FAQ
About the Reporting Norms
What are the Impact Performance Reporting Norms?
The Reporting Norms establish shared expectations for reporting impact results in private markets. They represent emerging consensus about information that should be contained in performance reports shared by fund managers with their capital providers.
The Reporting Norms were released in April 2024 after an 18-month consultation with more than 350 asset managers, asset owners and allocators, consultants, and assurance and verification providers.
What is the aim of the Reporting Norms?
The aim of the Reporting Norms is to make impact reporting less onerous and more decision-useful.
An open-access public good, the Reporting Norms also provide clear non-proprietary criteria against which independent reviewers can verify reports. Ultimately, the Reporting Norms are designed to result in improved levels of trust in and transparency of investor impact performance disclosures.
How do the Reporting Norms relate to other norms and standards?
The Reporting Norms fill a gap in the system of impact and sustainability standards: impact performance reporting from fund managers to asset owners and allocators.
They build on and reference the set of impact standards, frameworks, and guidance that investors and enterprises already use. The guiding principles underpinning the Reporting Norms are adapted from the Conceptual Framework on Financial Reporting of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
The Reporting Norms were designed to be fully inter-operable with the Operating
Principles for Impact Management (the “Impact Principles” or “OPIM”), a widely-used
framework for integrating impact considerations into the investment process.
OPIM provides a disciplined and systematic approach to impact management, and,
together with the Reporting Norms, can provide the groundwork for more transparent
and credible impact delivery.
Who is using the Reporting Norms?
As an open-access public good, the Reporting Norms are currently being piloted by more than 100 investors through a program facilitated by Impact Frontiers. Independent verifiers are also using them as a basis for their assessment of impact reports. At the same time, they are being adapted for use in public markets, as well as by foundations, development finance institutions, and multilateral development banks.
While the Reporting Norms have been designed to guide the creation of impact performance reports shared privately by fund managers with their capital providers under non-disclosure agreements, several reports have been released in the public domain and can be found here.
To be involved in the pilot or adaptations of the Reporting Norms, please email: info@impactfrontiers.org.
Are investors expected to follow all aspects of the Reporting Norms?
The Reporting Norms synthesize the information that participants in the public consultation agreed is relevant for an impact performance report.
Asset managers preparing impact reports should conduct their own analysis to determine what and how much of the suggested information to include. Asset managers will make these judgments based on the specific impacts experienced by stakeholders and the natural environment and on the needs and preferences of their particular asset owners and allocators, with the Reporting Norms providing consistency and structure to these judgments. The Reporting Norms operate on a “comply-or-explain” basis—preparers should aim to include the suggested content or explain why certain
elements are omitted.
The Reporting Norms are intentionally aspirational. They are designed to guide a long-term journey toward better impact reporting, which may take years and evolve over
multiple reporting cycles. Organizations participating in the pilot are not expected to include all suggested content immediately, but to progressively move toward greater
alignment over time.
Can the Reporting Norms be used for quarterly reporting?
The Reporting Norms are designed to be flexible, allowing investors to choose the reporting frequency that best suits their needs. Most investors public impact reports annually – aligned with financial reporting cycles.
In some cases, preparers may determine that a different frequency is appropriate. For many investors, there may not be a need for quarterly impact updates, so long as any material information that arises is communicated in a timely fashion.
Can the Reporting Norms be used for integrated reporting?
The Reporting Norms can be used for standalone impact reports or integrated impact and financial reports. The consultation phase of the Reporting Norms indicated a growing preference for integrated reporting.
Given the shared conceptual foundations, those seeking to create an integrated report are encouraged to consider following the Reporting Norms in combination with the Integrated Reporting Framework of the IFRS Foundation.
As an industry network or association, how can I get involved?
The pilot is implemented by working with and through existing industry networks, associations, and field-building initiatives. These partners channel the voices of investors in different asset classes and geographic regions to inform the Reporting Norms.
Partner networks and associations may support the Reporting Norms pilot in ways that best meet the interests of their members. For example, through awareness-raising
activities (e.g., newsletters and blogs), supporting the generation of knowledge content (such as case studies), socializing and “localizing” the Reporting Norms to get member feedback (e.g., through webinars), or creating working groups to provide collective input into the piloting of and updates to the Reporting Norms.
If you’d like to be involved, please email: info@impactfrontiers.org
What is the long-term vision for the Reporting Norms?
The Reporting Norms can serve as a market-tested prototype for investor impact reporting that can be adopted in whole or in part by national regulators and/or by international standard-setters.
We anticipate revising the Reporting Norms based on the results of the pilot, holding a public consultation, and publishing Version 2 in 2026.
About Impact Reporting
What do you mean by ‘impact’?
Impact is a change in an outcome caused by an organization. An impact can be positive or negative, intended or unintended.
- An outcome is the level of well-being experienced by an individual or group of people, or the condition of the natural environment.
For a full set of terms and definition used in the Reporting Norms, see here.
Source: Impact Management Norms
What do you mean by ‘performance’?
When we refer to impact performance, we mean results — not just practices. Describing “impact performance” goes beyond listing positive or negative outcomes. It includes evaluating the balance and tradeoffs between different types of impacts in context, and the choices made to manage them. This reflects not just what impact occurred, but how well it was understood, prioritized, and acted upon.
What’s the difference between a framework, a norm, and a standard?
Terms like frameworks, standards, and norms are often used interchangeably but mean different things to different stakeholders. SASB defines frameworks as principles-based
guidance on how to structure and prepare information, while standards provide specific, detailed, and replicable requirements for reporting on each topic — including metrics.
By “Norms,” we refer to a commonly accepted approach to how investors should report on impact performance. They represent a consensus on what good reporting looks like
— less formal and less prescriptive than standards, but more specific than general frameworks. Norms are a foundation that could evolve into formal standards over time, but for now serve as typical, widely accepted practices rather than strict rules.
What’s the difference between ESG, sustainability, and impact reporting?
Impact performance reporting focuses on the actual changes in the well-being of people, communities, and the natural environment that result from the actions of an investor and its investees. It is particularly relevant for investors with an impact thesis — those intentionally seeking to generate positive, measurable social and environmental outcomes alongside financial returns.
In contrast, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting typically centers on social and environmental issues that are financially material to a company or investor. Sustainability reporting may go further by addressing broader risks and opportunities related to environmental and social factors, but often without the explicit intention of the investor to contribute to positive change.
While there is overlap, the focus and content of each report may differ. Some ESG-related issues may not be relevant in an impact report if they are not significant from the perspective of affected stakeholders or the environment. Conversely, impact reports may include issues that are excluded from ESG disclosures because, although not financially material, they are important in terms of social or environmental outcomes.
Why do investors report on their impacts?
Impact reporting serves to give a clear view into how an investor approaches and manages impact, as well as the actual results achieved. It helps demonstrate how impact goals are set, pursued, and assessed over time. By doing so, it plays a vital role in promoting transparency and accountability — making visible both the intentions behind an investor’s strategy and the outcomes that follow.