Measuring, valuing and managing a company’s social impacts: A call for collaboration

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) envisions a world where the long-term environmental and social performance of a business is reflected in its success alongside financial indicators. Businesses depend on people as employees, customers, suppliers, retailers, governors and neighbors, and are inextricably connected to the societies within which they operate. Their interactions with society can have significant consequences and must be taken into consideration when measuring and valuing a company’s overall performance.

Despite the significant number of tools available for social impact measurement, businesses are struggling to identify fit-for-purpose approaches that will enable the use of social information to inform strategy and decision-making.

As part of the WBCSD’s Redefining Value program, the development of a Social Capital Protocol aims to bring together and align current expertise in measurement and valuation. Therefore, we are providing a platform to kick-start collaboration.

With this paper, we are calling upon organizations, experts and practitioners, across all sectors and disciplines, to join us in consolidating these efforts. This must be a collaborative initiative to build the critical mass necessary to ensure a legitimate and broadly accepted result for companies, shareholders and stakeholders.

For more information:

• Download Towards a Social Capital Protocol – A Call for Collaboration
• Visit the Social Capital website