HISTORY

BlueMark was founded in 2020 to meet the market need for independent, incisive impact verification services.

 

Paving the Way for Impact Verification

While impact verification is a relatively new concept for the impact investment market, there has been a significant amount of standard-setting and field-building that has helped lay the groundwork. Both BlueMark and Tideline were directly involved in many of these innovations and milestones, helping to advance the field.

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Experience

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BlueMark Pre-History

  • 2014
       

    2014 - 

    Co-founded by Christina Leijonhufvud, Ben Thornley, and Kim Wright-Violich Tideline launches as a specialist consultant for the impact investing industry

  • 2015
       

    2015 - Foundation PRI and Growth of MRI

    Ford Foundation engages Tideline to sharpen the it’s Program Related Investment (PRI) strategy and to identify anchor market sectors for Ford’s $1 billion MRI commitment and develop the impact management system for its Mission Related Investment (MRI)  program

  • 2016
       

    2016 - Maturation and Segmentation

    Tideline, in partnership with Cathy Clark (Duke University) and with the support of the Omidyar Network, establishes the need for segmentation in a rapidly growing impact investment market and coins the term “impact classes,” presaging the creation of the Impact Management Project

  • 2018
       

    2018 - Generating Alpha

    Tideline, in partnership with Impact Capital Managers (ICM), publishes The Alpha in Impact: How Operating With an Impact Objective Can Add Value for Investors documenting companies outperforming financially, for reasons related to their impact

  • 2019
       

    2019 - Catalytic Capital

    As the research backbone of the Catalytic Capital Consortium — an initiative of the MacArthur Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Omidyar Network — Tideline publishes “Catalytic Capital: Unlocking More Investment and Impact, promoting “catalytic capital” as an innovative approach to finance

  • 2019
       

    2019 - Impact Investing Practice Standards

    The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and 60 founding signatories introduce the Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM); independent verification and public disclosure are enshrined as requirements as part of Principle 9

BlueMark History

  • January
      2020

    January 2020 - Meeting New Verification Demand

    Tideline establishes an independent business dedicated to impact verification in response to the market demand for independent verification created by the launch of the Operating Principles

  • April
      2020

    April 2020 - Inaugural Impact Verification Report

    Tideline publishes “Making the Mark,” a first-of-its-kind research report looking at investor alignment with the Operating Principles based on the 13 verifications completed to date by Tideline

  • October
      2020

    October 2020 - BlueMark Launch

    Tideline formally launches BlueMark as an independent verification business with with initial investments from the Rockefeller Foundation and Radicle Impact to support the growth of the impact investing field

  • October
      2020

    October 2020 - SDG Impact Finalizes Standards

    SDG Impact, an initiative by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), finalized its standards for private equity funds, bonds and enterprises to encourage greater transparency and alignment with its SDGs

  • November
      2020

    November 2020 - Expanded Verification Services

    BlueMark completes its first impact mandate verification and its first impact reporting verification