NEW YORK, JULY 15, 2025 – BlueMark, the leading provider of independent verification and market intelligence for the sustainable and impact investing market, and the Social Impact Management Initiative (SIMI), a collaborative effort of diverse stakeholders in Japan that promotes social impact management, have formalized a partnership.
BlueMark and SIMI have been collaborating informally for the past several years and are excited to announce a more formal working relationship and intention to deepen their partnership in the following areas—aimed at ensuring the Japanese sustainable and impact investing market scales with integrity:
- Raising awareness of the importance of high-quality impact measurement and management (IMM) across impact investing, sustainable finance, and corporate sustainability practices—and sharing global best practices.
- Facilitating knowledge exchange by sharing the latest global developments and insights in IMM with Japanese stakeholders, while also communicating Japan’s IMM progress to the broader global impact investing community.
- Promoting the role of independent verification in advancing credible sustainable and impact investing practices, and helping stakeholders understand how such services are practically applied.
- Co-hosting webinars and information-sharing forums to promote dialogue, engagement, and learning.
Christina Leijonhufvud, CEO of BlueMark, said:
“To address today’s most urgent social and environmental challenges, impact investing must scale—and do so with integrity. Robust impact measurement and management (IMM) practices are critical to maintaining the credibility of the market as it grows. We’re proud to formalize this partnership with SIMI to foster mutual learning and the exchange of IMM principles and practices between Japan and the global impact investing community.”Katsuji Imata, President of SIMI, said:
“Understanding and practice of IMM in Japan’s impact finance field are advancing rapidly. Our partnership with BlueMark will accelerate the introduction of international insights to Japan, while also helping to share Japan’s innovations and experiences with the global IMM community. Through this collaboration, we hope to foster mutual learning and the spread of best practices worldwide.”
About BlueMark:
BlueMark is the leading provider of independent verification and market intelligence for the sustainable and impact investing market. Founded in 2020, BlueMark’s mission is to strengthen trust in impact investing by delivering independent, incisive verification services. The firm offers both ratings and verification solutions, along with market intelligence tools, to help the industry scale with integrity.
About SIMI:
Established in 2016 and incorporated as a General Incorporated Foundation in 2020, SIMI is a multi-stakeholder initiative composed of nonprofits, businesses, funders, intermediaries, government agencies, support organizations, think tanks, evaluators, and researchers across Japan. With over 140 members as of July 2025, SIMI works to advance the practice of social impact management in Japan and beyond. Learn more: www.simi.or.jp.