Investment Portfolio Impact Analysis Tool

Last updated: 2021

The Investment Portfolio Impact Analysis Tool helps financial institutions holistically understand and manage the actual and potential impacts of their investment portfolios. It aligns with UNEP FI’s unique holistic approach to impact and helps to implement PRB Principle 2 on Impact Analysis.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

  • Identify: Identify impact areas and topics related to economic, environmental and social factors associated with an investment portfolio, based on an objective review (cartography) of the portfolio’s sectoral and geographic breakdown.
  • Measure, assess and value: Assess current practices and performance in relation to the bank’s most significant impact areas by integrating the outputs of the ‘Identification’ tools with additional data.
  • Set targets and plan: Use the outcome of the practice and performance assessment to set targets and define the bank’s action plan.
  • Implement: Develop action plans that outline specific strategies, initiatives and measures that the bank will undertake to address the identified impact areas.
  • Monitor, learn and adapt: PRB signatories can use the Tool to periodically update and review information on their impact performance, as part of the requirements set out in Principle 2.

Non-Authoritative Guidance on Applying ISAE 300 (Revised) Extended External Reporting (EER) Assurance Engagements

Last updated: 2021

Outlines the key stages of an assurance engagement, expectations of assurance professionals, and common types of information included in Extended External Reporting (EER) assurance engagements. The guidance has been developed to support assurers who are applying the ISAE 3000.

Use this resource to:

  • Verification, assurance and certification: This guidance is not aimed at organisations but provides detailed information on issues that arise when assuring EER such as sustainability performance information, which organisations may still find useful.

International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised)

Last updated: 2013

A standard for assurance professionals that covers any assurance engagement other than audits or reviews of historical financial information.

Use this resource to:

  • Verification, assurance and certification: Organisations may require that their third-party assurance providers apply this standard to ensure adherence to global best practices.

TCFD recommendations

Last updated: 2017

Guidance that contains disclosure recommendations for information on the material financial impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities, including those related to the global transition to a lower-carbon economy. The TCFD recommendations are structured around the four pillars of Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets.

Use this resource to:

  • Communicate: Follow recommendations to structure climate-related financial disclosures. Other voluntary standards can be used in conjunction with TCFD recommendations.

CDP’s Disclosure System

Last updated: 2021

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.

SASB Standards

Last updated: n/a

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.

Integrated Reporting Framework

Last updated: 2021

Reporting framework that provides principles-based guidance for organisations seeking to create an integrated report, containing both financial and non-financial information. The guidance is tailored specifically for private sector, for-profit companies, but the Framework can also be applied to the public sector and non-for-profit organisations.

Use this resource to:

  • Communicate: Report to providers of financial capital on sustainability topics that are likely to affect value creation over the short-, medium-, and long-term.

CDSB Framework for Reporting Environmental and Climate Change Information

Last updated: 2019

This reporting framework offers companies seven guiding principles and 12 reporting requirements to help prepare (financially) material and decision-useful environmental disclosures for the mainstream report. CDSB additionally offers topic-specific guidance for companies, such as on climate-related reporting and climate accounting.

Use this resource to:

  • Measure, assess and value: Understand the measurement and disclosure standards and guidance for organisations, so that investors can provide capacity to the asset to help adherence.
  • Communicate: Understand how underlying assets might prepare environmental and climate change information in a way that connects to mainstream financial information.

CDP Financial Services Disclosure System

Last updated: 2021

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.

Reporting and assessment framework

Last updated: 2020

Tool to report on responsible investment activities annually.

This resource calls upon organisations to:

  • Communicate: Report on firm-wide and portfolio or strategy-specific investment practices.