Annual Plan 2023
December 2022

Table of contents
Table of contents ..................................................................................................... 2
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 4
Timeline 2023 ........................................................................................................... 5
Scaling, Strengthening and Sustaining ............................................................... 6
WBA’s role in the ecosystem ...................................................................................................... 6
Scaling, strengthening, and sustaining ..................................................................................... 6

Engagement .............................................................................................................. 7
Alliance .......................................................................................................................................... 7
Investors ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Policy .............................................................................................................................................. 8
Global government engagement ............................................................................................... 9
Civil society engagement ............................................................................................................ 9
Beyond SDG2000 initiative ...................................................................................................... 10
Learning questions ..................................................................................................................... 10

Communications ..................................................................................................... 11
Our strategy ................................................................................................................................ 11
Activities ................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Measuring our progress .................................................................................................................................. 12

Research ....................................................................................................................13
Moving towards an integrated approach to research .......................................................... 13
Digitisation ............................................................................................................................................................ 13
Themes and modular approach ................................................................................................................... 14
Learning questions ............................................................................................................................................. 14

Operations ................................................................................................................15
People .......................................................................................................................................... 15
Learning and development ............................................................................................................................ 15
Self-setting salaries ............................................................................................................................................ 15
Learning questions ............................................................................................................................................. 15

Finance ......................................................................................................................................... 16

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Technology .................................................................................................................................. 16
Governance ................................................................................................................................. 17

Impact, Learning and Development ..................................................................18
Establishing WBA’s Impact, Learning and Development Function..................................... 18

Impact, learning and development priorities for 2023 ..................................21
Recruitment ............................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Monitoring and evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 21
Learning and development ............................................................................................................................ 21

Budget and funding .............................................................................................. 26
Budget structure and rational .................................................................................................. 26
2023 Budget ................................................................................................................................ 27
Fundraising ambition towards 2024 ........................................................................................................... 29
Fundraising targets for 2023 .......................................................................................................................... 29
Learning questions: ............................................................................................................................................ 30

Annex .........................................................................................................................31

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Introduction
We have our first big goal, to assess the 2000 keystone companies across seven systemtransformations within reach. To reach this goal in 2024, we must carry out more assessments in
2023, than we have done in any previous year. This means we need to take a next step in scaling
the organisation, particularly the research function in terms of its size, and ability to automate,outsource and generate deep insights.
2023 will also be the year where our assessments on Climate and Energy, Food and Agriculture,and Digital and Social Inclusion will see their second or third iteration. This will allow further
insight into the progress companies are making; as individual entities, relative to each other, andultimately in the context of progress for people and the planet.
As we develop more benchmarks, publish multiple iterations, and see deeper engagement withincreasingly diverse audiences, we as an organisation are constantly learning from how weconstruct our methodologies to how we work with our Allies. Much learning has happened
organically, often unconsciously. Whilst this will remain a key method through which we learn
and evolve, this mode of learning alone will no longer be sufficient.
If we want to live up to the promise we made to ourselves and the world - to create a real impact
by ensuring companies are accountable for their impact on people and the planet - our ability tolearn and adapt needs to improve. This is true for us as individuals, an organisation, and an
Alliance. Over the last four years, we have grown as an organisation in size and influence. With
this growth, the expectations placed upon us by companies, Allies and funders are increasing
accordingly. This means we must find new ways to measure and understand our impact andlearn from it to change or adjust our approaches and work methods accordingly.
To enable this, WBA will create an Impact, Learning and Development Function (page 18) that wewill have up and running at the start of 2023.
A new and dedicated Director for Impact, Learning and Development on the Executive Board is
now setting up the new Function. This new Function will be in in full operation from the
beginning of 2023 onwards and help ensure learning is embedded, regular, ongoing, anditerative. As we build a solid data and information basis, we believe the new function will
significantly contribute to delivering our strategy centred around scaling, strengthening, andsustaining to close the corporate accountability gap.

