Publications
Publications
- September 26, 2024
- Harvard Business Review Digital Articles
A Better Way to Measure Social Impact
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Constance Spitzer
Abstract
All impact investors report the financial returns from their funds and investments, and many provide metrics on intended social outcomes, such as numbers of individuals served, or quality jobs created. But investors do not supply metrics about their impacts on individuals’ and families’ lives, and until they do, social impact reporting is unlikely to approach the level of robustness associated with financial and environmental reporting. The authors of this article describe how Bayer’s Crop Science division has developed reliable stakeholder reported measures of the social impact of its inclusive growth projects based on an approach first pioneered in the healthcare sector.
Keywords
Impact Investing; Social Impact Investment; Inclusive Growth; Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability
Citation
Kaplan, Robert S., and Constance Spitzer. "A Better Way to Measure Social Impact." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (September 26, 2024).