Benchmarking and rating

The Financial System Benchmark assesses and ranks the 400 most influential financial institutions on their contribution to global goals, such as the SDGs and the Paris Agreement. As such, it acts as a global accountability mechanism.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Benchmarking and rating: Identify areas where it is possible to influence financial system transformation, and to integrate the findings on risks and impacts into relevant internal functions and processes.

The TNFD Disclosure Recommendations provide companies and financial institutions of all sizes with a risk management and disclosure framework to identify, assess, manage and, where appropriate, disclose nature-related issues.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Ensure consistency of language, structure and approach with both the Task Force on Climate- related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), to enable integrated climate- and nature-related reporting.

The IRIS+ Impact Performance Benchmarks are analytic tools that aggregate sector-specific impact results across investments, enabling investors to compare their impact performance to peers and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Benchmarking and rating: Compare impact results to four different comparison points; internal impact targets, past performance, results ofa peer group, and the pace of change required to acheive a science-based target or SDG.

The IRIS+ impact performance benchmarks are analytic tools that aggregate sector-specific impact results across investments, enabling investors to compare their impact performance to peers and to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Use this resource to:

• Benchmarking and rating: Compare your investment to others in the same Impact Theme or Category, as well as against the UN SDGs.

The B Impact Assessment is an evaluation tool used by businesses to measure and manage their social and environmental impact. It assesses performance across various impact areas, including governance, workers, community, environment and customers.

This is a cross-cutting resource, meaning that it supports the internal impact management process as a whole, rather than one or a few of the Actions of Impact Management.

CDP’s Disclosure System is a tool for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. It enables these organisations to make their environmental impacts transparent, to understand how to reduce their negative impacts and to progress towards environmental stewardship.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Report to all stakeholders on climate change, forests and water security, based on the organisation’s governance and policy, risks and opportunity management, environmental targets, and strategy and scenario analysis. Responses receive a grade from A-D based on the organisation’s disclosed performance.

The SDG Action Manager is a digital tool designed to help organisations measure their impact across various sustainability areas, set goals aligned with the SDGs, and track progress over time. The questionnaire, which draws from B Lab’s B Impact Assessment and the UN Global Compact’s 10 Principles, enables organisations to collect performance information on the SDGs that are most relevant to manage, based on its size, sector and geography. It was developed through research and public consultation and so provides an evidence-based starting point for identifying sustainability topics to measure.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Governance: Prioritise governance mechanisms that address the organisation’s key sustainability risks and enhance its resilience against potential challenges.
• Identify: Understand the most relevant SDGs to manage based on the organisation’s size, sector, and geography.
• Measure, assess and value: Obtain a set of metrics.
• Set targets and plan: Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) targets related to sustainable development. Organisations can align their targets with the specific indicators and targets outlined in the SDGs.

The Methodology for Comparing and Assessing Impact provides an analytical framework to compare impact performance, with a specific focus on variance and the extent of the change required to enable meaningful contribution toward impact.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Monitor, learn and adapt: Determine to what extent an investment contributes meaningfully to social or environmental progress.

Tools for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The CDP Financial Services Disclosure System allows for a baseline assessment of climate-related risks, opportunities and impacts in financing portfolios; and of how banks, asset owners, asset managers and insurance companies are preparing for the net-zero carbon transition.

Use this resource to:

• Identify: Understand the relevant climate change, forests and water security impacts to measure, based on the organization’s size, sector, and geography.
• Measure, assess and value: Track change in performance over time. Each question in the questionnaire is scored – some with reference to social or ecological thresholds – to help the organisation determine whether it is performing sustainably on that topic.
• Communicate: Report to all stakeholders on climate change, forests and water security. The questionnaires provide a framework for companies to report environmental information to their stakeholders covering governance and policy, risks and opportunity management, environmental targets and strategy, and scenario analysis. Receive an A-D grading based on questionnaire responses.
• Benchmarking and rating: Benchmark environmental performance against industry peers and receive feedback on progress each year. The information disclosed is also used by financial markets for stewardship and engagement, in investment research, new financial products, and global indices and ratings.