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Timeline 2023

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Scaling, Strengthening and Sustaining
WBA’s role in the ecosystem

Since its inception, WBA has worked right across the entire ecosystem: translating the global
agenda into roadmaps for the private sector through methodologies that build on existing
standards; collecting corporate data; publishing benchmarks and insights; and mobilising ourmulti-stakeholder Alliance to incentivise the private sector to change.
Going forward, we want to focus on demonstrating what good looks like (through research andanalysis) and making this consequential to companies that lead or lag behind. The latter will rely
on our engagement with the different users of our data and insights. In other words, our primaryrole in this ecosystem is to close the corporate accountability gap.

Scaling, strengthening, and sustaining
By developing rigorous methodologies which reflect societal and best available science, we areon the path to assessing the 2000 most influential companies across seven systems by the end of2023. First, we aim to scale up our capacity to benchmark all 2000 keystone companies on eachsystem every second year. We will prioritise making our methodologies more readily available tobe used by stakeholders beyond the 2000 keystone companies.
Our second goal is to strengthen this mechanism to hold companies accountable by translating
our methodologies, data and benchmarks into insights allowing us to mobilise stakeholders. By
gaining recognition, we can solidify our position as the accountability mechanism for corporate
sustainability. Strengthening our engagement allows us to support our Alliance of multistakeholders, convene a Collective Impact Coalition (CIC) for each transformation and strengthen
the feedback loop to policymakers.
Ultimately, we seek to sustain the function of corporate accountability within theintergovernmental system. In working towards this goal, we aim to have WBA's evidence anddata considered by those that set the global agenda - the UN (United Nations) and its member
states.
To execute our strategy, we must maintain legitimacy and build credibility. By being valued as animpartial public good, WBA will continue to be recognised widely so that no one is excluded
from using our methodologies, data, and benchmarks. With continued government backing, we
can ensure that our impartial benchmarks are supported and used by the world's governments.
Through scaling, strengthening, and sustaining, WBA can play a pivotal role in helping meet theneeds of the most vulnerable, particularly those living in developing countries and theecosystems on which they depend.

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Engagement
In 2023, WBA will focus on strengthening engagement approaches to continue to build coalitions andpolicy input around catalytic themes arising from benchmarks. We will continue to find our relevancein the fast-changing global landscape to ensure that we understand where the opportunities forsustaining the function of corporate accountability could arise.
In the four years since WBA launched, global high-level political and economic forums (such as theHigh-Level Political Forum, the World Economic Forum and the Climate COP) have been used as
engagement moments to position and build awareness of our methodologies and benchmarks. WhileWBA has developed a stronger strategic narrative since 2018 on its role in closing the corporate
accountability gap, we will continue to utilise these moments, as well as the UN General Assembly, toensure our evidence and findings supports the global agenda and that we continue to hold space formulti-stakeholder dialogue.
We will build a consistent presence to ensure our relevance and role become more defined andembedded in the international agenda. Actively participating in events such as UNGA (UN General
Assembly) and Climate COP will be an annual moment for WBA to assess progress on corporate
accountability in the intergovernmental system; and participating at the fringe in WEF will help us toengage directly with the private sector to shift business mindsets.
Concurrently, we will focus WBA’s engagement efforts on continuing momentum beyond multi-lateral
moments across all our transformations. By coordinating insights from across WBA’s transformations,
we aim to build strong messaging that advocates for corporate accountability and supports theglobally inclusive Alliance in bringing legitimacy to benchmarks and creating accountability throughCollective Impact Coalitions and policy feedback loops.
By improving the depth of influence and engagement efforts with stakeholders who have leveragewith SDG2000 companies, WBA can continue to facilitate and sustain a direct interface withcorporations to close the corporate accountability gap.

