What does “having impact” actually mean?

“Improve your impact.” “Watch your company's impact.” “Bet on your impact.” “Put your impact at the heart of your business model.” “Millennials and Gen Z care deeply about impact…”

The word is everywhere — but it can mean very different things. So let's unpack it.

For us, impact is the net positive (or negative) effect a company has on people and the planet — from its products and operations all the way through its supply chain and community.

Three useful questions to bring it down to earth:

1. Who is affected by our decisions? Beyond clients and shareholders, who else? Employees, suppliers, neighbors, future generations?

2. What would it take to verify what we say? If we can't measure it, can we at least describe it precisely?

3. What are we willing to give up to make it real? Impact that doesn't cost anything is usually marketing.

That's what we mean when we say impact. Not a tagline — a question to keep answering.

Article written by the Boite Pac team.