Pensions for Purpose: Impact Integration Report

We were proud to support Pensions for Purpose alongside Impact Frontiers in the launch of their new report: “Impact Integration – advancing reporting & management practices in pension funds”.

Institutional asset owners like pension funds play a critical role in advancing impact integrity, transparency and best practices across the investment chain. This report offers data-driven insights into how pension funds are allocating for impact and engaging their asset managers, with a particular focus on the roles of impact reporting and impact management in advancing deeper impact integration.

What needs to change to make reporting more decision-useful? What do asset owners expect from their managers or advisors to ensure intentionality and rigor in impact management? The report underscores how alignment around industry-wide frameworks—like the Impact Principles and the Impact Performance Reporting Norms—enable more transparent and credible impact practices in the market, serving as a common foundation for evaluating impact while allowing for institutional flexibility.

We especially appreciated Chapter 2, which explores how asset owners assess their managers’ impact practices and performance. It outlines how the Impact Principles and Reporting Norms offer practical solutions for achieving deeper impact integration while asset owners navigate challenges such as data quality, measurement inconsistencies, and impact literacy.