Tools
B Impact Assessment
Tool designed to help organisations measure and manage their impact on workers, community, environment, and customers.
Use this resource to:
- Identify sustainability topics: Fill in the online questionnaire to understand performance on sustainability topics that are likely relevant to manage, based on the organisation’s size, sector, and geography. B Lab’s questionnaire is developed through research and public consultation, and so provides an evidence-based starting point for identifying sustainability topics to measure.
- Measure sustainability performance: Use the B Impact Assessment as 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.
- Assess impacts: Fill in the questionnaire to track change in performance over time. Each question is scored – some with reference to social or ecological thresholds – to help the organisation determine whether it is performing sustainably on that topic.
- Benchmark: Compare performance with peers on each sustainability topic or as a whole organisation. If an organisation scores 80 points or above on the questionnaire, it can apply to be certified as a B Corp. The tool provides guidance to help organisations improve their score every year, and all B Corps must update their responses to the self-assessment to re-certify every three years.
Impact Mappings
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.
For organisations
Use this resource to:
- Identify sustainability topics: Cross-check the organisations economic activities and geographic location against the Impact Mappings when identifying sustainability topics to measure.
For investors and financial institutions
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.
- Assess: Review existing indicators and metrics for impact assessment by consulting the Indicator Library. Indicators and metrics from reporting standards and frameworks (GRI, SASB, CDP, TCFD), impact investor and development bank resources (IRIS+ and HIPSO), government taxonomies (EU Adaptation and Mitigation Taxonomies) and other sources have been collated to support indicator selection and interoperability between frameworks.
Investment Portfolio Impact Analysis Tool
Tool to help investors holistically understand and manage the actual and potential impacts of their portfolios.
For organisations
Use this resource to:
- Set and revise objectives: Set relevant and meaningful objectives by using the tool. It provides an impact analysis and management workflow that starts from the identification of impact associations and needs, facilitates the collection and assessment of impact performance data, and accordingly enables specific targets to be set and monitored over time.
- Identify sustainability topics: Identify impact areas and topics (economic, environmental and social) associated with a portfolio, based on an objective review (cartography) of the portfolio, sectoral and geographic breakdown. The tool contains collated research on the association between sectors (ISIC – International Standard Industrial classification) and 22 Impact Areas that cover all the SDGs, as well as a framework to enable a contextualisation of impact associations vis a vis the impact needs present in the country/ies of operation of the bank and its clients.
- Measure sustainability performance: Review existing metrics for impact measurement by consulting the Indicator Library embedded within the tool. UNEP FI has collated metrics from reporting standards and frameworks (GRI, SASB, CDP, TCFD), impact investor and development bank resources (IRIS+ and HIPSO), government taxonomies (EU Adaptation and Mitigation Taxonomies) and other sources to support indicator selection and interoperability between frameworks. This indicator library primarily supports use of the tool, but is also a useful standalone resource.Investors may also refer to the Real Estate Impact Analysis Tool which uses a complementary approach for real estate portfolios.
For investors and financial institutions
Investors may also refer to the Real Estate Impact Analysis Tool which uses a complementary approach for real estate portfolios.
Use this resource to:
- Identify: Use the tool to 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.
- Assess: Assess your 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.
IRIS+ System
Tool designed to help impact investors translate intentions into results. It starts by helping investors frame their impact goals in a common way (linked to an SDG or Impact Category) and offers a set of metrics (Core Metrics Sets) to assess performance against set goals, together with an evidence base (Navigating Impact) and implementation guidance.
Note on harmonisation: work is underway to map various investor metric sets and corporate disclosure standards, with a view to achieving global consistency. E.g. IRIS+-GRI, B Lab-GRI, HIPSO-IRIS+.
Use this resource to:
- Assess: Select from a catalogue of metrics specifically designed for impact investors.
CDP’s Disclosure System
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.
For organisations
Use this resource to:
- Identify sustainability topics: Fill in CDP’s questionnaires to understand the relevant climate change, forests and water security impacts to measure, based on the organization’s size, sector, and geography.
- Measure sustainability performance: Use CDP’s questionnaires as sets of environmental metrics.
- Assess impact: Fill in the questionnaires to track change in performance over time. Each question is scored – some with reference to social or ecological thresholds – to help the organisation determine whether it is performing sustainably on that topic.
- Disclose: 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.
- Benchmark: Tool allows companies to benchmark their environmental performance against their industry peers and receive feedback on their 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.
For investors and financial institutions
Use this resource to:
- Identify: Use CDP’s questionnaires to understand the relevant climate change, forests and water security impacts to measure.
- Assess: CDP holds the most comprehensive collection of corporate environmental data globally, and the questionnaire is now aligned with the TCFD recommendations. CDP data is disseminated throughout the market, and investors access and use the data in their own investment practices.
- Monitor: Every year, investors working with CDP request environmental information by asking companies to respond to our questionnaires on climate change, deforestation and water security. These investors can then access the companies’ responses and can use the data and insights in their own investment process.
- Benchmark: CDP scores allow companies to benchmark their environmental performance against their industry peers and receive feedback on their 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.
SDG Action Manager
Tool designed to help organisations measure and manage their impacts in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals.
For organisations
Use this resource to:
- Identify sustainability topics: Fill in the online questionnaire to 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 sustainability performance: Use the SDG Action Manager as 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.
- Assess impact: Fill in the questionnaire to track changes in performance over time. Each question is scored – some with reference to social or ecological thresholds – to help the organisation determine whether it is performing sustainably on that topic.
- Benchmark: The self-assessment tool helps organisations compare performance with peers on each SDG or as a whole organisation.
For investors and financial institutions
Use this resource to:
- Assess: Engage with underlying assets and support them in completing the SDG Action Manager Questionnaire. The multiple-choice, weighted question format helps underlying assets and their investors quickly judge whether performance on a topic is likely to be unsustainable or sustainable, and what they can do to improve.
Impact Classification System
Forthcoming: 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:
- Assess: Assess the actual or expected performance of a portfolio of investments using classification.
- Disclose: Publicly disclose the performance of a portfolio of investments using classification.
CDP Financial Services Disclosure System
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.
Reporting and assessment framework
Tool to report on responsible investment activities annually.
Relevance to Portfolio of assets:
- Disclose: Report on firm-wide and portfolio or strategy-specific investment practices.
Communication on Progress
Participating in the UN Global Compact requires a commitment from organisations to report annually on efforts to operate responsibly in four areas: human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
Use this resource to:
- Disclose: Use this tool to submit an annual Communication on Progress.