Research Programme
IMPACTA is an independent research organisation studying how impact-focused investments translate capital into measurable real-world outcomes. This page outlines our research programme: the measurement gap we work on, our methodology, the seven themes we apply it to, and our current working papers.
Measurement gap
Capital deployed under impact and sustainability mandates depends on metrics that are largely qualitative or self-reported. Where physical-unit metrics exist, they are typically firm-level emissions divided by revenue or production — quantities that say little about how efficiently a firm converts capital into outcomes. Public-equity allocators have no standardised way to compare a solar-module manufacturer to a green-hydrogen developer to a regenerative-agriculture operator on the same axis.
The same gap recurs across every domain where impact investing operates: the units in which the activity should be measured (tonnes, persons, kWh, units delivered) are not the units in which corporate disclosures are reported.
Approach
Our work rests on three methodological choices.
Product-line measurement
We compute outcomes at the product, technology, or operational-unit level — what a company makes and sells — rather than relying on firm-level self-disclosure. This anchors the analysis to the physical activity that creates impact rather than to corporate-narrative framing.
Physical-unit metrics across sectors
For each domain we construct a single ratio: capital deployed per unit of measurable physical outcome. The denominator is in standardised physical units (tonnes of CO₂e avoided, persons served, kWh generated), so the same scale applies to firms in unrelated industries. Cross-sector comparison is the central goal.
Reproducibility
Every quantitative claim is reproducible from per-firm input data and a deterministic calculator. Public replication archives accompany each paper.
Research Themes
The same measurement programme can be applied across seven domains. Each is a question about how much capital an outcome requires.
Climate Efficiency
How much capital is required per tonne of lifetime CO₂e avoided? We construct firm-level Climate Efficiency Ratios (market capitalisation per tonne avoided) for public-equity universes, with the denominator computed from product-line physics proxy models. Working paper: “Carbon Avoidance Efficiency: Six Orders of Magnitude in Climate Equities” (SSRN, 2026). Replication archive: Zenodo (DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19675433).
Access to Healthcare
How much capital is required per unit of health improvement delivered through market-based solutions? In development.
Education & Skills Development
How much capital is required per measurable learning or employment outcome? In development.
Sustainable Agriculture
How much capital is required per unit of yield, soil-carbon stored, or water saved, holding ecosystem-quality constant? In development.
Water & Sanitation
How much capital is required per person served with clean water or improved sanitation? In development.
Affordable Housing
How much capital is required per affordable housing unit delivered to a defined quality threshold? In development.
Food Security
How much capital is required per unit of caloric or nutritional access in food-insecure populations? In development.
Read more
Working papers, replication archives, and DOIs are listed on the Publications page. For research collaboration or replication enquiries, please use the Contact page.