Describes which entities the organization seeks to benefit through its products, services, and operations as of the end of the reporting period.
Choose all that apply:
Organizations should footnote all assumptions used.
This metric is intended to capture the target stakeholders of the organization's activities, including the intended recipients of the organization's products, services, and operations.
Organizations can benefit people and planet throughout their supply and distribution chains, in their provision of products or services, and through their operations. Some examples follow:
Organizations are encouraged to report IRIS metrics related to numbers reached and other key performance indicators (KPIs). For instance, the example organization above that buys mangoes might also report Supplier Individuals: Smallholder (PI9991) and Payments to Supplier Individuals: Smallholder (PI7852).
Organizations are also encouraged to report this metric in conjunction with Relationship to Target Stakeholders (OD7900).
For planet-related stakeholders, organizations are encouraged to use this metric in conjunction with Target Stakeholder Ecoregion (PD2854), Target Stakeholder Setting (PD6384), Target Area Protected Status (PD1676), and Target Stakeholder Geography (PD6424).
This metric may help describe the WHO dimension of impact, which details which stakeholders the investment or enterprise aims to reach with the outcome. This metric may also help clarify how underserved they were prior to the investment. For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, refer to the IRIS+ guidance document: IRIS+ and the Five Dimensions of Impact. 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.
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 revisions to definition and usage guidance for clarity.
January 2020 - IRIS v5.1 Released
Immaterial change. Edited definition and usage guidance.
May 2019 - IRIS v5.0 Released
Immaterial change. Name updated to clarify "beneficiary" as "stakeholder."
March 2016 - IRIS v4.0 Released
Immaterial change. Minor revision to metric name for clarity, and to definition language in order to align consistency of metric with catalog's structure and style.
March 2014 - IRIS v3.0 Released
New metric. Target Beneficiary Entity (OD7212) was developed via the IRIS Taxonomy 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).