Strengthening trust in sustainable and impact investing

In the early days of impact investing, some investors would make the case for setting impact targets. You can’t manage what you don’t measure, they argued.
The not-always explicit response: Yes, and you can’t be held accountable for what you never promised. The latest Making the Mark report from the impact verification firm BlueMark found that only 42% of clients set impact performance targets as a condition of their investments. A larger number, 58%, work with portfolio companies to set targets after investments are made.

Where are investors well positioned to report in line with the Impact Performance Reporting Norms? And where can investors improve?

Impact verification firm BlueMark has added four investors to its Practice Leaderboard, a list of impact investors who score in the top quartile across eight categories of impact management. The new investors are BlueOrchard, Circulate Capital, Developing World Markets and Schroders. These groups join others already on the leaderboard: Bain Capital, Calvert Impact Capital, Finance in Motion, LeapFrog Investments, Nuveen Private Equity Impact and Trill Impact

BlueMark Publishes 5th Annual “Making the Mark” Report, Revealing an Increased Adoption of Core Impact Management Practices Among Impact Investors BlueMark adds four new investors – BlueOrchard, Circulate Capital, Developing World Markets, and Schroders – to the 2024 edition of the Practice Leaderboard featuring impact investors with best-in-class impact management systems and practices June 6, […]

Globally, venture capital funds make up one-third of the private impact fund universe; but in India, they account for 85 per cent. As such, these Indian funds play a leading role in investing for impact, by tackling the structural inequalities that exist in the country, while also seeking financial returns for investors. And that is putting more focus on how the funds can ‘verify’ the impact they actually make.

On boardgames and subway cars, in music videos and trendy shops, affixed to lapel pins and tote bags; the colorful Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) logo is popping up everywhere in Japan, the New York Times reports. The popularity of the SDGs is evident, with approximately 90% of Japanese people being familiar with the idea, and […]

BlueMark, an impact investing verification specialist, today named Sarah Gelfand the new President of the firm, with responsibility for co-leading BlueMark’s business strategy and team, business and product development efforts, and various market-building and standard-setting initiatives. Christina Leijonhufvud, CEO of BlueMark, will remain in her role and work closely alongside Gelfand and other senior leaders.

Who are the ‘connectors’ in sustainable private markets? Leijonhufvud named alongside Tideline co-founder Ben Thornley.

The new Impact Performance Reporting Norms, published for consultation last month by Impact Frontiers, signal an important milestone for the impact investing industry – providing much needed guidance as to what useful impact reports should include, as well as a structure for organizing the content therein.

It goes without saying, for investors looking to make smart decisions about their portfolio companies, the importance of accurate, quality, and easily comparable corporate data cannot be overstated.  Which is why the new set of globals standards (the Standards)—issued on June 26, 2023 by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) for financial and climate-related disclosures, establishing baseline […]

BlueMark today closed its Series A funding round with $10 million in capital commitments from a diverse group of seven investors. The lead investor is S&P Global, with other new investors including Temasek Trust Capital and three family offices with significant experience in impact investing — Blue Haven Initiative, Gunung Capital, and Tsao Family Office. Ford Foundation and Radicle Impact are also participating in the Series A round.