In February 2026, GSG Impact JAPAN National Partner (formerly known as the GSG Japan National Advisory Board) and the Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF) co-hosted the "4th Workshop on Dialogue between Investors and Impact Companies on Impact Measurement and Management (IMM) and Impact Indicators" (hereinafter "the Workshop"; Secretariat: SIIF).

1. Overview of the Workshop

GSG Impact JAPAN established the "Impact IPO Working Group" in July 2023, and in May 2024, it compiled the  "Guidance for Impact Companies on Disclosure and Engagement in Capital Markets" (hereinafter the "Guidance"). The group has advocated for the importance of repeated engagement (constructive dialogue) with stakeholders.

In line with this Guidance, workshops have been held to facilitate dialogue and discussion between impact companies, impact investors, and experts. The objective is to bring to light the real-world challenges that impact companies face at the time of and after listing, and to reflect these findings in future refinements of the Guidance.

Press release on Part 1 of the workshop:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000005.000063932.html
Press release on Part 2 of the workshop:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000006.000063932.html
Report on the third workshop:
https://impactinvestment.jp/news/20260119.html

• We held the fourth event as follows.
  
   Date and Time:
   　〇Day 1 (Company presentations and investor dialogue) : 9 February and 10 February 2026, 16:00–18:00 (held online)
   　〇Day 2 (Joint reflection session with all participants): 19 February 2026 16:00–18:00 (held online)
   Participants:
   ＜Companies＞
  3 unlisted companies
   　〇HERALBONY Co., Ltd.
   　〇Fermenstation Co., Ltd.
   　〇Gojo & Company, Inc.
   1 listed company    
   　〇NEC Corporation
   ＜4 Investors and experts＞
  　 〇Apricot Wilson（Senior Impact Analyst, Positive Change, Baillie  Gifford & Co.）
   　〇Henk Jonker（Head of Investment Research, Triodos Investment Management）
   　〇Kazuta Sakamoto（President and Representative Director, Cadira Capital Management Co., Ltd.）
   　〇Terunori Takahashi（Head of Startup Acceleration Department,Investment Banking Division,Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co., Ltd.）
  
  This article summarizes the learnings and insights gained during the workshop, featuring specific comments from investors, experts, and impact companies. organized according to each of the "Four Steps to Accelerate a Positive Feedback Loop" (see diagram below) presented in the Guidance.
  
  

2. Learnings Obtained Through the Workshop

Step 1: Strategy Development 

The Guidance states that, based on the characteristics of impact companies—which view the resolution of social and environmental issues as business opportunities and design their businesses primarily to create impact—"it is desirable that the business is designed not only from the perspective of earnings generation but also from the perspective of impact creation". In this workshop, investors asked companies questions that viewed markets through an impact lens, and conversely, confirmed the plausibility of impact creation from a market perspective.

Main Findings

• 〇A company should further articulate what kind of world its vision seeks to realize. 
• 〇A company should ensure that it is not unintentionally excluding certain individuals from the target beneficiary group. This is important from the perspectives of maintaining inclusiveness, monitoring unintended negative impacts, and managing the risk of misalignment between profit objectives and impact goals. 
• 〇A company should demonstrate, through simple stories and indicators, what role it plays and what impact it creates in the overall supply chain or investment chain (in the case of financial institutions).
• 〇When conducting impact-creating projects,  a large corporation should clarify the role that project should play within the entire company and for management to show commitment to it.

Furthermore, regarding the "Six Capitals" identified by the IIRC as sources of value creation shown in the Guidance, the Day 2 reflection session revisited the strength of intangible assets unique to impact companies, such as human capital, social and relationship capital, and intellectual capital. Discussions also focused on how these can be visualized or quantified for communication.

Step 2: Business Plan and KPI Development 

The Guidance notes, "it is desirable that indicators are designed not only for earnings but also for impact creation, and that they are designed such that one is not prioritized over the other". In addition to this perspective, experts and investors shared more specific and practical advice on KPI design.

Main Findings

• 〇A company should ensure that its IMM framework is aligned with its mission and reflects its core competencies.
• 〇When a company has multiple business lines or several potential impact pathways, it should consider prioritizing the design and measurement of impacts that can be uniquely generated through its core competencies.
• 〇Even when a company is still in an early-stage or small-scale phase, impact should ideally be designed and measured from the outset.
• 〇When a company’s long-term impact goals are highly abstract and difficult to quantify, it may be helpful to first focus on short- and medium-term outcomes that can be measured in order to further clarify and operationalize the strategy.
• 〇A company should ensure that KPI design does not undermine entrepreneurship.
• KPI design must not undermine the entrepreneurial spirit.

