CHAPTER 0- Comparing IRIS, GIIRS, SASB, and B Corps

When comparing IRIS, GIIRS, SASB, and B Corps, it's important to understand their respective roles in impact measurement and sustainability reporting.

IRIS (Impact Reporting and Investment Standards):

- IRIS serves as the taxonomy that governs the way companies, investors, and others define their social and environmental performance. It collects and aggregates data from organizations anonymously to help the industry identify benchmarks. Users can choose which metrics to adopt and use across a diverse set of sectors and geographies.

- IRIS is a free product of the Global Impact Investor Network (GIIN) and is used as a core impact measurement criteria.

GIIRS (Global Impact Investing Rating System):

- GIIRS uses IRIS metrics in conjunction with additional criteria to come up with an overall company or fund-level rating, as well as targeted sub-ratings in the categories of governance, workers, community, environment, and socially and environmentally-focused business models.

- The GIIRS rating system builds on the IRIS Catalog of Metrics in conjunction with additional criteria to come up with an overall fund score for a variety of business models in which the fund invests.

SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board):

- SASB is engaged in the creation and dissemination of sustainability accounting standards for use by publicly-listed corporations in disclosing material sustainability issues for the benefit of investors and the public.

- SASB metrics are dependent upon the materiality of the metric to a company's financial valuation, while the B Impact Assessment (BIA) is a comprehensive measure of a company's social and environmental performance independent of market reactions. The BIA supplements SASB with performance evaluation in addition to disclosures.

- SASB focuses on sustainability issues expected to have a material impact on the company's financial performance, aimed at serving the needs of most investors and other providers of financial capital.

B Corps (Benefit Corporations):

- B Analytics, the B Lab entity that does measurement and certifies Benefit Corporations, uses GIIRS standards. B Analytics incorporates individual IRIS metrics into its company assessment framework, the B Impact Assessment. Organizations that go through B Corporation certification or a GIIRS rating process are required to provide data that is aligned with individual IRIS metrics.

- B Corp refers most properly to the certification by B Lab where a Benefit Corporation is a legal entity formed under the rules of a state that allows that form of incorporation.

In summary, IRIS provides a taxonomy for defining social and environmental performance, GIIRS uses IRIS metrics in conjunction with additional criteria for impact measurement, SASB focuses on sustainability accounting standards for publicly-listed corporations, and B Corps are certified by B Lab and incorporate IRIS metrics into their assessment framework. Each plays a distinct role in impact measurement and sustainability reporting, with some overlap in their methodologies and criteria.