Alliance
In 2023, we aim to deepen interactions between Allies, to drive a global movement with local impact.
We aim to learn more about working with each of the seven stakeholder groups and focus on theleverage that they can bring to engaging with each other and companies.
Key activities include:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Inclusive growth: Identify priority voices and regions for engagement.
Community building: Hold Allies Assembly in Latin America region.
Resources: Provide Allies with tools, resources, and practical ways to empower them to better
step in as users, amplifiers, influencers, and shapers.
Storytelling: Record and share stories of Allies impact, branding the Alliance as a solid exampleof SDG17 in action.
Grouping: Move beyond 1:1 engagement, to communicate efficiently and build a community.
Internal mechanisms: Equip WBA colleagues to build relationships with Allies in their respective
areas of work, enabling the Alliance to be embedded across WBA workstreams.

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Investors
In 2023, we aim to further leverage investors’ influence in order to accelerate corporate accountability
amongst the SDG2000. We will do this by working to increase the depth and breadth of investor use of
the WBA’s benchmarks, methodologies and expertise. This will be actioned by continuing to support
our current Allies as well as working to increase the volume of investors aware of and using these tools
in their activities. Alongside this, we recognise that investors (asset owners and managers) are one partof the financial ecosystem who can significantly influence and accelerate corporate accountability. For
instance, banks, insurance companies, stock exchanges, DFIs (Development finance institutions) anddata providers are also key actors who have influence and who increasingly showing interest in WBA’swork. In 2023 we aim to better understand how to unlock and leverage this wider eco-system and wewill develop a plan to expand the existing investor engagement strategy to at least some of these otherkey stakeholder groups.
Key activities include:
•

•

•

•

Build relationships and further leverage the influence of investors: Hold quarterly investor
alliance meetings and 1-1 meetings to keep Allies up to date; work closely with CIC investor leads
to accelerate CIC actions including collective investor engagement on each CIC topic; share WBA
tools and expertise more widely with investors in formats such as webinars, blogs, emails,
workshops etc; develop readily available and customised tools to empower investors to more
systematically use WBA data in their day-to-day work (such as investor guidance linked to key
findings); take steps to further embed WBA tools in existing investor initiatives (I.e. collective
engagement organised by other actors) identify key targets to strategically expand the investor
alliance group to have more influence over SDG2000 companies in real economy industries.
Develop a plan to expand engagement to other key financial actors: Map out key actors andtheir influence (such as banks, DFIs, insurance companies) and assess how best to work with these
actors to leverage their influence on SDG 2000 real economy companies. Identify FIs and otheractors in local capital markets to understand role of WBA benchmarks in capacity building.
Build on relationships with investor-linked actors such as data platforms, ESG (Environmental
Social and Governance) rating agencies and stock exchanges: Identify operational ways to work
together to show how WBA benchmarks and methodologies complement and inform otherinvestor tools to empower decisions around capital allocation; engagement and due diligence toultimately accelerate corporate accountability.
Maintain and build further internal institutional capacity: Equip WBA colleagues so that they
can work productively to leverage the influence of financial actors in their respective
transformations, such as through internal presentations and working together in external meetings.

PolicyWe will focus on building a feedback loop for relevant policymakers, translating benchmark findings
into policy recommendations, and collaborating with Allies to support uptake. We will focus on
advocating for corporate accountability in intergovernmental and regional fora and influencing policy
developments on corporate reporting and performance globally and in key jurisdictions to promotealignment with the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) and Paris Agreement.
Key areas of focus and activities include•

Engage, with Allies, in policy development processes using benchmark findings – As ourbenchmarks can provide a feedback loop to policymakers, we will tailor key messages andpositions to cater to policy processes and consultations to ensure they provide relevant insightsthat can drive change in policies in line with our benchmark findings. Examples include the G20
Sustainable Finance Working Group and Indian G20 Presidency; EU negotiations on the Corporate

