Finance
IRIS+
The Global Impact Investing Network's standardised system of metrics and guidance for measuring, managing and reporting the social and environmental impact of investments.
Definition
IRIS+ is an impact measurement and management system operated by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN). It comprises the IRIS Catalogue of Metrics, thematically organised Core Metrics Sets aligned with impact objectives and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, an evidence base, and implementation guidance, enabling investors and enterprises to describe impact performance in a common, comparable language.
References
System structure, Core Metrics Sets, five-dimensions alignment
Implementation process and component descriptions
Overview
What it means
Impact investors historically reported performance in idiosyncratic ways, making aggregation and comparison impossible. IRIS+ standardises the metrics used to answer the Impact Management Project's five dimensions of impact — what, who, how much, contribution and risk — so that portfolio-level results can be aggregated and enterprises face a single, reduced reporting burden.
How it is used
Fund managers select Core Metrics Sets matched to their impact thesis, collect data from investees against those metrics, and report results to limited partners and stakeholders. It is frequently used alongside frameworks such as the SDGs, the Impact Management Platform and GIIN impact performance benchmarks.
Why it matters
A common impact vocabulary underpins credibility in impact investing and guards against impact-washing: claims can be checked against standard definitions rather than bespoke narratives.
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