No assurance
Allowed for GRI and most contracts; internal review only.
GRI 1 §5.2 encourages, does not requireSoftware · impact reporting, cited
Impact reporting software: producing a report that can make its claim
Impact reporting software turns measured social and environmental impacts into a report, and the report is only as good as the claim it can support.
This page sets out the conditions behind the common claims — GRI in accordance or with reference, a contract’s social value delivery, an investor’s metrics — and the assurance that can sit on top; it ranks no product.
What the software does
What does impact reporting software do? Six jobs between data and report
Impact reporting software sits after measurement: it takes impacts already measured and produces a report that makes a specific, checkable claim.
Choosing what to measure and which outcomes matter is covered on impact measurement software.
The report’s structure follows its claim, so the first decision is which claim the organisation intends to make.
GRI 3 defines material topics as the organisation’s most significant impacts, under GRI 3: Material Topics 2021, which is the starting point for an impact report.
- 1
Scope
The entities, period and audience the report covers.
- 2
Material topics
The most significant impacts, and why.
- 3
Metrics
Each figure with its source and framework reference.
- 4
Index
The GRI content index or the contract’s KPI table.
- 5
Statement
The statement of use or claim the report makes.
- 6
Evidence
The pack an assurer or authority would ask for.
The claim
Which GRI claim can the report make? Nine requirements, or three
To report “in accordance with” the GRI Standards an organisation must comply with all nine requirements in Section 3 of GRI 1: Foundation 2021; fail any one and it cannot make the claim.
To report “with reference to” the Standards it needs three: publish a GRI content index, provide a statement of use, and notify GRI.
Notifying GRI is an email to GRI and carries no cost, and GRI 1 encourages but does not require external assurance.
Software that writes “GRI-certified” on a report has misunderstood the claim; the dedicated GRI tooling is covered on GRI reporting software.
GRI 1 claimsExplore
GRI 1 claims
Your responsibility
Reports based on GRI are the full responsibility of those producing them.
The content index
What must the content index hold? Twelve items, or six
The content index is the spine of a GRI report, and GRI 1 Requirement 7 lists twelve items for an in-accordance index and six for a with-reference one.
Only four reasons for omission are allowed — not applicable, legal prohibitions, confidentiality constraints, and information unavailable or incomplete — each with an explanation.
Disclosures 2-1 to 2-5, 3-1 and 3-2 admit no omission at all, so a tool should refuse to omit them.
The format is free, provided the index meets the requirements, so a tool’s template is a convenience rather than a rule.
| Content index item | In accordance | With reference |
|---|---|---|
| Title, statement of use, title of GRI 1 used | Yes | Yes |
| Applicable Sector Standards | Yes | — |
| Material topics list | Yes | — |
| Sector topics judged not material, with reasons | Yes | — |
| Reported disclosures, titles and source Standards | Yes | Yes |
| Location of each disclosure | Yes | Yes |
| Reasons for omission, from four allowed | Yes | — |
Metric catalogues
Where do the metrics come from? Four catalogues, none of them law
IRIS+
FreeA GIIN public goodGRI notification
FreeAn email to GRIOmission reasons
FourGRI 1 Table 1Mandatory in the UK
None of theseContracts asideIRIS+ is the GIIN’s free set of tools and guidance for impact investors, with a Catalog of Metrics meant to be used in generally accepted sets.
ESRS adopted the same definition of impact materiality as GRI, according to the EFRAG–GRI joint statement, which lets one impact dataset serve both.
A tool that tags every figure with its framework reference can feed a GRI index, an investor template and a contract report from one record.
None of these catalogues is UK law; the only binding impact reporting most suppliers meet comes through contracts.
Metric sourcesExplore
Assurance
Does an impact report need assurance? No UK rule requires it
GRI 1 encourages internal controls, external assurance and stakeholder panels, but an organisation is not required to use them to report in accordance with the Standards.
The FRC issued ISSA (UK) 5000 on 12 November 2025 for voluntary use, effective for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026; it adopts the IAASB’s ISSA 5000.
