Full Spectrum Finance

B Labs, Acumen Fund, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and the Rockefeller Foundation have joined together to create standards to enable measurement in the Social and Environmental Impact spectrum. From the IRIS site:

The IRIS conceptual framework leverages over a dozen frameworks ranging from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to the Social Reporting Standards metrics developed by the Social Performance Task Force (SPTF) and The Microfinance Exchange (MIX). Many of these frameworks were designed for specific sectors like microfinance, which has adopted the SPTF metrics, or to encourage standardization and credibility in social and environmental reporting, like GRI. The IRIS taxonomy is designed to function across a variety of sectors to enable better measurement and communication of social and environmental impact.

There are many ways to slice the problem, but it's this: we are using an antiquated financial measurement system, built in the time when communities and roles were comparatively very stable, so traditional family structure enabled the development of intangible assets (for example healthy, educated children and care for the sick and elderly) without too much burden.  We need a new system that incorporates measurement of intangible assets: clean air and water, skillful and creative people, and social trust and goodwill, etc.

In other words, we need to measure not only financial wealth  -- as a proxy for products and services that we want and need -- but those building blocks in society-at-large that allow us to create financial wealth in the future.

The entire structure that has so far been limited to financial profits is being re-envisioned by many people, as the several sets of standards the IRIS backgrounder shows.  The goal is to be better able reflect a sustainable economic model.  

Comments

[Michelle Boudreau]

The question rises who will hold anyone to a higher standard? And whats the future ? And make financial investments based on...about changing conditions ?

[dissertation writing]

Nice post keeps on posting this type of interesting and informative articles.