Hallmarks of our IMM approach
A dedicated practice
Our dedicated IMM Practice is a central resource, focused on helping Wellington’s impact investors better understand the wider societal and environmental impacts of their investments. The IMM Practice, whose members bring diverse experience and a broad range of skills, plays a critical role in:
- Designing and implementing impact frameworks, assisting with due diligence, and analyzing data
- Highlighting the importance of impact measurement and disclosure in engagements with companies and issuers
- Facilitating our impact monitoring and reporting process
- Sharing best practices and advancing the development of industry-leading standards
Built on industry norms and frameworks
Absent universal standards, the following impact frameworks are most aligned with our approach. We integrate elements of each into our impact investing philosophy and process.
Theory of change: A cause-and-effect description of how we believe our investment furthers a desired impact and why that impact is both reasonable and achievable.
Logic chain: A linear path from capital invested to a company’s or issuer’s activities and overall impact.
Impact Management Project’s five dimensions of impact: A set of industry norms that provides a common framework for investors and investees to measure the What, Who, How Much, Contribution, and, crucially, Risk of impact.1 Considering negative externalities and other types of risk (evidence, execution, etc.) that can undermine positive outcomes ensures a holistic view of impact.
IRIS+: A comprehensive library of metrics, developed by the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN), to measure investments’ social and environmental performance. We use KPIs aligned with IRIS+ wherever possible to report on impact in a standardized, comparable manner.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The 17 SDGs are a key component of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to “provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.” In our view, the SDGs help impact investors better understand many of the world’s largest social and environmental challenges. Our 11 impact themes align, directly or indirectly, with many of the goals, and we map our portfolios’ desired impact outcomes to these goals and underlying targets.