It is mandatory for no one, so assurance on an impact report is a choice made for the reader’s confidence.
The practical test for software is whether one figure can be traced to its source records by an outsider without a login.
One impact
report
report
Limited assurance
An independent practitioner’s conclusion on the information chosen.
ISSA (UK) 5000, voluntaryReasonable assurance
The higher of the two levels the standard covers.
ISSA (UK) 5000, voluntaryOwners’ own lists
Which tools do the frameworks themselves list? Two owner directories
This site’s vendor registry has no impact-reporting category, so this page names no individual product.
Two framework owners publish their own lists, and both are a sensible place to start a shortlist: GRI’s licensed partners and Social Value International’s accredited directory.
| List | What its owner says it is |
|---|---|
| GRI Licensed Software & Tools Partners | Software and tools licensed to incorporate GRI content; a licence, not a certificate for the user’s report. |
| Social Value International accredited tools | Products reviewed by SVI and accredited as aligned with the Principles of Social Value. |
Many carbon and ESG platforms also produce GRI indexes; their own words on each framework are on carbon reporting software.
Read the caveat on lists
A product on either list has been licensed or reviewed by the owner; the report you publish with it is still your own responsibility, and GRI says report preparation is the full responsibility of those producing it.
Who lists toolsExplore
Who lists tools
Social Value International
Accredited tools reviewed against the Principles of Social Value.
The tests before you sign
How do you test an impact reporting tool? Eight questions, each tied to a rule
Each question beside this names the requirement it comes from and what a passing answer looks like.
Run them on last year’s report, because the weak points — omissions, sector topics, a contract KPI — only show on real content.
This site has tested no products
Nothing on this page is a rating, ranking or recommendation of any product.
Impact reporting demo questions · tick the ones you need
The pass tests are our reading of the cited provisions.
Nothing you tick is stored or sent.
Impact reporting software, in one sentence
An impact report is only as strong as the claim it can prove, so choose the claim first and the software second.
Takeaways
What to take from this page
| The fact | What to do |
|---|---|
| GRI “in accordance” needs all nine requirements | Decide the claim before configuring the tool |
| The content index has a closed list of omission reasons | Make the tool refuse anything outside the four |
| Social value reports answer to the contract | Load the contract KPIs as the report’s structure |
| Assurance is voluntary in the UK | Keep each figure traceable to source anyway |
Start by choosing the claim, then take the demo questions to vendors.
Frequently asked
Impact reporting software, answered
What is impact reporting software?
Software that turns measured social and environmental impacts into a report: it structures the content, holds each metric with its source and framework reference, builds indexes such as the GRI content index, and keeps the evidence an assurance provider or a contracting authority would ask for.
What is the difference between impact measurement and impact reporting?
Measurement decides which outcomes to track and collects the data.
Reporting turns that data into a document that makes a specific claim — “in accordance with the GRI Standards”, a contract’s social value delivery, an investor’s impact metrics — and meets the conditions of that claim.
What does it take to report “in accordance with” the GRI Standards?
All nine requirements in GRI 1 Section 3: apply the reporting principles, report GRI 2 and GRI 3, determine material topics, report Topic Standard disclosures for each, give permitted reasons for any omission, publish a content index, provide a statement of use and notify GRI.
Fail any one and the claim cannot be made.
What does “with reference to” the GRI Standards mean?
A lighter claim with three requirements: publish a GRI content index, provide the with-reference statement of use, and notify GRI. It suits an organisation using selected GRI Standards for specific topics.
Does GRI certify reports or software?
No. GRI says it is not an auditor, assessor, certifier or verifier of sustainability reports.
Notifying GRI is an email and free.
GRI does run a licensing programme for software that uses its content, which is a licence, not a certificate for the user’s report.
What is a social value report?
A report on the social value commitments a supplier made in a public contract.
Under PPN 002 commitments are written into the contract, and PPN 026 sets a model from 1 January 2027 with a £1 million threshold, 10% and 20% weighting tiers and an extra KPI at £5 million.
