Principles for Impact Investments: Practical guidance for measuring and assessing the life cycle, magnitude, and tradeoffs of impact investments

31 Pages Posted: 24 Oct 2023

See all articles by Timo Busch

Timo Busch

School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Hamburg

Eric Pruessner

Advanced Impact Research (AIR)

Hendrik Brosche

University of Hamburg - Faculty of Business, Economics, and Social Sciences

Date Written: September 26, 2023

Abstract

Despite the recent mainstreaming of sustainable investing, it stays questionable whether investments in the sustainability context contribute to a better world. However, for critical topics of impact measurement such as the life cycle, magnitude, and tradeoffs of impact, academic research is still in its infancy. Furthermore, existing approaches in practice do not provide a coherent solution for companies and investors for how to tackle them. We aim to contribute to these discussions by proposing 18 principles for measuring and assessing the life cycle, magnitude, and tradeoffs of impact investments. As such, this white paper is a work in progress and is meant to stimulate discussion, thinking, and developments. Overall, we hope that this paper starts a journey towards adopting a standard to measure the impact of impact investments.

Keywords: impact measurement, impact investing, sustainable finance, ESG

JEL Classification: G10, G11, G15, M14

Suggested Citation

Busch, Timo and Pruessner, Eric and Brosche, Hendrik, Principles for Impact Investments: Practical guidance for measuring and assessing the life cycle, magnitude, and tradeoffs of impact investments (September 26, 2023). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4584213 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4584213

Timo Busch (Contact Author)

School of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Hamburg ( email )

Allende-Platz 1
Hamburg, 20146
Germany

Eric Pruessner

Advanced Impact Research (AIR) ( email )

Lortzingring 24
Bad Vilbel, 61118
Germany

Hendrik Brosche

University of Hamburg - Faculty of Business, Economics, and Social Sciences ( email )

Von-Melle-Park 9
Hamburg, 20146
Germany

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