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•

•

Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and legal instrument to prohibit goods linked to forced
labour, and the Indonesian ASEAN presidency.
Advocate for corporate accountability through policy activities at regional andintergovernmental fora. This includes engagement High-Level Advisory Board; bilateralengagement with UN missions; engagement with Members of the European Parliament, EU
member states and the European Commission; the OECD Responsible Business Conduct Centre;
and regional engagement with relevant policy processes in Asia. Key Events include ASEAN
Inclusive Business Summit; HLPF; UNGA; Summit for the Future/SDG Summit, European
Parliament committee meetings and European Council Working Groups.
Influence corporate sustainability reporting and performance policies through regular
engagement with standard setters and relevant jurisdictions. this includes engagement with the
IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) Foundation; Engagement EU institutions/
European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), European Securities Markets Authority(ESMA) on reporting; Engagement TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures). Key
Events include the Financing for Development Forum; EFRAG Board meetings and consultations.

Global government engagement
To strengthen our policy feedback loops, we will build relationships with global governments andcurrent government funding partners to engage with WBA’s evidence and data to drive forward their
SDG implementation strategies. Our dialogue will promote government partnerships within the
broader sustainable development policy and delivery landscape and helps sustain corporate
accountability for the SDGs through an inclusive government approach.
Key activities include:• Identifying and inviting strategic governments to use our benchmarks and engage with thedifferent stakeholders in our community and alliance.
• Holding virtual meetings with government officials from the Global North and Global
South to gather input to shape strategies to close the corporate accountability gap.
• Holding annual roundtables at the UN General Assembly to assess progress and identify
persisting challenges with nesting the corporate accountability function within theintergovernmental system.

Civil society engagement
To improve the depth of influence and engagement, WBA identified civil society organisations – bothat the international and national levels – as a priority stakeholder group where a more strategic
engagement approach is needed.
Key activities include:• Use our ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) accreditation to map engagement
opportunities with the UN’s civil society network.
• Develop a civil society engagement strategy to support civil society’s existing research andadvocacy work backed by WBA evidence and develop partnerships to close the corporate
accountability gap. This strategy will be based on the lessons learned from WBA’s engagement
work and through consultation with Allies, board members and other civil society organisations to
identify needs, challenges, and synergies.
• Scope how to make WBA data and insights more accessible to civil society actors throughthe data dashboard workstream.

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Beyond SDG2000 initiative
In recent years, WBA has witnessed demand to make our methodologies available and usable beyond
our free and publicly available benchmarks. An increased number of companies, including SDG2000
suppliers using our methodologies would make WBA’s work widely relevant and impactful supporting
our scaling objective. With ACT (Assessing Low Carbon Transition), WBA is learning from theexperiments around commercialisation of self-assessment and strategy tools to individual companies.
WBA has received a first phase strategic advice on the core offering, positioning and value add, andwe anticipate the offer will sit with a self-sustaining separate entity. This project has great scaling andstrengthening potential as a feedback loop between a proposition and how it could inform WBA
systems transformation, the SDG2000 and WBA methodologies. Before moving to execution there isanother design phase needed which is part of this annual plan and budget. All other activities related
to this initiative will be identified in 2024 and supported by a separate budget and funding strategy.
Some of the additional key activities may include:••

Build a digital minimum viable productSet up a separate entity

Learning questions
In 2023, the Engagement team’s primary learning questions will be:
•

•

•

•

For investors: Having strengthened the relationships and level of activity with investors over thelast two years, how can we more systematically capitalise on investors’ influence throughout our
research processes and engagement activities? How can we best work with financial service
providers to accelerate investor awareness, and potentially use of, WBA’s methodologies andbenchmarks?
For the Alliance: How can we maximise the potential of each stakeholder group within the
Alliance? How can we achieve our objectives by grouping engagement needs vis a vis 1:1
engagement? How do we continue to maintain inclusivity in our approach?
For policy engagement: How can we proactively engage policymakers and multilateralorganisations to guide their discussions based on WBA benchmarks? What policy engagement
strategies are most effective in ensuring benchmark insights are impactful with policy makers,
taking into account regional context? How can WBA be positioned most impactfully in thecorporate sustainability legislation landscape?
For global government engagement: How do we attract new governments to the work of WBA,and once onboard, how do we keep them interested and engaged? What value do global
governments get from engaging with our benchmarks, community, and alliance?

