How We Measure Impact

How We Measure Impact

Our long-term aim is to enable increased access to energy, to improve the reliability of energy for businesses, and to reduce and avoid greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

For every business we finance, we assess our development impact before investment and measure that impact during and after the life of the investment. Each of our projects has a clear pathway to meaningful impact for people and the environment. Metrics differ for each project, depending on the pathway, but the principal metrics can all be mapped to our target Sustainable Development Goals (see more below).

Targeting the SDGs

Principal metrics for our projects can all be mapped to our target Sustainable Development Goals. The indicators are not all applicable to each project.

Goal 7: Affordable and clean energy

We aim to provide underserved people with new and improved access to affordable clean energy and track progress against this aim. We also measure additional kWh of energy supplied and the total number of new connections.

Goal 8: Decent work and economic growth

We aim to support economic growth by providing businesses with new and more reliable energy, and measure progress against this objective. Other metrics the frequency and duration of power outages, the change in energy cost for businesses, and jobs created in the sector.

Goal 13: Climate action

We aim to contribute towards climate action by reducing and avoiding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy system, and we track our progress against this objective. We also measure GHG reductions through replacement of diesel, reduction in the carbon intensity of the grid and through reduction in energy system losses.

Wider metrics

In addition to metrics which apply to individual Goals, we also track metrics that apply to all three of those we focus on:

  • Improved efficiency of the network
  • Lower costs of energy generation
  • Improved collection of revenues
  • Improved evacuation of power from existing sources of generation
  • Increased investment flows into transmission and distribution