What makes a great impact report?
If you’re a B Corp then you have to publish an annual impact report, explaining the impact your business has had on people and the planet. Some other businesses voluntarily choose to produce one. Why you might do that is a topic for another day. Today, I’m going to share my thoughts on what makes a great impact report.
My top ten tips
1. Tells a story
What’s the story you’re trying to tell?
The best impact reports have an overarching narrative that hangs together. They talk about the dent you want to make on the world, what you’ve achieved so far and what you’re going to do next.
The focus should be on the difference you want to make and how what you’re doing ladders up to achieve that impact. Rather than a shopping list of activities that don’t hang together in a meaningful way.
2. Open and honest
Be open and honest. Give a complete picture of what’s happened and be balanced in the story you tell.
You’re obviously going to want shout loudly about all the amazing things you’ve done! And to make your impact report credible, share the negatives as well as the positives:
Share any negative impact or unintended consequences
Talk about what didn’t work out as you’d expected
Be open about your limitations
The impact reports that are all rosy make me wonder what they’re not saying. Delivering impact and measuring it is tough. It’s never an easy breezy path – If you’ve totally smashed it then maybe you weren’t being ambitious enough, or maybe you have a blind spot.
3. Concise and understandable
Only include what’s needed to tell your story well.
And do that in a way that is easy to understand. For example:
Plain English (no jargon or acronyms)
Use of images, infographics, photos, videos where these enhance the story
An executive summary or one page visual overview can also be helpful.
4. Clear on your goal
What’s the impact you want to have as a business? What’s the problem you’re trying to address? Why does it matter?
This goal should be crystal clear to anyone reading the report. And everything you’re doing should tie back to this overarching long-term goal.
5. Share your plan for achieving that goal
What’s your plan for achieving that goal? Why do you think those are the right things to do?
What are your specific, measurable targets that align with that plan?
You may find it helpful to connect what you’re doing to globally accepted and recognised goals / frameworks – e.g. the B Impact Assessment or the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
6. How you’re doing against your plan
This is the accountability bit. What progress are you making vs the impact you want to have?
Have you done what you said you were going to do?
How are you doing against your stated objectives?
Have you achieved your targets? Are you on track to?
7. Credible data
Use credible, verifiable data to back up what you’re saying.
And present that data in a way that supports your story, is easy to understand and engaging. It usually helps to have a mix of qualitative and quantitative data. Stories can be highly effective at engaging hearts, whereas quantitative data engages minds.
As you do more and more impact reporting, you’ll build up a bank of year-on-year comparable data. This can help you tell the story of your impact over time.
8. Your approach to measuring impact & assumptions
Measuring impact is hard, especially when the true impact won’t be felt for several years. You’ll often need to use proxies or partial data.
There isn’t a generally accepted approach to measurement so it’s important to share your approach to measuring impact:
What you are / aren’t measuring
How you’re measuring it
Assumptions you’ve made
Limitations of your data
9. Share your learnings
What worked? What didn’t work? What did you learn from that?
How can you use those learnings to make sure you’re having the maximum impact possible? How do those learnings impact your future plans?
How might those learnings be helpful to others?
10. Clear on next steps
The journey hasn’t finished – what’s next?
How do you intend to scale up your impact in future?
Final thoughts
Writing an impact report is hard. Measuring impact is hard.
Start where you are today and write a report that feels right for your organisation today. Over time, you can improve your impact strategy and measurement approach. As you do that, you’ll be able to talk more and more effectively about the impact your business is having on the world.
The most important thing is starting. And if you want help with that then please reach out.
If you’re preparing to write your own impact report, you might find my FREE Impact Reporting Roadmap helpful: