Companies are increasingly interested in measuring socio-economic impact as part of maintaining their license to operate, improving the business enabling environment, strengthening their value chains, and fueling product and service innovation. In February 2013, the WBCSD launched a guide aimed to support companies’ efforts in tackling the challenge of measuring their socio-economic impacts. The guide has been developed to help business perform 3 essential tasks: (i) firstly, to define and articulate the business case for socio-economic impact measurement within their organization; (ii) secondly, to understand the essentials of impact measurement theory and communicate with internal and external stakeholders on the subject, including on the terminology; (iii) finally, to navigate the landscape of measurement tools, and identify those that best meet companies’ needs. The guide profiles 10 existing tools tailored to business needs, dissected on the basis of functionality, fit for purpose, cost and complexity of implementation, and examples of their application in practice. The guide is available for download at http://www.wbcsd.org/impact.aspx - via this link you can also access a 3-minute animated video introducing the topic.

1. Measuring
socio-economic
impact
A guide for business
Summary presentation

2. Context
Companies are increasingly interested in measuring socio-economic impact
as part of:
- Maintaining their license to operate
- Improving the business enabling environment
- Strengthening their value chains
- Fueling product and service innovation
But while more and more tools are being developed to
help companies measure socio-economic impact, it can
be difficult to compare and choose among them
- Diversity in tools
- Based on different assumptions
- Offering different functionality
- Focusing on different types of impact
- Suiting different purposes

3. About the guide
The WBCSD’s new publication “Measuring socio-economic impact: A guide
for business” is intended to help companies navigate the complex landscape
of socio-economic impact measurement.
The guide includes 4 sections:
The The
The The
business road
essentials tools
case ahead
Outlines business Introduces the Profiles a selection Suggests areas of
motivations for terminology and of 10 publicly focus to accelerate
measuring socio- basic theory used available tools business efforts to
economic impact in this space for a tailored for measure and manage
business audience business needs socio-economic impact

4. The business case
Why do companies measure their socio-economic impact?

5. The essentials
Lesson 1
A fundamental first step is to understand how
business activities translate into socio-economic
impacts
Lesson 2
Measurement can happen anywhere along the
results chain
Impact
Lesson 3
In the development community, the gold standard is
to reach that last link in the results chain; that last
link is what is known as “Impact” Outcome
Lesson 4
Measuring “Impact”, in the technical sense of the
Output
word, is challenging to do
Activity
Lesson 5
Prioritization and the judicious use of proxies can Input
be key

6. Tool selection and analysis
The guide profiles 10 tools, selected on the basis of the following criteria:
1. We focus exclusively on 2. We focus on tools that have
socio-economic impact. been developed for business
Environmental sustainability plays and that, in the WBCSDs
a critical role in socio-economic experience, companies are
impact, however tools are increasingly interested in.
relatively well established and can
be used together with the ones
profiled here whenever
environmental and social goals are
linked.
These tools are analyzed on the basis of functionality, fit for purpose, cost and
complexity of implementation, and practical examples of their application in
practice.

7. The 10 tools profiled

8. Tools analysis overview

9. The road ahead
The landscape of tools is still evolving. Thus, the guide is intended to be a
living document, updated and improved as existing tools are updated and new
ones emerge.
At the WBCSD, we see two major opportunities to advance the practice of
socio-economic impact measurement moving forward:
• Integrating socio-economic impact measurement into business
performance management and reporting
• Using socio-economic impact measurement to drive more effective
collaboration between business, government, and civil society
If progress can be made, measuring socio-economic impact holds great
promise as enabler of our collective efforts to meet people’s needs and
accelerate the transition toward the WBCSD’s vision of a sustainable world in
which the 9 billion people expected to share the earth by the year 2050 can live
well, and within the limits of our one planet.

10. Access the guide and supporting materials
www.wbcsd.org/impact.aspx