5 ways to help you measure your impact

Pioneered by Corporate Citizenship, LBG is the global standard for measuring corporate community investment and philanthropy.

Who >> LBG is a network of corporate community investment professionals who work together to apply, develop and enhance the LBG measurement framework. The LBG measurement methodology is used by several co-operatives, as well as organisations such as BITC, Ethical Investors, Nationwide and BSkyB.

What >> LBG takes a very simple input-output-impact approach. Input: What are you contributing to the community through cash, time and in-kind? Output: What’s happening because of your contribution? Impact: What is changing as a result?

Where >> www.lbg-online.net

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards help organisations to “measure and understand their most critical impacts on the environment, society and the economy”.

Who >> GRI is an international independent body that helps organisations understand and communicate the impact of business on sustainability issues. The standards are used by organisations across the globe, including most of the 250 largest companies.

What >> The GRI Standards feature a modular, interrelated structure, and represent the global best practice for reporting on a range of economic, environmental and social impacts. GRI’s standards can be used alongside other frameworks. Co-ops who measure their impact using the LBG model, for instance, may find it easier to then meet the GRI criteria for reporting community impact.

Where >> www.globalreporting.org

Business in the Community offers a range of services, resources and tools to help organisations to make a positive impact on communities, and to measure that impact.

Who >> BITC is the Prince’s Responsible Business Network, whose members “work together to tackle a wide range of issues that are essential to building a fairer society and a more sustainable future”. BITC’s CR Index and CommunityMark are used by Central England, Midcounties and East of England, among others.

What >> The CommunityMark helps companies to minimise their negative (and maximise their positive) impact on communities, by taking a holistic approach to community investment. It benchmarks an organisation’s systems and programmes against the UK’s only national standard for excellence in community investment. The CR Index is a strategic tool to help companies measure, manage and integrate responsible business practices.

Where >> www.bitc.org.uk

Inspiring Impact aims to get more organisations to measure their social impact and share information, to “ensure every pound spent makes the biggest possible difference to beneficiaries”.

Who >> Inspiring Impact is a collaboration of charities, advice providers, membership bodies and other third sector organisations.

What >> It has several tools and other resources that may be useful for co-operatives, including the booklet Funders’ Principles and Drivers of Good Impact Practice, which aims to “provide a starting point for discussions and offer a framework for funders to consider their impact practice”. The organisation has also published The Code of Good Impact Practice, which sets out eight high level principles around planning, creating and reporting impact.

Where >> www.inspiringimpact.org

Social Value UK offers resources to help businesses determine the social return on their investments.

Who >> Social Value UK is the national network “for anyone interested in social value and social impact”, with 300 individual members, 31 organisational members and a library of resources for people at any stage of their social value journey.

What >> Resources include the Guide to Social Return on Investment, which provides a wealth of free advice, from how to create an impact map, to how to report to stakeholders. Co-ops can also use the Social Value Self-Assessment Tool, which evaluates how well they measure and report on their social value. Many of the resources are free, although members can access additional support, such as webinars.

Where >> www.socialvalueuk.org