Universal impact reporting standards seem to have fallen out of grace – and social enterprises are none the wiser on how to measure their impact effectively. But what if a new approach changed what felt like a chore into a welcome pick-me-up?
Measuring impact is expensive and can be seen as an unnecessary burden for impact investors and enterprises – but it may be the only antidote to impact-washing.
Just 15% of impact investors compare impact results with peers, according to wide-ranging research from GIIN – which calls on individual investors to show “leadership” and “share impact data at scale”.
Whether an impact measure corresponds with reality is irrelevant for impact investors, who want to demonstrate credibility, not truth. So methodological dilemmas are a distraction: third-party certification brings legitimacy.
IMPACT 101: What does impact verification actually mean? Who's doing it – and is it the solution to impact-washing? The Good Economy's Matt Ripley explains all in our latest impact economy explainer.
