Research will deliver new and expanded industry standards for companies and investors on human capital management
The Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing (TPF), a donor collaborative with a mission of scaling the practice of impact investing with integrity, today announced that it would award a $250,000 grant to the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) to support the organization’s research on standards for human capital management (HCM). HCM encompasses a broad range of corporate practices related to the management of employees including hiring and retention, employee engagement, training, compensation, fair labor practices, health and safety, responsible contracting, ethics, desired company culture, and diversity.
HCM issues are represented throughout the SASB (Sustainable Accounting Standards Board) Standards for 77 industries. However, emerging and evolving issues on HCM created the need for further research to evaluate potential updates to the Standards. This funding will support the delivery of new and expanded industry standards for companies and investors on HCM through the hiring of more technical staff specializing in human capital issues, completing an ongoing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) standard-setting project, conducting research on four additional and timely human capital themes, and internationalizing the human capital disclosure topics and metrics in the SASB Standards. Specifically, staff will research disclosure topics and metrics to better account for how human capital issues can impact enterprise value across each of the SASB Standards for 77 industries.
VRF was formed in June 2021 through the merger of the International Integrating Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), two nonprofit organizations that worked to globalize integrated reporting and sustainability disclosures. In August 2022, the VRF will be consolidated into the IFRS Foundation as it stands up the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in an effort to create a global and comprehensive global baselines of sustainability disclosure for the capital markets. This grant will fund work that will occur in preparation for, and as part of, the VRF’s upcoming consolidation with the IFRS Foundation and the evolution of the SASB Standards, including those on human capital, into the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
“While there is an understandable amount of focus and attention on setting standards for climate-related disclosures, we must not lose focus on the importance of human capital management—an essential part of the ‘S’ of ESG—to maintaining a healthy, productive, and equitable society,” said Fran Seegull, Executive Director of the TPF and President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. “We see this support for VRF as an important means to ensuring human capital remains front and center in the ongoing work towards greater harmonization of standards.”
“We appreciate the Tipping Point Fund’s dedication to improving the quality, comparability and availability of disclosure on human capital management,” said VRF CEO Janine Guillot. “We believe increased transparency can lead to improved performance on these critical issues.”
The grant is part of the TPF’s data, metrics and measurement (DMM) portfolio, which is focused on funding organizations and projects working to provide greater clarity to market actors and ensure high standards of impact accountability. The TPF also funds public policy initiatives to flow more private capital for public good.
About the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing
The Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing (TPF) is a donor collaborative vehicle developed with the mission of supporting public goods that are critical to the continued growth and fidelity of the impact investing market. The TPF was launched in December 2019 and has raised over $14 million in philanthropic capital, which is being used to develop the infrastructure that is needed to mobilize private capital for public good. The funding will build on existing field building efforts by prioritizing the areas that are chronically under-funded, are best suited for collective action and that require additional support beyond that provided by individual grantmaking. Learn more at www.tpfii.org.
About the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance
The U.S. Impact Investing Alliance (Alliance) is dedicated to building the impact investing ecosystem by bridging market gaps and addressing shared challenges. The Alliance’s long-term vision is to place measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial return and risk at the center of every investment decision. Learn more at www.impinvalliance.org.
About VRF
The Value Reporting Foundation is a global nonprofit organization that offers a comprehensive suite of resources designed to help businesses and investors develop a shared understanding of enterprise value—how it is created, preserved or eroded over time. The resources—including Integrated Thinking Principles, the Integrated Reporting Framework and SASB Standards—can be used alone or in combination, depending on business needs. These tools, already adopted in over 70 countries, comprise the 21st century market infrastructure needed to develop, manage, and communicate strategy that creates long-term value and drives improved performance. Learn more at https://www.valuereportingfoundation.org/.