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BlueMark Publishes Framework to Bring More Clarity to Impact Reporting
BlueMark’s framework is designed to evaluate the completeness and reliability of impact reporting prepared by fund managers for their investors.
BlueMark, a leading provider of independent impact verification and intelligence for the impact and sustainable investing market, today published a framework for evaluating the completeness and reliability of fund managers’ impact reports. The framework is designed to help impact fund managers improve how they disclose their impact results to their investors and to make it easier for investors to assess the quality of the impact reports they receive. The framework, which also provides the basis for BlueMark’s approach to verifying impact reports, is available for download at www.bluemarktideline.com/raising-the-bar-2.
BlueMark’s reporting verification methodology was developed after more than 18 months of research, which included 19 verifications of client impact reports, analyses of 30+ other impact reports and interviews with more than 50 impact investing experts. The most recent phase of the research involved a pilot project with Impact Frontiers, a market-building collaborative for impact investors, and seven of its member-impact fund managers, each of whom paid to have their impact reports verified by BlueMark using the new framework. These seven firms – which work across diverse sectors, geographies, and asset classes – included Anthos Fund & Asset Management, Big Society Capital, Impact Engine, Rally Assets, Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF), and TELUS.
“Impact reporting is an important part of how impact investors are held accountable for their impact claims,” said Christina Leijonhufvud, CEO of BlueMark. “With this new framework for evaluating impact reports, our goal is to improve transparency and credibility by driving stronger alignment around how we as a field define quality impact reporting, including the specific steps impact investors can take to level up their reports.”
“The impact fund managers we collaborate with have a shared desire for a clear and transparent approach to impact reporting that allows for a more holistic understanding of impact performance,” said Mike McCreless, Executive Director of Impact Frontiers. “BlueMark’s framework helps fill this critical gap in the impact investing market by clarifying the types of information that impact reports should include.”
BlueMark’s reporting verification framework
BlueMark’s research and stakeholder consultation on best practices in impact reporting revealed a great deal of agreement among market actors as to what constitutes quality and decision-useful reporting. Based on these insights, BlueMark designed a framework for verifying impact reporting that is anchored around two key pillars — Completeness and Reliability.
Under the Completeness pillar, BlueMark assesses the scope and relevance of reported information related to an investor’s impact strategy and results at both the portfolio- and investment-level.
Under the Reliability pillar, BlueMark assesses the clarity and quality of impact data presented in the report, including underlying data management practices and systems.
As part of the verification methodology, BlueMark assigns ratings to these criteria to help impact investors understand where they excel in their reporting and where they still have room for improvement. These ratings will be used to create industry benchmarks similar to the BlueMark Practice Benchmark, which was introduced in BlueMark’s “Making the Mark” research series on trends and best practices in impact management.
BlueMark’s methodology focuses on information that is essential for external stakeholders–in particular investors in impact funds–to gauge whether those funds are reporting on the right things and in the right way. It stops short of defining what “good” or “bad” impact performance looks like, which remains a challenge across the impact investing industry due to the limited availability of data on performance measures that would allow for appropriate comparisons across different types of impact funds and strategies.
To date, BlueMark has completed 100+ impact verifications for impact investors managing a combined $192 billion in impact AUM. Approximately 80% of these have been verifications of an investor’s impact management (IM) practices, while the remaining 20% have been impact reporting verifications. BlueMark plans to conduct additional research on the relationship between robust IM practice and quality impact reporting to help advance best practices across the field.
About BlueMark
BlueMark is the leading provider of independent impact verification and intelligence for the impact and sustainable investing market. As a certified B Corp, BlueMark’s mission is to “strengthen trust in impact investing.” BlueMark’s verification methodologies draw on a range of industry standards, frameworks and regulations, including the Impact Management Project (IMP), the Operating Principles for Impact Management (Impact Principles), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), SDG Impact, and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Learn more about BlueMark and impact verification at www.bluemarktideline.com.
BlueMark Becomes First Impact Verification Firm to be Certified as a B Corp
BlueMark, a leading provider of independent impact verification and intelligence for the impact investing market, today announced that it was certified as a B Corp, joining thousands of businesses around the world that are committed to using business as a force for good.
“Our goal is to strengthen trust in sustainable and impact investing by bringing more transparency and accountability to the industry,” said Christina Leijonhufvud, CEO & Co-Founder of BlueMark. “We know that in order to hold our clients accountable, we must also be willing to hold ourselves accountable. Achieving B Corp verification signals to the rest of the field our own commitment to the kind of transparency and learning that we ask of our clients.”
“BlueMark fills a critical need in the sustainable and impact investing market with its verification services, ensuring that investors are held accountable for their impact claims and practices,” said Roy Swan, Director of Mission Investment at the Ford Foundation, one of the initial investors in BlueMark. “This next step towards B Corp certification shows that BlueMark doesn’t just talk the talk on accountability—they are also walking the walk by holding themselves to the same standards as their clients.”
Founded in January 2020, BlueMark has completed more than 100 verifications for impact investors managing a combined $189 billion in impact-oriented assets under management. These verifications are structured around the two key pillars of accountability for impact — impact management practices and impact reporting — which form the foundation for BlueMark’s verification services.
- Practice Verification – assessment of the extent to which a client has implemented the policies, tools, and processes necessary to execute on their impact strategy
- Reporting Verification – assessment of the extent to which a client’s reporting of its impact performance is complete and reliable
By aggregating data from these verifications, BlueMark is also able to generate a wealth of insights into industry trends, market challenges and emerging best practices. BlueMark regularly shares these insights with the impact investing field via a research series on impact management practices (“Making the Mark”) and a series on impact reporting (“Raising the Bar”). These research reports are widely shared across the impact investing industry and can be used as a guideline to best practices for both new and established impact investors.
B Corp Certification is awarded by B Lab, a non-profit organization that is committed to transforming the global economy to benefit all people, communities, and the planet. In order to become a certified B Corp, a company must earn a minimum audited score of 80 out of 200 possible points on the B Impact Assessment (BIA), a rigorous evaluation of a company’s business practices and its impact on key stakeholder groups. B Corps are expected to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. To maintain their B Corp status, B Corps must also recertify every three years and receive an updated score.
Learn more about the BIA at https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/programs-and-tools/b-impact-assessment/ and review BlueMark’s scores at https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/blue-mark.
About BlueMark
BlueMark is the leading provider of independent impact verification and intelligence for the impact and sustainable investing market. Founded in 2020, BlueMark’s mission is to “strengthen trust in impact investing.” BlueMark’s verification methodologies draw on a range of industry standards, frameworks and regulations, including the Impact Management Project (IMP), the Operating Principles for Impact Management (Impact Principles), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), SDG Impact, and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Learn more about BlueMark and impact verification at www.bluemarktideline.com.
