You're not sure if your work is making a positive impact on society. What can you do to ensure it does?

1 Define your purpose

The first step is to clarify your personal and professional purpose. Why do you do what you do? What are your values, passions, and goals? How do they align with the mission and vision of your organization? Having a clear sense of purpose can help you stay motivated, focused, and authentic. It can also help you communicate your impact to others and attract like-minded partners and customers.

2 Assess your impact

The next step is to measure and evaluate your impact. How do your products, services, or processes affect the environment, society, and your own well-being? What are the positive and negative outcomes of your work? What are the risks and opportunities for improvement? You can use various tools and frameworks to assess your impact, such as the triple bottom line, the social return on investment, or the B Impact Assessment. You can also collect feedback from your stakeholders, such as your customers, employees, suppliers, or community members.

3 Set your goals

The third step is to set your goals for making a positive impact. What are the specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound objectives that you want to achieve? How do they align with the global and local sustainability goals, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or the national or regional policies and regulations? How do they support the needs and expectations of your stakeholders? Setting your goals can help you prioritize your actions, allocate your resources, and track your progress.

4 Take action

The fourth step is to take action to achieve your goals. What are the strategies, plans, and activities that you will implement to make a positive impact? How will you involve your team, partners, and customers in your actions? How will you overcome the challenges and barriers that you may face? Taking action requires creativity, collaboration, and commitment. You may need to innovate, adapt, or learn new skills or technologies. You may also need to seek support, guidance, or inspiration from others.

5 Communicate your impact

The fifth step is to communicate your impact to your stakeholders. How will you share your stories, results, and learnings with your audience? How will you showcase your achievements, challenges, and opportunities? How will you inspire others to join or support your cause? Communicating your impact can help you build trust, credibility, and reputation. It can also help you attract more customers, partners, or investors. You can use various channels and formats to communicate your impact, such as reports, newsletters, blogs, podcasts, videos, or social media.

6 Review and improve

The final step is to review and improve your impact. How will you monitor and evaluate your performance and outcomes? How will you collect and analyze data and feedback? How will you identify and address the gaps, weaknesses, or errors in your work? How will you celebrate and reward your successes and learn from your failures? Reviewing and improving your impact can help you enhance your quality, efficiency, and effectiveness. It can also help you adapt to the changing needs and expectations of your stakeholders and the society.

7 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?