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Communications
In 2022, we grew our capacity to a team of six, which enabled us to have a more robust and aligned
approach to our benchmark publications and specific moments such as the UN Climate COP. We alsobegan to explore opportunities to create impact outside of such moments, for example, through moreopinion pieces to demonstrate our thought leadership. One key learning was that communications
could and must play a more strategic role given WBA’s ambition to close the accountability gap. A
second is that to do this, just like WBA’s other pillars, communications must also work through andwith others.

Our strategy
Our Communications five-year strategy can be summarised with four objectives:••••

To inform companies on how they can urgently contribute to the SDGs through clear and simple
messaging and showing what good practice looks like through storytelling.
To position WBA as the accountability mechanism for the private sector.
To equip Allies to collaboratively influence public opinion on the essential actions that the private
sector must take for us the achieve the SDGs.
To ensure that our benchmarks are perceived as relevant in today’s world.

Activities
Connect with communication departments of companies: In the lead up to benchmark
publications, we will seek introductions with the Communications departments of top-performing andor highly engaged companies.
• For benchmarks in their first or second iteration (#food, #climate, #social, #gender and #nature),
the aim will be to ensure that these departments are informed about the benchmark and areaware of collaborative communications opportunities.
• For benchmarks in their third or higher iteration (#climate and #digital #seafood), the aim will be
to explore opportunities to communicate what good practice looks like.
Learning question: How can we get companies to communicate about WBA and what motivates themto do so?
Position WBA through thought leadership: A key focus for 2023 is to continue building ourthought leadership approach. We strive to main and boost the positioning of our internal thought
leaders as influential voices in the sustainability ecosystem. Additionally, we are aiming to ensure that
we connect with the work of external thought leaders to stay relevant and tap into important ongoing
conversations.
• Arrange 50 proactive media meetings (off or on the record) in 2023 to make ourselves known
amongst journalists of top tier media.
• Support our colleagues to increase their network of influence on social media. A minimum of six
thought leaders will be involved in coaching and training. An essential component of this work is
to equip them with necessary tools and practice to effectively communicate about WBA throughengaging content.
Learning question: How can the thought leadership of our colleagues help to position WBA amongst our
key audiences?

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Connect with Allies and their communication departments: For benchmarks that are within theimpact/action year of the benchmarking cycle, collaborations will be key to continue building
momentum for achieving the goals of the CICs (Collective Impact Coalition).
• We aim to collaborate with Allies or CIC members on at least four occasions. This could be a press
release, social media campaign, video or other medium.
• Invite two Allies to join the Alliance that can specifically help shape public opinion.
Learning question: Who are the most relevant Allies and CIC-members for comms collaborations?
Tell more stories about what good looks like: To stay relevant and show the impact of our work weneed a more storytelling approach to share aspirational stories that help show our stakeholders how
companies can be drivers for change.
• In our media outreach for benchmark publications #food #seafood #digital #nature #social weare increasingly focusing on examples of company leading practices• For benchmarks in an action/impact year (#finance #climate #digital), we will look to publish ororchestrate stories about leading practices and where possible, stories on how companies arechanging their practices due to being benchmarked by WBA.
• Find two institutional comms moments, aligned with the engagement efforts, to build a campaign
to repeat WBA’s message and mission.
Learning question: How can we best leverage social media to reach key stakeholders?

