Number of local enterprises that sold goods or services to the organization during the reporting period.
Organizations should footnote their definition of “local”. See usage guidance for further information.
This metric is intended to capture information about the local enterprises that supply goods or services to the reporting organization. Organizations can themselves determine the precise threshold at which they report suppliers. In most cases, organizations should include only those enterprises supplying goods and services that are fundamental to the operations of the reporting organization.
Individual organizations’ definitions of local will depend on their business models and impact objectives. For example, if their purpose is economic development, they may define “local” within geo-political boundaries. If they focus on reducing emissions, they may define “local” by specific distance.
Organizations should not include subcontractors as part of this metric; subcontractors can be reported under Temporary Employees (OI9028) and its related submetrics.
This metric is multi-dimensional with regard to the five dimensions of impact: it may help describe the WHO dimension when the stakeholder group represented by the metric is the stakeholder group targeted by the investment or organization. It may also help measure the HOW MUCH Scale dimension, which helps estimate the number of the targeted stakeholders experiencing the outcome. For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, see IRIS+ and the Five Dimensions of Impact (https://iris.thegiin.org/document/iris-and-the-five-dimensions/). No single metric is sufficient to understand an impact; rather, metrics are selected as a set across all dimensions of impact. When possible, the selection of metrics to measure and describe the five dimensions should be based on best practice and evidence.
This is a submetric of Supplier Organizations: Total (PI9566), which has 1 other related submetrics.
Metrics identified as "cross-category" are those that are relevant to any IRIS+ Impact Category or Impact Theme (i.e., these metrics are not specific to any particular industry/category or theme).
June 2022 - IRIS v5.3 Released (current version)
Immaterial change. Minor revision to usage guidance for clarity.
January 2020 - IRIS v5.1 Released
No change.
May 2019 - IRIS v5.0 Released
Immaterial change. Usage guidance updated to clarify "beneficiaries" as "stakeholders."
March 2016 - IRIS v4.0 Released
No change.
March 2014 - IRIS v3.0 Released
Immaterial change. Minor revision to definition language for clarity.
November 2011 - IRIS v2.2 Released
No change.
February 2011 - IRIS v2.1 Released
No change.
September 2010 - IRIS v2.0 Released
Material change. Supplier Organizations: Local (PI6385) replaced Local Suppliers Supported (OS28). Metric modified to increase specificity by focusing on organizations only.
September 2009 - IRIS v1.0 Released
New metric. Local Suppliers Supported (OS28) was developed via the Original IRIS Working Group.
IRIS Metrics Work Better in Sets
To use IRIS metrics—and the resulting data—to understand impact performance, IRIS metrics should be used and analyzed in generally accepted sets and according to well-defined objectives. IRIS+ gives you access to generally accepted Core Metrics Sets aligned to common Impact Themes and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).