Resource Database

ISO’s management system standards define how an organisation can manage the interrelated parts of its business in order to achieve its objectives. These objectives can relate to a number of different topics, including product or service quality, operational efficiency, environmental performance, health and safety in the workplace and many more. The management system standards help organisations improve their performance by specifying repeatable steps that they can implement to achieve their goals and objectives. They can also help to create an organisational culture that engages in a continuous cycle of self-evaluation, correction and improvement of operations and processes, such as through heightened employee awareness, and management leadership and commitment.

ISO’s measurement and monitoring standards comprise a series of international standards that provide guidance and frameworks for effective environmental management. These standards cover various aspects of environmental management, including environmental policy, planning, implementation, monitoring and continuous improvement.

ISO’s pathway and transition standards support users in tackling climate change at a strategic, governmental and organisational level, through to tactical applications at the project and product levels. These standards in the ISO 1406x series provide the tools for organisations to develop programmes that can control and eliminate GHG emissions. They focus on integrating organisational adaptation plans by illustrating the impacts and uncertainties of climate change and how they can inform decision-making.

ISO’s 31000 risk management standards cover all types of risk and are applicable to all organisations regardless of their type, size, activities and location. It is intended for use by anyone who manages risks, rather than solely professional risk managers.

The ISO Standards for validation, verification and assurance specify general principles and requirements for the validation and verification process of sustainability information, including reporting on environmental, social, governance (ESG) and other sustainability aspects. It also provides general principles and requirements for determining the categorisation of quantitative and qualitative information.

This paper outlines what voting principles are, why they are needed, how voting principles can align with Active Ownership 2.0 (the PRI’s framework for more effective stewardship). It also explains how voting principles can be developed and applied to govern shareholder resolutions.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Implement: Develop and apply high-level principles to govern voting on shareholder resolutions.

“Maximise Your Impact: A Guide for Social Entrepreneurs” proposes a practical approach for social entrepreneurs to understand and maximise the positive social value they create, supporting both the creation and development of impact-oriented organisations.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Strategy: Develop a strategy and business model that address the root causes of the problem that the organisation is trying to solve.
• Governance: Set the right governance structure and practices to serve the organisation’s mission.
• Identify: Identify the problems and solutions that the organisation will seek to address, including through qualitative research and stakeholder engagement.
• Measure, assess and value: Check whether the organisation has all the information it needs to assess its impacts. The guidance contains 10 questions that guide impact assessment, functioning as a checklist to ensure all necessary contextual information is collected.
• Set targets and plan: Create an impact goal (the core problem that the organisation is trying to achieve), set targets and forecast changes that the organisation is planning to make towards the impact goal and associated targets.
• Implement: Integrate information on social value into management decision-making.
• Monitor, learn and adapt: Understand how to use the collected information to decide whether to change, stop or scale-up activities, and learn how to develop a set of recommendations about adapting targets.

The conceptual framework supports organisations to measure their non-financial performance through the lens of the OECD Well-being Framework. It encourages national statistical offices (NSOs) to further develop and harmonise statistics on stakeholder well-being and sustainability.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Measure, assess and value: Measure the well-being of stakeholders that operate within the operational boundaries of the organiastion, using the measurement framework and indicator set developed by the OECD.

The Positive Impact (PI) Model Frameworks provide guidance on integrating holistic impact analysis into business processes and decision-making, spanning different business lines and asset types. They can be used by financial institutions and other third parties, such as auditors. The Model Framework covers financial products for corporates where the funds raised or guarantees issued are used at the corporate’s discretion, without any specified use.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Implement: Deliver positive impact financial products. The PI Model Frameworks enables financial institutions and intermediaries to develop appropriate framework (or adapt existing frameworks) to inform decision-making (i.e. on financing /investments), support PI financial product development, to continually analyse and monitor portfolios; and verify and/or provide opinions on the PI nature of financial products.

The Model Frameworks provide guidance on integrating holistic impact analysis into business processes and decision-making, spanning different business lines and asset types. They can be used by financial institutions, as well as by third parties such as auditors. This Model Framework covers Financial Products where the funds raised or guarantees issued are used for a specific purpose, in this case Project-related finance within the scope of the Equator Principles.

Use this resource to:

• Deliver positive impact financial products. The PI Model Frameworks enables financial institutions or intermediaries to develop appropriate frameworks or adapt their existing frameworks to serve a number of purposes: for decision-making (i.e. on financing /investments); for the development of PI financial products, or for on-going analysis/monitoring of portfolios; and
  
• Verify and/or provide opinions on the PI nature of financial products.