Governance

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 SASB Standards are reporting standards that provide industry-specific disclosure topics and associated metrics for measuring performance across 26 General Issue Categories (or sustainability topics). Management or mismanagement of performance on these sustainability topics may create, preserve or erode value for a typical organisation in a given industry over time.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Report to providers of financial capital on sustainability topics that are likely to affect how value is created, sustained or eroded for the organisation over the short-, medium- and long-term.

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 SDG Impact Assurance Scheme is an assurance criteria for demonstrating adherence to the SDG Impact Standards for Enterprises, Private Equity Funds or Bonds, and associated certification.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Verification, assurance & certification: Certify that an organisation’s systems and processes adhere to the SDG Impact Standards.

The GIIN Operating Principles for Impact Management provide a framework for investors and fund managers to manage and measure their impact. The principles outline best practices for impact management across the investment lifecycle, from strategy development to implementation, monitoring and reporting.

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.

The SDG Impact Standards for Private Equity Funds provide a decision-making framework for integrating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into one or more funds.

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.

The SDG Impact Standards for Bond Issuers are practice standards that provide a common language and a system for integrating sustainable development issues, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and impact management practices into business and investment decision-making.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Implement: The standards are designed to transform how enterprises and investors think about value creation, and integrate impact management and contributing positively to the SDGs.

The Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors helps institutional investors implement the due diligence provisions of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

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.

The “Investing with SDG Outcomes: A Five-part Framework” provides a high-level framework for investors to shape real-world outcomes in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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.

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) are a voluntary and aspirational set of investment principles that offer a selection of possible actions for investors to incorporate sustainability topics into their investment practices.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Strategy: Commit to considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities in investment decisions, and to working with other industry participants to do the same.
• Governance: Adopt active ownership, and integrate sustainability topics into policies and governance practices.