The report shows delivery against those KPIs.
Is impact reporting mandatory in the UK?
Not as such.
The Social Value Act 2012 requires public authorities to consider social value when procuring services, which leads to contractual reporting for suppliers.
UK SRS, which listed companies apply on a comply-or-explain basis from periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, is investor-focused, not an impact standard.
GRI and IRIS+ are voluntary.
Does an impact report need assurance?
No UK rule requires it.
GRI 1 encourages external assurance but does not require it.
The FRC issued ISSA (UK) 5000 on 12 November 2025 for voluntary use, effective for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026, and it is mandatory for no one.
What is IRIS+?
The Global Impact Investing Network’s free set of impact measurement tools and guidance for investors, including Core Metrics Sets and a Catalog of Metrics. It is a metrics resource, not a reporting standard.
Which impact reporting tools are accredited?
Two owners publish their own lists: GRI lists its licensed software and tools partners, and Social Value International lists products it has reviewed and accredited as aligned with the Principles of Social Value.
Neither list certifies a user’s report.
Has this site tested any impact reporting software?
No. The page is built from GRI 1, the procurement notices, the IRIS+ and assurance sources cited, and names no product as better than another.
Sources
Primary sources
Every requirement on this page traces to the standard, notice or guidance listed here.
Checked against 17 sources fromGlobal Reporting InitiativeEFRAG and GRIEFRAGlegislation.gov.ukCabinet OfficeSocial Value International
- Global Reporting InitiativeGRI 1: Foundation 2021
Nine requirements for “in accordance”; three for “with reference”; eight principles.
- Global Reporting InitiativeGRI 3: Material Topics 2021
Material topics are an organisation’s most significant impacts.
- Global Reporting InitiativeGRI Standards
The Universal, Sector and Topic Standards.
- Global Reporting InitiativeGRI Licensed Software & Tools Partners
A licence to use GRI content, not a certificate for anyone’s report.
- EFRAG and GRIJoint statement of interoperability (2023)
ESRS adopted the same definition of impact materiality as GRI.
- EFRAGEuropean Sustainability Reporting Standards
Double materiality: impact and financial.
- legislation.gov.ukPublic Services (Social Value) Act 2012, section 1
A duty to consider economic, social and environmental well-being.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 002: taking account of social value in the award of contracts
A minimum 10% weighting; commitments written into the contract.
- Cabinet OfficePPN 026: the social value model (5 August 2026)
From 1 January 2027: £1m threshold, 10% and 20% tiers, an extra KPI at £5m.
- Social Value InternationalAccredited tools and software
Products reviewed and accredited as aligned with the Principles of Social Value.
- Global Impact Investing NetworkIRIS+ About
A free set of tools and guidance for impact investors.
- Global Impact Investing NetworkIRIS+ Catalog of Metrics
Metrics to be used in generally accepted sets.
- B LabGet started with B Impact
B Lab’s own free platform; B Corp Certification starts there.
- Financial Reporting CouncilISSA (UK) 5000 (PDF)
Issued 12 November 2025; effective 15 December 2026; mandatory for no one.
- IAASBISSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
The international standard ISSA (UK) 5000 adopts.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 General Requirements (PDF)
Financial materiality: the UK’s investor-focused standard.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19
Comply or explain for listed companies; financial, not impact, materiality.
Social value reports
What does a contract’s social value report need? Check the model and weighting
Public authorities must consider social value when procuring services, under section 1 of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.
Under PPN 002 a supplier’s social value commitments are written into the contract, so the impact report a supplier writes is a contract-management report against those commitments.
PPN 026 sets a model from 1 January 2027, with a £1 million threshold, 10% and 20% weighting tiers and an extra KPI at £5 million.
The tool beside this works out which model and weighting apply to a tender; the procurement-side tooling is compared on social value reporting software.
Which social value rule applies to this tender?
Enter the total contract value, including VAT.
Source: PPN 026.
The buyer’s notice and any exclusion it relies on decide the tender; this reads the two notices only.
Nothing is stored or sent.