- Proving the impact of CSR programs is no longer nice to have — it is the new mandate.
- Effective CSR measurement keeps programs accountable to stakeholders like employees, investors, executives and nonprofit partners.
- A key practice in CSR measurement is shifting from outputs (e.g., number of hours volunteered) to outcomes (e.g., number of meals provided).
- Conducting a CSR impact assessment starts with defining what outcomes you want to realize and then ensuring each step of your program is working towards those goals.
Leaders in corporate social responsibility (CSR) know that for their programs to be successful, effective CSR impact assessment is the new mandate. And in order to prove impact, reporting must move beyond the easy-to-obtain vanity metrics such as the number of dollars donated and total hours volunteered. Executives and stakeholders want to see how these activities translate into enterprise impact - tangible, measurable change.
This guide will help you understand how the world of CSR measurement is changing, and how to gauge the real impact of your CSR investment with confidence and clarity.
Why impact assessment of CSR programs matters more than ever
Meaningful measurement is more than just numbers. Today more than ever, it’s important to accurately measure CSR impact with compelling data, stories and outcomes. This is how you prove progress and fuel the future of your program, because if you can’t effectively showcase your impact, that puts your program’s support and longevity at risk.
The recent Benevity Impact Labs Executive CSR Report showed that 47% of executives strongly agree their company’s CSR initiatives are creating a positive business impact, but the same percentage said those initiatives can be difficult to push forward because of low perceived value. Reliable program data and effective storytelling can boost that perception, validating CSR investment and sustaining executive buy-in.
To measure CSR impact, you need to be able to communicate with investor and stakeholder audiences. The right measurements can tie in directly with environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards, showing that not only are your purpose and performance aligned, but, when needed, you are also meeting regulatory standards and stakeholder expectations.
In other words, as an impact professional, you must be able to show your program is strategic instead of symbolic.
Shifting from outputs to outcomes
The Stanford Social Innovation Review describes three terms commonly associated with nonprofit results: outputs, outcomes and impact. It’s common for CSR performance to be measured on outputs, which are generally easy to track: volunteer hours logged, dollars donated and number of grants processed. These are crucial metrics to understand how your program is being used and what your team’s investment is, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Moving from outputs to outcomes is where the really compelling data and impact stories emerge. Outcomes are harder to track and include things like behavioral change, environmental improvements and tangible positive impacts on communities. These are the real-world stories that your stakeholders want, but they may require some computing to arrive at. For example, if your team volunteered 1,000 hours of their time to plant trees, that’s a great beginning of a story. With some quick calculations, the true impact begins to crystallize. How many trees did they plant? Better yet, how much CO2 are those trees potentially removing from the atmosphere?
These details are where the true value of your program comes to light. Always remember to be careful about the causal relationships between outputs and outcomes and only report what can be proven.
The stakeholder imperative
Impact professionals are balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders at all times. Investors, employees and consumers align on one major theme — they all increasingly demand proof of impact. Regularly sharing transparent CSR program data, including outputs, outcomes and impact, reinforces brand loyalty and credibility, especially when integrated into annual ESG disclosures.
What is CSR impact assessment?
CSR impact assessment evaluates how CSR initiatives create measurable social change and business value. It is about quantifying a business’ purpose while proving the ROI of its programs. It is both a process — defining your program’s goals, planning its implementation and measuring its outcomes — and a mindset — analyzing your program’s performance against KPIs and ESG requirements and addressing gaps to realize more wins.
Key components of strong CSR assessment:
- Set clear objectives tied to company values and/or Sustainable Development Goals: In 2015, the United Nations Development Programme defined the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 17 interrelated action areas that serve as “a call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.” These goals can serve as a great starting point for understanding how activities within your program align with your company’s objectives.
- Define metrics and KPIs: Identify exactly how you’re going to measure impact, combining outputs (e.g., participation rates) and outcomes (e.g., CO2 reduction).
- Use reliable data collection methods: Ensure you are collecting data that speaks to your KPIs, such as surveys for participants to capture their satisfaction and engagement with the program, and using CSR platform analytics like Benevity Reporting Studio.
- Conduct regular evaluation and reporting: Share the data you collect, through regular CSR updates, quarterly and annual reports and multichannel communications strategies.
Potential frameworks for CSR assessment:
- Logic model: A logic model is a linear workbook approach that moves you from the problems you’re trying to solve to the outcomes you hope to achieve. Along the way, you can define the activities you’re going to pursue, what you can measure and how it aligns with your corporate performance.
- Social return on investment (SROI): SROI is a calculation of the actual monetary value of your CSR program, which can be a valuable tool for executives and investors to understand how CSR investment ladders up to business performance.
- UNDP Sustainable Development Goals: SDGs are defined outcome areas that demonstrate how CSR activities create a ripple effect across categories, and give CSR practitioners a framework which may help to define the intended outcomes of their program.
- Theory of change: Using a theory of change framework allows CSR teams to understand how a set of interventions leads to specific changes, by working with existing evidence and collaborating with key stakeholders to determine the associated assumptions, risks and desired outcomes.
Where CSR measurement misses the mark
Even well-intentioned programs can go off track when measurement is inconsistent, incomplete or disconnected from purpose. Surface-level measurement will tell you what is happening within your program, but it won’t tell you how effective your program is or how engaged your stakeholders are. Here are some specific ways that CSR measurement can fall short:
- Measuring activities instead of outcomes: Counting volunteer hours or dollars donated doesn’t tell the full story of your program’s impact. Connecting that data to tangible change is the only way to communicate the lasting impact of your program.
- Overlooking qualitative impact: Bringing in the voices of your stakeholders and nonprofit partners can help build stories around the data in your reporting, humanizing your metrics and building more meaningful engagement.
- Working in silos without standardization: When CSR is siloed without insight into organizational goals, it can be difficult to report on program performance. A CSR platform that allows visibility across an organization, like the Benevity Enterprise Impact Platform, enables consistent measurement that builds credibility with stakeholders.
Corporate social responsibility platforms that simplify CSR measurement
Streamline your measurement and reporting with the right CSR technology platform. Integrated tools that create usability and visibility across an organization make measurement easier, faster and more transparent. It’s also a quick path to compliance and risk mitigation, as everything is automated and standardized. Using the right CSR platform can make measurement easier with:
- CSR analytics dashboards: Monitor performance in real time as your program metrics evolve, and produce reports that are presentation-ready.
- Integrated impact reports: Showcase results that align with your planned outcomes and ESG frameworks.
- Compliance and validation tools: Ease the burden of nonprofit validation and ensure every data point is credible.
What this means for CSR and ESG leaders
Effective and accurate measurement turns corporate social responsibility into a key component of company strategy. By rigorously planning a program’s intended outcomes, CSR practitioners can align their activities, plan their measurement frameworks and empower their teams with data-driven storytelling. With all of the pieces of a CSR program connected and reinforced, stakeholders will have tangible proof that programs are making a positive impact.
Turning purpose into proven impact
Measuring impact isn’t just about numbers. It’s about trust, accountability and progress. And when it’s backed by proof, it’s unstoppable. With the right frameworks and the right partners, organizations can transform doing good into measurable change.
Discover how the Benevity Reporting Studio can help your organization measure what matters most.
