specific targets for air, water, land, biodiversity and ocean.

Use this resource to:

• Set and revise objectives: Set a company-specific target that references an ecological threshold for nature.
• Assess impact: Assess performance in context of ecological thresholds.

Standard and guidance on how to apply the fourth of SVI’s Social Value Principles.

Use this resource to:

• Identify sustainability topics: Use the guidance on how to determine which impacts must be included to support decision making that optimises value for all stakeholders. It includes two screens for materiality: firstly for outcomes that are relevant and secondly for the outcomes that are most significant.
• Assess impact: Follow the guidance to determine whether an impact is significant to people or the environment, requiring management.

Guidance on the types of data needed to understand and assess impact performance. The IMP community of 2000+ practitioners identified five dimensions of impact that can be broken down into 15 more detailed data categories.