What are the most effective social impact goals for a business to set?

1 Align with global frameworks

One way to set effective social impact goals is to align them with global frameworks that provide common standards, indicators, and benchmarks for measuring and reporting social performance. For example, you can use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are 17 goals that address the most urgent challenges facing the world, such as poverty, inequality, climate change, and health. By aligning your social impact goals with the SDGs, you can demonstrate your commitment to solving these challenges and contribute to a shared vision of a better future.

2 Focus on material issues

Another way to set effective social impact goals is to focus on the material issues that are most relevant and significant for your business and your stakeholders. Material issues are those that have a direct or indirect impact on your ability to create value and achieve your objectives, as well as on the well-being and interests of your stakeholders, such as employees, customers, suppliers, investors, regulators, and society at large. By identifying and prioritizing your material issues, you can set social impact goals that address the most pressing risks and opportunities for your business and your stakeholders.

3 Be SMART

A third way to set effective social impact goals is to make them SMART, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. SMART goals are clear, realistic, and trackable, which makes them easier to communicate, implement, and evaluate. For example, a SMART social impact goal could be: "By 2025, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to 2020 levels, in line with the Paris Agreement and the SDG 13 on climate action." A SMART goal should answer the questions: What do you want to achieve? How will you measure it? Is it attainable? Why is it important? When will you accomplish it?

4 Engage your stakeholders

A fourth way to set effective social impact goals is to engage your stakeholders in the process of defining, implementing, and reviewing them. Stakeholders are the people or groups that affect or are affected by your business activities, and they can provide valuable insights, feedback, and support for your social impact goals. By engaging your stakeholders, you can ensure that your goals are relevant, responsive, and inclusive, and that you build trust, collaboration, and accountability with them. You can engage your stakeholders through various methods, such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, workshops, and reporting.

5 Learn from best practices

A fifth way to set effective social impact goals is to learn from the best practices of other businesses that have successfully integrated social impact into their core strategy and operations. You can find examples of such businesses in various sources, such as industry associations, sustainability reports, awards, and rankings. By learning from the best practices of other businesses, you can gain inspiration, guidance, and motivation for setting your own social impact goals and achieving them. You can also benchmark your performance against your peers and identify areas for improvement.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?