Co-founder and director Adrian de Groot Ruiz of the Impact Institute: "Thanks to this investment, we can continue to develop our software, data, and education solutions. This will enable a larger group of companies to measure impact, report in conjunction with their financial figures, and manage accordingly. More companies can then become part of the solution."
Same mission
Triodos Regenerative Money Centre prioritises natural and social returns. By freeing money from generating immediate financial returns, pioneering plans are given the opportunity to grow. Jose van Pul, senior investment manager at TRMC: "The missions of the Impact Institute and TRMC are a perfect match. TRMC is striving for a regenerative economy. To succeed, it is important for companies to focus on positive impact on people and our planet. With their ambition to further develop data, software and education, we expect the Impact Institute to have found a strong and scalable business model that can accelerate this transition."
The ABN AMRO Sustainable Impact Fund (AA SIF) invests in impact companies that promote the energy, circular and social transition of the economy. Hanna Zwietering, senior investment manager at AA SIF: "The Impact Institute is without doubt a frontrunner in the transition to a sustainable and more social economy. The Impact Institute helps a company not only to measure its positive and negative impact, but above all to then determine the social value it creates on balance. This is reported in conjunction with the financial profit and loss. The aim is also to understand the synergy between impact and financial goals and to adjust business operations accordingly."
Maximum positive impact
The Impact Institute already employs over 65 staff and expects this number to increase this year to 100. Its mission is to accelerate an impact economy, in which companies and professionals contribute to broad prosperity and to solving social problems instead of causing them. Examples include reducing poverty and inequality, increasing social cohesion, enriching biodiversity and combating climate change. Measuring and reporting through Impact Weighted Accounting can show that impact is not simply something that is 'nice to have', but is an important component in an integrated sustainable and financially healthy business. The Impact Institute cooperates internationally, including with Harvard Business University and a coalition of international banks.
Making social responsibility transparent
With this investment, the Impact Institute seeks to enable more companies to demonstrate how they take their social responsibility. It involves looking at natural, social, human and financial capital. The Impact Institute also wants to train more professionals in the field of measuring, interpreting and managing social impact. Just as there are hundreds of thousands of trained professionals for financial language, the Impact Institute aims to have trained one million people in the language of impact by the end of 2030.
New technology company
Part of the investment will be put into launching an impact tech company. Its mission will be to provide companies and investors with the software and data they need to become a company that positively impacts on society and has the least possible negative impact. This software and data will enable companies to measure and manage impact.
Adrian de Groot Ruiz: "We are seeing that ever more companieswant to discover their own impact on general prosperity. However, the step to actually measuring and managing that impact remains large. This is because they lack useful data and are unable to integrate it within their existing systems and processes. Technology based on our proven method via applications and impact data shrinks this step significantly."
Learn more about us at triodos.com/trmc.