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University of Bayreuth, Press Release No 69/2024 - 08 July 2024

Measuring social impact

An "Impact Compass" developed in cooperation with the Bayreuth Chair of Business and Corporate Ethics enables inclusive companies to measure their social impact holistically and make it visible. Against the backdrop of the increasing importance of sustainability reporting, the tool makes a decisive contribution to greater transparency.

The Impact Compass offers organizations in the social sector, especially inclusive businesses, a holistic impact analysis. It is based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the European Commission's planned social taxonomy. By using the compass, organizations can not only document their social impact, but also derive targeted improvement measures and thus increase their social relevance and efficiency.

The new European Corporate Sustainable Reporting Directive (CSRD), in short: the sustainability reporting obligation for companies, requires concrete measurement of sustainability. However, there are no standards for all three pillars of sustainability - economic, environmental and social - in equal measure. The "MehrWirkung" study showed how this can be remedied in 2023. It was carried out at the University of Bayreuth together with CONCERN GmbH and FAF gGmbH on behalf of the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Inklusionsfirmen e.V. (bag if). The aim was to measure and document the societal and social impact of companies in the general labor market that employ at least 30 percent people with disabilities, so-called inclusive companies. The result is an innovative instrument for measuring impact: the so-called impact compass makes it possible for the first time to make inclusion and social sustainability measurable.

The Impact Compass has now been added to the Platform for Social Innovation and Public Value Enterprises. The platform provides a selection of proven methods, instruments and tools for impact measurement and impact management.

Professor Dr. Dr. Alexander Brink, who supported the introduction of the Impact Compass, emphasizes: "The Impact Compass is a valuable tool for organizations that want to maximize their social impact. It offers scientifically sound, yet practice-oriented support for systematic impact measurement and improvement." The Impact Compass is designed to be easily integrated into the day-to-day work of organizations. It offers practical application options that allow users to clearly define their objectives, collect relevant data and systematically evaluate it. This not only promotes transparency and accountability towards funding and partner institutions, but also helps to improve the internal management of the organization.

The next step is to develop an online-based impact portal for inclusive businesses. The portal will provide all the tools required for impact measurement and automate the evaluation of the data collected. The results will then be prepared as part of an impact report for inclusive businesses and can be used for internal and external communication with stakeholders.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Alexander Brink.

Prof. Dr. Dr. Alexander Brink

Business and Corporate Ethics
University of Bayreuth

Phone: +49 (0)921 / 55-4122
E-mail: alexander.brink@uni-bayreuth.de

Portraitbild von Anja Maria Meister

Anja-Maria Meister

PR Spokesperson University of Bayreuth

Phone: +49 (0) 921  55 - 5300
E-mail: anja.meister@uni-bayreuth.de