Step 3: Incorporation into the Management Decision-Making Process 

The Guidance states, "In addition to the normal management agenda, it is desirable that impact creation is discussed as an important management issue, that set KPIs are regularly monitored, and that the results are incorporated into the decision-making process. Furthermore... it is desirable that a system or structure is built to allow for the steady operation of a PDCA cycle".

Main Findings　While findings overlap with "Step 2" and "Governance" below, experts and investors offered the following comments:

• 〇A company should establish a structure in which the impact committee or executives responsible for impact play a meaningful role and have an appropriate level of authority in the organization’s decision-making processes.
• Ex: Holding certain authority in product/service design and quality management.
• Ex: Participating in corporate evaluations for M&A, etc., from an impact perspective.

Step 4: Information Disclosure/Engagement 

The Guidance suggests that, based on the characteristics unique to impact companies, information should be presented from two perspectives in enterprise value assessment: "Profitability and growth potential" and "Probability of continuous business growth".

Main Findings　 Investors and experts indicated that the following points should be considered:

• 〇A company should integrate financial KPIs and impact KPIs into its reporting.
• 〇A company should communicate the impact it creates across its supply chain using simple metrics and a clear, compelling narrative.
• 〇Even before going public, a company should ideally begin engaging with impact investors from early on.

Governance as the Foundation of the Four Steps 

The Guidance describes the management foundation supporting the four steps: "For an impact company to realize sustainable business growth while seeking synergies between impact creation and earnings generation, it is desirable that management decisions, including appropriate risk-taking, are made". In the workshop, investors and experts asked questions such as:

• 〇To what extent does a company demonstrate commitment to impact creation at the management level?
• 〇Does a company link executive compensation to KPIs related to impact creation?
• 〇To what extent does a company’s impact committee influence management decision-making processes?

3. Comments from Workshop Participants

Selected excerpts from the post-event survey:

Companies

• 〇Through working on the pre-assignment, I strongly realized the importance of being able to explain, in a verifiable way, how our company's impact creation contributes to our competitiveness and financial performance. 
• 〇One of the biggest takeaways from the overall reflection process was that KPIs should not simply be viewed as reporting metrics for investors, but as tools to support management decision-making. 
• 〇While there are challenges in incorporating social impact as an evaluation axis alongside financial indicators, I gained valuable insights from companies that are proactively advancing initiatives such as impact reporting. I was also greatly encouraged by the idea that large corporations, with their abundant resources and broad customer bases, have the potential to create impact at a significant scale.
• 〇The process of applying frameworks such as the Five Dimensions of Impact and the Six Capitals to our own business—rather than merely understanding them conceptually—was both refreshing and highly educational. 
  
• 〇Since members of our Investor Relations “IR” team were also able to participate, we would like to further deepen internal discussions on integrating some of our IR and IMM work, as well as revise our investor pitch materials based on the insights gained. 
  
• 〇By responding to questions based on the framework, I was able to develop a foundational understanding of IMM. Sharing the content with our management team and impact leads also created an opportunity to deepen internal understanding and align on the future direction we aim to pursue. 
• 〇In addition to our own sessions, I found the Q&A from other companies and the exchanges among investors to be highly informative and insightful.

Investors and Experts

• 〇I believe this is a valuable opportunity for companies to engage in direct dialogue and open exchange with global investors, enabling dynamic and real-time discussions.  
• 〇It was a rare and valuable opportunity to hear candid, first-hand perspectives from startup leaders working on the front lines as impact-driven entrepreneurs, and to bring those insights back to my own investors’ community. 
  
• 〇For companies, I believe it is extremely valuable for companies to hear from other companies facing similar challenges in practicing IMM. In addition, they can gain firsthand insights into how impact investors make investment decisions. 
• 〇The workshop clearly illustrated how investors actually evaluate companies, the kinds of questions they may ask in practice, and the importance of connecting the impact narrative to the investment case—an important lesson for companies.  
  
• 〇Investors review many companies on a daily basis, giving them broad knowledge of comparable companies both domestically and internationally. This enables investors to provide valuable guidance to companies on what has worked—and what has not—in other cases. 
  
  

4. Next Steps

We plan to continue to hold workshops and promote practical use of the guidance by impact companies and capital market stakeholders. Once we have  feedback and use cases accumulated enough, we plan to further improve the guidance. Updates will be shared via this website. 

5. For Inquiries

The collection of practical use cases will enhance both the guidance itself and the value of impact companies. If you are interested in this initiative, please contact us:

〇Unlisted companies considering an Impact IPO
〇Listed companies seeking better disclosure and engagement with impact investors
〇Investors interested in funding pre-IPO impact companies
〇 Experts who wish to co-develop and disseminate IMM knowledge

[Co-hosted by] GSG Impact JAPAN National Partner / Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF) [Secretariat] Impact Economy Lab, Japan Social Innovation and Investment Foundation (SIIF) E-mail: lab@siif.or.jp