Source: WBCSD

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has launched a guide aimed to support companies’ efforts in tackling the challenge of measuring their socio-economic impacts.

“We all know that what gets measured gets managed”, says WBCSD President Peter Bakker. “With this guide we want to address an area which has so far been neglected by too many businesses: the measurement and management of their socio-economic impact.”

Companies are increasingly interested in measuring socio-economic impact as part of maintaining their license to operate, improving the business enabling environment, strengthening their value chains, and fueling product and service innovation.

The guide has been developed to help business perform 3 essential tasks:

Firstly, to define and articulate the business case for socio-economic impact measurement within their organization;

Secondly, to understand the essentials of impact measurement theory and communicate with internal and external stakeholders on the subject, including on the terminology;

Finally, to navigate the landscape of measurement tools, and identify those that best meet companies’ needs. The guide profiles 10 existing tools tailored to business needs, dissected on the basis of functionality, fit for purpose, cost and complexity of implementation, and examples of their application in practice.

According to Bakker, “capitalism requires a new operating system, and needs to be re-booted so that we expect and manage the returns on financial, natural, and social capital in a balanced way with a view to future-proofing our economies. Measurement and reporting on corporate performance are essential components of this transformation.

The Guide is available for download at http://www.wbcsd.org/impact.aspx. In addition to the Guide, the website features a 3-minute animated video, a slide show, and in-depth case studies of companies’ application of the WBCSD Measuring Impact Framework.