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GIIN and B Lab Announce Formal Partnership to Support Impact Measurement by Impact Investors

GIIN and B Lab Announce Formal Partnership to Support Impact Measurement by Impact Investors

Published 10-10-13

Submitted by B Lab

The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) and B Lab announce today the launch of an impact measurement partnership and the integration of IRIS metrics into the B Analytics platform. As part of the partnership, GIIN and B Lab will jointly promote tools and resources that help impact investors measure and track the social, environmental, and financial performance of their investments using standardized metrics that enable data aggregation, analyses, and market intelligence. 

 “Impact measurement is fast becoming a best practice in impact investing, bringing transparency, credibility, and accountability to investments and to the market as a whole. We are pleased to support the launch of B Analytics as it provides a flexible platform for investors to track the social and environmental results they value, using standardized metrics from the IRIS catalog,” said Luther Ragin, Jr., CEO of the GIIN. “Through this formal partnership, we look forward to continued collaboration with B Lab to ensure consistency and coordination among the impact measurement resources used by the impact investing community.”

Andreas Ernst, Head, Impact Investing, UBS AG noted that “Social considerations are an integral part of the investment policy for our recently launched Impact Investing SME Focus Fund. We are using B Analytics to collect and validate IRIS metric data from the funds we invest in and their underlying portfolio companies. The combination of the IRIS Catalog with features to collect, validate, aggregate, and report on social impact made B Analytics the right choice for us to monitor the impact of our fund.”

Managed by the GIIN, IRIS is a catalog of generally-accepted performance metrics that leading impact investors use to measure the social, environmental, and financial results they value. B Lab recently announced B Analytics, a customizable data platform for measuring, benchmarking, and reporting on impact. B Analytics hosts the world’s largest database of verified social & environmental performance data for private companies (1100+ companies). It is also the exclusive source of impact data from Certified B Corporations and GIIRS Rated companies and funds.

B Analytics is the only data platform that enables investors to manage and integrate performance data collected using IRIS metrics, the B Impact Assessment, and their own custom impact metrics. B Analytics users can also receive a comprehensive and comparable GIIRS Rating through the platform.

GIIN and B Lab will also collaborate to enable richer performance analysis of the impact investing market. B Lab will provide the GIIN with IRIS-compliant performance data from B Analytics users and GIIRS-rated companies and funds to assist the GIIN in continuing to produce industry-leading research.  GIIN members are also eligible for a 20% first-year discount on a B Analytics subscription.

“The GIIN’s leadership in helping to establish generally accepted standards for measuring and benchmarking impact, coupled with the early adoption by industry leaders like UBS and Prudential, accelerates the development of a more efficient and effective market for high impact investments”, says Beth Richardson, Director of Product Development, B Analytics.

About B Lab and B Analytics
B Lab is a not-for-profit dedicated to building a new sector of the economy that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. In pursuit of this vision, B Lab focuses on (i) developing B Analytics, a customizable platform for measuring, benchmarking, and reporting on impact, (ii) establishing social and environmental performance standards for certifying B Corporations, and (iii) promoting a new corporate form for profit-based companies providing a public benefit. For more information, visit www.b-analytics.net, www.bcorporation.net and www.benefitcorp.net.

About GIIN
The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the scale and effectiveness of impact investing. Impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate measure able social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Impact investments can be made in both emerging and developed markets, and target a range of returns from below market to market rate, depending upon the circumstances.

The GIIN builds critical infrastructure and supports activities, education, and research that help accelerate the development of a coherent impact investing industry. For more information, please visit www.thegiin.org.

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B Lab

B Lab

B Lab is a nonprofit organization that serves a global movement to redefine success in business. It's vision is that one day all companies will compete not only to be the best in the world, but best for the world.

B Lab drives this systemic change through a number of interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations who lead this movement and make it easier to tell the difference between “good companies” and good marketing; 2) passing benefit corporation legislation to create a new kind of corporation legally required to create value for society, not just shareholders; 3) helping investors invest for impact through use of the B Analytics data platform; and 4) helping businesses measure, compare and improve their social and environmental performance through use of the B Impact Assessment as a free powerful educational tool.

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