The B Impact Assessment (BIA) is a tool to assess a company’s overall social and environmental performance. It does so by measuring the impact of a business on all stakeholders through an online, easy to use platform. The BIA is a free, confidential service administered by the non-profit organization B Lab. Companies and funds that use the BIA can be recognized for their performance by electing to become a certified B Corporation or Global Impact Investment Rating System (GIIRS) rated.
The BIA (and therefore GIIRS rating system) uses IRIS metrics in conjunction with additional criteria to come up with an overall company or fund-level rating, as well as targeted sub-ratings in the categories of governance, workers, community, environment, and socially and environmentally-focused business models. The BIA varies based on the sector and market in which the fund or company operates. More information on GIIRS's use of IRIS can be found on the B Analytics User Page.
The table below documents the set of IRIS metrics that are included in the BIA for organizations operating in developed and emerging markets.
As with all IRIS metrics, it is important to state that interpretation of these metrics must also take into account other aspects of a company's context, and changes over time. Stand alone numbers cannot by themselves indicate positive or negative performance, or necessarily be compared across companies or products.
Data-compliant metrics tracked in the core B Impact Assessment, with a focus on financial performance.
Value of the organization's net income before interest and taxes during the reporting period. EBIT signifies Earnings Before…
Value of the organization's net profit before donations, calculated as total income (excluding donations) minus total expenses…
Value of all transfers to the government made by the organization during the reporting period.
This metric is only required within the B Impact Assessment for organizations in emerging markets.
End date of the reporting period for which the organization is providing data.
The national currency used to report currency figures for this IRIS report. Indicate based on the International Organization…
Data-compliant metrics tracked in the core B Impact Assessment, with a focus on governance.
Indicates whether the organization implements a feedback system to solicit client feedback and has an established procedure…
Indicator of corporate transparency
Indicates whether the organization has a written policy to monitor and disclose any potential conflicts of interest between…
Indicator of good governance
Indicates whether it is the organization's policy to produce financial statements that are verified annually by a certified…
Indicator of good governance
Describes the mission statement of the organization.
Indicator of commitment to social impact and environmental stewardship
Data-compliant metrics tracked in the core B Impact Assessment, with a focus on employment practices.
Indicates whether the organization implements a feedback system to solicit employee feedback and has an established procedure…
Indicator of good manager-worker communication
Describes the benefits that are provided to full-time employees of the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of job quality
Number of paid full-time employees at the organization as of the end of the reporting period.
Indicator of job creation
Number of paid part-time employees at the organization as of the end of the reporting period.
Indicator of job creation
Value of wages (including bonuses, excluding benefits) paid to all full-time and part-time employees of the organization…
Indicator of job creation
Number of people employed by the organization as of the end of the reporting period. This is the sum of all paid full-time…
Indicator of job creation
Number of temporary employees paid by the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of job creation
Ratio of the wages paid during the reporting period to the highest compensated full-time employee (inclusive of bonus, excluding…
Indicator of gender equity
Indicates whether the organization has policies in place to monitor, evaluate, and ensure worker safety.
Indicator of commitment to occupational safety and health
Data-compliant metrics tracked in the core B Impact Assessment, with a focus on the community impact of an organization, particularly through its supply chain.
Value of all financial contributions and in-kind donations of goods and services made by the organization to charities, private…
Indicator of charitable giving and civic engagement
Number of hours volunteered by full-time and part-time employees of the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of charitable giving and civic engagement
Value of payments made to local enterprises that sold goods or services to the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of local involvement
Percentage of the organization that is female-owned, as of the end of the reporting period.
Indicator of ownership diversity
Number of females employed by the organization as of the end of the reporting period. This is the sum of all paid full-time…
Indicator of workplace diversity
Indicates whether the organization has a written policy of evaluating supplier organizations based on their social and environmental…
Indicator of supply chain management
Data-compliant metrics tracked in the Development Markets B Impact Assessment, with a focus on the environmental practices of an organization.
Amount of purchased energy consumed by the organization from renewable sources during the reporting period.
