Impact Framework
Impact occurs on two axes
Themes
- High level, investable areas of impact that serve as the point of entry into the iPAR taxonomy
- Indicate relative weights of invested capital (portfolio level) or a manager’s impact strategy (investee level)
- Visualization imparts insight into mission alignment – or lack thereof
- Return-agnostic; can be applied equally to investments as well as grants
Geography
- The other lens through which many investors choose to deploy capital
- Quantifies where in the world capital is focused
- Highlights precisely where capital is deployed in tangible assets such as companies, projects, and properties
- Illustrates where investment firms are located and have “boots on the ground”
Themes
Themes
The four-piece lens through which iPAR segments all impact investments and grants. This inclusive 4x4 grid acknowledges the importance of publicly traded securities such as stocks and bonds within an impact portfolio, and distinguishes the role they’re able to play.
Climate
Mitigating the steady buildup of greenhouse gases within the Earth's atmosphere
People
Democratizing opportunity for all members of society
Resources
Easing the ever-increasing demands placed on natural ecosystems
Public
Upholding values via publicly-traded security selection and related activity
Building Blocks
These are the 16 areas that together facilitate classification of vastly disparate approaches to impact. By applying up to four of these Building Blocks to any impact investment, one can better understand the intention(s) of the related fund manager or nonprofit.
Efficiency
Emissions
Renewables
Infrastructure
Equality
Finance
Employment
Access
Conservation
Production
Reduction
Rehabilitation
Alignment
Engagement
Mandate
Scoring
Sub-Building Blocks
These are the increasingly descriptive sub-components that help to further delineate the overall impact strategy. Unlike the rigid 4x4 taxonomy, Sub-Blocks are meant to be flexible in number and scope – provided there is a corresponding unit of measurement that enables performance evaluation and data aggregation.
Heat Map
The Heat Map graphically illuminates the dispersion of impact intentions, within either an investor's portfolio or an asset manager's fund. The quantification and illustration of these data points communicate critical insights, which have hitherto been nearly impossible to discern across a collection of impact investments.
Portfolio
Manager
Geography
A visual representation of where in the world impact capital is focused and invested. This graphic facilitates unmatched insights into the portfolio, thereby allowing investors to ascertain whether their capital is going toward the people and places they hope to help.
Location Focus
Global
Applied when impact is diffused around the world and/or centered on climate change
Regional
Indicates eight disparate areas of the world within or across which capital may be focused
National
Reflects a strategy that is strictly focused on a specific country
Targeted
Used for strategies that emphasize a subset of land(s) that may defy recognized boundaries
Manager Location
Dots used to reflect the office location(s) of asset managers (i.e. “boots on the ground”)
Actual Investments
Dots used to reflect the exact location of portfolio companies, projects, and/or properties.