During the Summer Universities of Tomorrow's Economy event in France, PALO IT’s Impact Score tool was on full display. Notably, in the event’s opening session, where the tool was presented by Caroline Neyron, General Secretary of “Mouvement des entrepreneurs sociaux” (Movement of Social Entrepreneurs) or simply “The Movement”, and the closing ceremony where Olivia Grégoire, France’s Secretary of State of the Social Economy, committed to implementing the Impact Score as one of her top priorities. In her own words, “This tool brings a new dimension to company performance and evaluation of non-financial criteria.”
Using tech to transition to a new world
The Impact Score's ultimate aim is to seismically shift our economic system by promoting innovative and resilient business models. Meanwhile “The Movement’s” objective is to successfully embark on large-scale ecological and social transitions, involving organisations of all sorts—from SMEs to MNCs alike. Long story short, the partnership is a match made in heaven.
Different than certification labels such as B Corp, the Impact Score acts as the first step for companies to understand where they stand in regards to environmental and social performance. This detailed analysis can help any organisation acknowledge both strengths and weaknesses in the realm of positive impact. The score itself is based on four primary pillars: governance, wealth sharing, social impact and ecological impact.
As perhaps the greatest catalyst for change, technology plays a crucial part in the aforementioned transition, and was the bridge between “The Movement” and PALO IT. Utilising an Agile mindset and open source principles, in a few weeks time our team is capable of bringing effective tech solutions to market, specifically, those that work for the betterment of our world. That’s not to simply toot our own horn, but to say that if we can do it, we believe anyone can do it. It simply takes the initiative to take that first step towards change.
A tool designed for business transformation
The Impact Score has been designed as an open source and completely independent software application, sporting a dedicated CMS and boasting the ability of generating results autonomously.
On the user experience side, the tool raised some interesting questions regarding appreciating results. For instance, how can we appreciate new types of progress without discouraging teams? Or how can we properly evaluate a company when the Impact Score isn’t a label, but rather a tool?
These questions eventually led to the design of the Result Badge, an easily identifiable and shareable score used for each category. Thus, a company can openly be more advanced in terms of wealth sharing, but less efficient in terms of managing its environmental impact. After all, honesty, rather than egotism, is much more useful when it comes to positive change.
At the Summer Universities of Tomorrow's Economy event, Cédric O, Secretary of State for Digital Transition and Electronic Communications, said he was "Ready to use the Impact Score to set the standard of using technology for the greater good and transparency."
And you, where do you stand? Find out your Impact Score (for French speakers) now to start your own journey. Or, contact us to discuss your goals regarding tech innovation, and social and ecological transition.