Indicator of energy use
Amount of purchased energy consumed by the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of energy use
Amount of waste disposed by the organization through reuse and recycling during the reporting period.
Indicator of waste management
Amount of waste disposed by the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of waste management
Amount of hazardous waste created by the organization's operations during the reporting period.
Indicator of waste management
Amount of non-hazardous waste created by the organization's operations during the reporting period.
Indicator of waste management
Volume of water used for the organization's operations during the reporting period.
Indicator of water use
Optional metrics within the B Impact Assessment that organizations can choose to report based on their unique socially or environmentally-focused business model.
Number of unique poor households that were clients of the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of serving in-need customers
Number of unique households that were clients of the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of impact for products or services that address specific social problems
Number of unique poor individuals who were clients of the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of serving in-need customers
Number of unique individuals who were clients of the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of impact for products or services that address specific social problems
Ratio of the number of the organization's active clients retained from the start to the end of the reporting period.
Indicator of client satisfaction for financial service providers
Number of communities where the organization's products/services were available during the reporting period.
Indicator of impact for products or services that address specific social problems
Number of individuals who served as distributors of the organization's products/services during the reporting period.
Indicator of impact on microdistributors and microfranchisees
Number of organizations that served as distributors of the organization's products/services during the reporting period.
Indicator of impact on microdistributors and microfranchisees
Earnings generated by small-to-medium enterprise (SME) distributors from selling the organization's products/services, during…
Indicator of impact on microdistributors and microfranchisees
Effective interest rate (EIR) for the most representative loan product of the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of portfolio quality for financial service providers
Amount of energy savings over the lifetime of the product for those products that were sold by the organization during the…
Indicator of impact for products or services designed to conserve the environment
Describes the environmental impact objectives pursued by the organization. Select all that apply: - Biodiversity conservation -…
Indicator of commitment to environmental impact for equity investors
Amount of reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the lifetime of products sold during the reporting period.
Indicator of impact for products or services designed to conserve the environment
Value of all of the organization's loans outstanding at the end of the reporting period that have one or more installments…
Indicator of portfolio quality for financial service providers
Describes the types of financial services offered by the organization in addition to core credit, savings, and insurance…
Required metric for financial service providers
Value of payments to small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) that sold goods or services to the organization during the reporting…
Indicator of supply chain impact
Percentage of recycled materials used to manufacture the organization's product (including packaging)/services during the…
Indicator of impact for products or services designed to conserve the environment
Number of people with disabilities employed by the organization as of the end of the reporting period. This is the sum of…
Indicator of workforce development
Price premium percentage that the producer (supplier) selling to the organization obtains from the organization for its goods…
Indicator of supply chain impact
Describes (qualitatively) the product or service provided by the organization.
Required metric for organizations with a socially or environmentally focused product or service
Area of land with a protected land status as of the end of reporting period.
Indicator of impact for products or services designed to conserve the environment
Value of the revenue from sales of the organization's products/services during the reporting period.
Indicator of scale for companies with a socially or environmentally focused product or service
Describes the social impact objectives pursued by the organization. Select all that apply: - Access to clean water and sanitation -…
Indicator of commitment to social impact for equity investors
Number of individuals who sold goods or services to the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of supply chain impact
Number of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) that sold goods or services to the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of supply chain impact
Describes the demographic groups of beneficiaries targeted by the organization. Select all that apply: - Children (younger…
Indicator of serving in-need customers
Describes the type of financial institution the organization is, if applicable. Select all: - Community Action Agency (CAA) -…
Required metric for financial service providers
Describes the unit of measure for reporting the units sold, produced, exported, or installed by the organization. Select…
Indicator of scale for companies with a socially or environmentally focused product or service
Amount of the product/service sold by the organization during the reporting period.
Indicator of scale for companies with a socially or environmentally focused product or service
Amount of waste reduced by the organization during the reporting period through programs for substitution, recycling, or…
Indicator of impact for products or services designed to conserve the environment
Volume of water savings during the reporting period due to the organization's services sold.
Indicator of impact for products or services designed to conserve the environment