Scaling up impact measurement in the financial sector

The Banking for Impact (BFI) Coalition is a global pre-competitive collaboration which brings together leading banks and renowned knowledge institutions, with the aim to support the transition of the financial sector towards a more inclusive economy that creates value for all stakeholders and to scale up impact measurement and management in the financial sector.

We have published the Principles of Impact Reporting for Financial Institutions

We need to measure what matters

Our global economy remains stalled at a critical juncture. Well-known social and environmental threats have been ignored in favor of a short-sighted economic system. The negative side effects are piling up – runaway climate change, natural resource depletion, increasing inequality, diminishing social safety nets and a widening gap between rich and poor.

The remedy is a more inclusive market economy, one that serves people and the planet, not just shareholders. To help get there the Banking for Impact Working group aims to create a common impact measurement and valuation approach tailored to banks. We are working on a robust, scalable and cost-effective method for the quantification, valuation, attribution and aggregation of impacts for the sector. With support from the financial industry, the goal is to scale up and standardize these efforts over time.

A four-pronged approach tailored to the financial sector

Impact must be included as a driver of economic profit and factors like job creation, climate change, quality of life, and human rights must be considered. To capture the full scope of impact along the value chain, Banking for Impact proposes a tailored fourpronged approach to create meaningful impact
measurement and valuation (IMV).

The consultation draft of the guidance document for impact measurement and its supplement with a classification of activities, related impacts and relevant data sources are now available. We are soliciting input from practitioners on the methodology and its applicability for financial institutions. If you have any feedback or ideas on how this guide can be made stronger, please contact Simone van Klaveren.

What We Do

Our aim is to scale up impact measurement and management in the financial sector. It does this by bringing together expertise and experience, working on a robust, scalable and cost-effective method for the quantification, valuation, attribution and aggregation of impacts for the sector.

We come together regularly with a Steering Committee, where we discuss strategy, develop our Knowledge Hub, and strengthening our Coalition. We also have a Working Group, in the form of our BFI Lab, whose primary focus is on the practical application of impact measurement and valuation (IMV) in shared pilots.

Activities

The goal of the BFI Lab is to advance the practical implementation of IMV. This is achieved by combining the strengths of the BFI members to create a common benchmark across them through an impact assessment pilot, on a commonly decided-upon topic using the BFI methodology. Topics that could be considered are, for example, biodiversity and/or the implications of upcoming ESRS and CSRD implications, and more.

The learnings and insights of concrete cases like these, serve as a basis for future impact assessments, and presents a unique opportunity for BFI members, to co-create and share learnings and expertise along the process, discuss what they mean for their organisations, and what the next steps should be. ​

This will also help inspire other financial institutions to follow suit, to also start applying IMV.​ Would you like to join us? The BFI is open to new members, please reach out to Simone van Klaveren.

The Banking for Impact Working Group

Tjeerd Krumpelman

Global head of Advisory, Reporting & Engagement

Adrian de Groot Ruiz

Executive Director, Impact Institute

Thorbjørn Lundholm Dahl

Acting Head of Group Sustainability

Severiano Solana

Director of Sustainability Strategy and Monitoring

Rob Zochowski

Program Director, Multi-Faculty Impact Investing and Sustainability Special Projects

Laila Page

Head of Sustainable Banking, Performance, Frameworks Giving & Governance

DBS profiel

To be announced

Chief Sustainability Officer

[Your name]

[Your title]

Media and resources

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Case Studies

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Portfolio

ABN AMRO | Impact Due Diligence for SIF

Independent Review of an Organisation's Impact Alignment to Make Better Investment Decisons
Portfolio

Impact of a Philanthropic Foundation

Understanding the Attributed Impact Generated Through Philanthropic Donations
Portfolio

ABN AMRO | Impact on Biodiversity

A Model Based Approach to ABN AMRO's Negative Impact on Biodiversity
Portfolio

DBS | Impact of Lending Activities

Impact Assessment of Lending to the Automotive and Palm Oil Idustries for DBS
Portfolio

BOM | Impact Investing

Impact Assessment of Spinderwind as Part of BOM’s Innovation Ecosystem

Enough Talk, Let's Build Something Together