Impact Performance Benchmarks Overview

The impact investing industry has historically lacked a standardized approach for investors to compare the impact of their investments. However, with the development of the GIIN's impact performance benchmarks, a groundbreaking tool is now available in IRIS+ for investors to analyze the impact performance of their investments within a sector and compare their performance to peers and to the change needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Developed in the GIIN Impact Lab and available through the GIIN IRIS+ system, the impact performance benchmarks represent a significant milestone for the industry by promoting transparency and enabling rigorous investment decisions based on impact.

Agriculture and energy impact performance benchmarks are now available, following the financial inclusion benchmark launched in March 2022. Benchmarks for forestry and healthcare will be released later in 2024. By using these benchmarks, investors can gain a better understanding of their investments’ impact over time, set impact targets, identify areas of underperformance and outperformance relative to their peers and communicate their impact. Investors can also compare their own impact performance to the change needed to achieve SDG targets. Investors making direct investments in these sectors are encouraged to submit their data to be anonymously represented and unlock insights through tailored analytics.

The GIIN Impact Lab operates with the financial support of EQT Foundation, Temasek and Visa Foundation. Sorenson Impact Foundation provided additional funding for the agriculture and energy benchmarks.

For more information on the impact performance benchmarks, please visit IRIS+ and download the brief overview to the right.