Program Partnerships
GIIRS: Global Impact Investing Ratings System
GIIRS is one of the leading players in setting the standard for the social and environmental performance of companies and funds.
Investors' Circle is proud to be the first GIIRS partner, requiring presenting companie to go through the rating system, providing access to ratings to our members and venture fair attendees, and naming GIIRS as our exclusive metrics provider.
What GIIRS Does
Driving Capital Beyond SRI to Impact. The impact investing industry is facilitating investments that are not only socially responsible, but which also actively create positive social and environmental impact. In order to scale the impact investing marketplace, investors require an independent third-party impact ratings product that is comparable, transparent, and easy to use. Learn more about impact investing from the GIIRS perspective.
GIIRS, a project of the independent non-profit B Lab, will assess the social and environmental impact (but not the financial performance) of companies and funds using a ratings approach analogous to Morningstar investment rankings or S&P credit risk ratings. GIIRS will include the following features:
- Company Ratings and Fund Ratings
- Ratings in developed and emerging markets globally
- Aggregate ratings, as well as ratings within numerous impact areas and industry sectors
- Social and environmental performance metrics and key performance indicators specific to different industries, impact areas, and investor preferences
- Benchmarking and analytics for longitudinal comparability
What is a GIIRS rating?
GIIRS will provide both company and fund impact ratings, each with current and historical analyses of impact performance for comparative use.
- Company Impact Rating— is a rating of the social and environmental impact of an individual company, including an overall rating, ratings in 15 sub-categories, and key performance indicators (KPI's) relevant to the company's industry, geography, size, and social mission.
- Fund Impact Rating— is a rating of a fund's impact based on the aggregated and weighted impact ratings of its underlying portfolio companies, including the aggregated Company sub-category ratings and relevant KPI's for the fund. GIIRS will also offer a Fund Target Rating product to assist fund managers in their fundraising process and a Track Record Report at the end of their fund cycle to assist in raising a follow-on fund.
For more information about GIIRS, please visit http://www.giirs.org.
