#12 GKC | 🤝 Know Your Investors - Measure Impact with IRIS+

Happy Friday! Super excited for the weekend, finally some rest!

Continuing our Know Your Investors Series, in collaboration with Turbo Net Zero.

Turbo Net Zero is a pure-play sustainability consultancy company focuses on delivering ESG value-creation solutions for corporates and investors.

We’ll discuss about the evolving field of impact investing across Southeast Asia in three parts.

1. Overview of global impact investing frameworks (Today’s Episode)

2. Sector-specific impact themes within SEA

3. Case studies of successful impact investors and companies in SEA

Let’s get started!

Introducing IRIS+ System by GIIN

IRIS+, developed by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), is widely adopted by over 5,000 organizations globally, including APG, Apollo Global Management, Deutsche Bank, EQT, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

IRIS+ system offers a comprehensive framework for impact investing (see below). Over 50% of impact investors utilize IRIS+ system to foster transparency, consistency, and comparability in the impact investing sector.

The system aligns with over 50 global standards, including the SDGs and the Impact Management Project. By utilizing the generally accepted standardized metrics and best practices, IRIS+ facilitates benchmarking and streamlines the reporting process for investors.

IRIS+ Thematic Taxanomy

The IRIS+ system is built on a thematic taxonomy which follows a hierarchical classification, moving from broad to specific, to translate intentions into measurable data and results. This hierarchy provides a shared language for investors across various industries, enabling them to describe, assess, communicate, and compare impact performance more consistently and clearly.

• Impact Categories: IRIS+ covers broad industry sectors such as agriculture, education, and healthcare, aligning these categories with globally recognized industry standards.

• Impact Themes: Within each Impact Category, specific themes focus on key social or environmental outcomes.

• Strategic Goals: The next level of the taxonomy involves common and specific Strategic Goals.

• Core Metrics Sets: IRIS+ provides evidence-backed Core Metrics Sets, grounded in best practices, to help investors organize, track, and analyze data relevant to their investments.

How To Use IRIS+ (with case study)

Nuveen, a subsidiary of TIAA, is one of the largest U.S. insurance and retirement providers, managing over USD 1.1 trillion in total assets under management (AUM), including more than USD 5 billion in impact investments. In its efforts to enhance the transparency and consistency of its impact outcomes, Nuveen turned to IRIS+ for strategic guidance.

a. Set Strategic Goals

First step is to align its affordable housing investments with the strategic goals within the IRIS+ Affordable Housing theme, as illustrated in the table below.

This alignment not only ensured that Nuveen’s objectives were consistent and comparable with industry standards but also unlocked a valuable set of resources, enabling more effective management of their impact initiatives.

b. Synchronize Impact Metrics

Nuveen also synchronized its impact metrics, collected from its affordable housing investees, with the IRIS+ Core Metrics Set.

This approach allowed Nuveen to verify and substantiate its impact data and helped standardize how investees calculate and report common indicators. The result is a more consistent, comparable dataset across the entire portfolio.

Key Takeaways

In Southeast Asia, where impact investing is rapidly growing, IRIS+ offers a helpful tool for aligning local investments with international best practices. By adopting IRIS+, stakeholders can enhance trust and deliver measurable outcomes that contribute to sustainable development.

Next week, we will explore another impact tool, The Operating Principles for Impact Management: Best Practices for Investors. Stay tuned!

Again, thank you Turbo Net Zero for this amazing content collaboration.

If you are an impact investor looking to implement ESG strategies OR corporates exploring impact measurement strategies, hit Kenny up!

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Hope this is helpful! 🙂 

Feel free to reach out via LinkedIn or email if you have more questions.

References

• Invesco Report

• GIIN Core Characteristics of Impact Investing

• IRIS+ Introduction

• IRIS+ Core Metrics Set

• IRIS+ Thematic Taxanomy

• IRIS+ Use Case (Nuveen)

• GIINsight: Sizing the Impact Investing Market 2022

• The State of the Impact Investing Market Key findings from the 2020 Impact Investor Survey