EBRD scores high on impact management

• EBRD receives highest rating in six categories in external evaluation
• Bank continues to be at forefront of impact investment
• Impact management systems seen as strong in key areas

The EBRD’s impact management system has earned high marks in an independent assessment carried out by the US-based consultancy Tideline.

The Bank scored the highest rating of “advanced” in six out of eight categories. Impact investment is investments into companies or organisations with the intent to contribute to measurable positive social or environmental impact, alongside financial returns.

The result follows an in-depth assessment of impact management systems Tideline completed for EBRD and 12 other institutions.

Christina Leijonhufvud, a Managing Partner at Tideline, notes: “We reviewed the EBRD’s set of Impact Management tools and processes for the purpose of assessing its degree of alignment with the Principles, and concluded that - while areas for improvement exist - the EBRD’s Impact Management System is advanced for several of the Principles.”

Tideline’s assessment shows that the EBRD is strong in embedding impact in its corporate strategy, managing impact at the portfolio level, demonstrating its value added as an investor and monitoring impact through the project implementation cycle.

The EBRD is one of the founding signatories of the Operating Principles for Impact Management, which are widely considered as industry standard for impact investors, including asset managers, asset allocators and development financial institutions. More than 90 institutions have signed up to the Principles since they were launched in April 2019.

All signatories are required to publish a Disclosure Statement, outlining how their impact management system is aligned with the nine Operating Principles, and to have their alignment independently verified. Independent verification is expected to bring about greater discipline and transparency in impact investing.

“We are proud of what the EBRD has achieved in building its ‘state of the art’ impact management systems and making best use of them,” said Alan Rousso, EBRD Managing Director, External Relations and Partnerships.

“The evaluation shows that we set a high bar, while it also provided us with an opportunity to see where we can further improve. It is in our organisational DNA to innovate and we will continue to do so in future.”