Tools

ISEAL’s Codes of Good Practice provide a globally recognised framework, defining practices for effective and credible sustainability systems.

User this resource to:

• Define how a standard should be developed, structured and improved over time. The Code addresses multi-stakeholder consultation and decision-making, and ensures the standard contains clear requirements that can be measured and assessed.
• Provide a framework for assessing compliance with standards, so that consumers, supply chain partners, investors and other stakeholders know they can trust the results of assessments. It encourages assurance that is rigorous and accessible, providing accurate and transparent results.
• Support robust monitoring and evaluation that helps systems to understand how effective their standards are in achieving what they set out to do. It provides standards with a roadmap to measure progress against sustainability goals and to improve practices over time.

The Credibility Principles define the core values of credible and effective sustainability systems. They provide the foundations for systems to deliver greater impact.

User this resource to:

• Develop standards and similar sustainability tools to understand which attributes of their system are critical to the credibility of their approach, and why this matters for improving sustainability performance and delivering impacts.
• Identify systems that can be effective partners in delivering against shared sustainability objectives.

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

Use this resource to:

• Measure, assess and value: Identify 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.

The excel-based Impact Mappings are standalone versions of the research embedded in UNEP-FI’s Impact Analysis Tools, split into two parts.

First, the Sector Mappings show the strength of connection between economic activities (using ISIC classification) and positive and negative impacts (using UNEP-FI’s Impact Radar). Second, the Needs Mappings track a selection of indicators at global, country and local levels as a way to estimate the sustainable development needs in different geographies.

Use this resource to:

• Identify: Understand the impact areas and topics associated to different economic activities by consulting the Sector-Impact map; understand both positive and negative associations; identify key sectors for different impact areas and topics.Understand the impact areas and topics associated to different economic activities by consulting the Sector-Impact map; understand both positive and negative associations; identify key sectors for different impact areas and topics.

Tool to help investors holistically understand and manage the actual and potential impacts of their portfolios.

Use this resource to:

• Identify: Identify impact areas and topics (economic, environmental and social) associated with an investment portfolio, based on an objective review (cartography) of the portfolio, sectoral and geographic breakdown.
• Measure, assess and value: Assess current practice and performance vis a vis its most significant impact areas by combining the tools ‘Identification’ outputs with additional data; use the assessment as a basis for target-setting and to define the bank’s action plan.

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.

Use this resource to:

• 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.

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

Use this resource to:

• Identify: Understand the SDGs most relevant to manage, based on the organisation’s size, sector, and geography. The questionnaire draws from B Lab’s B Impact Assessment and the UN Global Compact’s 10 Principles. It was developed through research and public consultation and so provides an evidence-based starting point for identifying sustainability topics to measure.
• Measure, assess and value: Obtain a set of metrics. The questionnaire enables organisations to collect performance information on the SDGs that are most relevant to manage, based on the organisation’s size, sector and geography.

Tool for investors to publicly classify the impact of their portfolios. The tool uses Impact Classes as a means to segment a portfolio by type of impact on two axes: the impact of underlying assets (A, B or C) and investor’s contribution. Users can also express the portfolio’s contribution to SDGs.

Use this resource to:

• Measure, assess and value: Assess the actual or expected performance of a portfolio of investments using classification.
• Communicate: Publicly disclose the performance of a portfolio of investments using classification.

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.

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.