Measuring our progress
The following indicators in our RMF are to track our progress in positioning WBA as a well-reputed
organisation with relevant insights:• 2.5 – the number of media mentions of WBA and/or WBA benchmarks• 1.3 - % of companies included in WBA benchmarks that mention/ reference WBA and/or
WBA benchmarks in corporate communications
We are also tracking:1. The percentage of company comms departments who we establish communication (our2023 target is 5%)
2. The number of companies being mentioned alongside WBA in media (our 2023 target is20)
3. The yearly growth of social media platforms
4. The yearly growth of website sessions
5. The number thought leadership pieces in earned media in one year
6. The number of social media mentions by SDG2000 companies
Learning question: How can we ensure that our RMF indicators are able to measure our impact
appropriately?

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Research
Moving towards an integrated approach to research
In 2022, we increased the capacity of our research team and worked on ensuring our analysts had theskills needed to deliver our benchmarks. We also experimented with selectively outsourcing someworkstreams to external research partners such as CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) for our climate
benchmarks, EIRIS Foundation on the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark and Sustainometric fordata collection of the Social and Digital Transformations. By the end of 2022, we will have publishedall seven methodologies for our seven systems, making the need for an integrated approach toresearch even greater.
We will use the learnings from benchmarks that have published more than one iteration (e.g., Climate,
Digital), benchmarks that have a larger number of companies assessed (e.g., Food and Agriculture,
Financial, Nature) and benchmarks that have used external partners at a grand scale (e.g., Social) to
work towards an institutional strategy for all 2000 companies. We will explore and evaluate whether
certain parts of the research such as data collection can be consistently outsourced. At the same time,
we focus on our core capabilities such as engaging with and educating companies, providing analysis,
and insights, engaging with the private sector and promoting the methodologies as roadmaps to the
SDGs.
By ensuring a more integrated approach across the seven benchmarks, we can manage the peaks andtroughs of the workflow better, orchestrate engagement with companies that sit in different
benchmarks, better support WBA’s own engagement efforts and maximise our overall impact. During
this year, we can work toward moving away from a collection of benchmarks to an organisation thatcan deliver a constant flow of impactful research, data, and analysis on 2000 companies. This will be
key to realising our institutional strategy of Scaling, Sustaining and Strengthening.

Digitisation
As part of our integrated approach to research, we will work towards digitisation and developing toolsthat can support and ensure the delivery and publication of data based on our data management
strategy. Digitisation is key to ensuring integration of AI (Artificial Intelligence)/ machine learning
tools on data gathering and integration of external research partners as well as setting the basis for
self-assessment of the companies beyond the SDG2000. The development of tools will be decoupledfrom the production of the benchmarks and will measure impact through further adoption anddevelopment of our engagement tool.
During 2023, we will also deepen our understanding of the 2,000 keystone companies that make up
the WBA benchmarking universe. In January 2023, we will publish the updated SDG2000 to reflectchanges to the companies (such as mergers or acquisitions) and make new links to the work of ourAllies. We will also publish new insights into the collective impact of the keystone companies to help
deepen an understanding of their relevance in a way that complements the benchmarking cycles.
Moreover, we will explore new ways of visualising the SDG2000 on a dashboard that processes,
analyses and connects key data points. Our aim is to help everyone to understand how an individualcompany, as part of an industry that is nested within a system, can play a role in delivering the SDGs.

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Themes and modular approach
By the end of 2022 we will have delivered research on more than 1500 companies and have publishedseven methodologies. As we will now be sitting on a large set of data, we will work further on thethemes that can be drawn out across the seven systems, concentrating on exploring any indicatorsand topics that can run across the seven systems (e.g., Governance and Strategy or Net-zero targets).
In 2023, we will also have reviewed several additional methodologies (e.g., Financial, Food andAgriculture, Social, CHRB (Corporate Human Rights Benchmark)). We will work on distilling any
common learnings and explore the tension between a methodology which is practical and workable,
but also lives up to the ambitions of the stakeholders and pushes the bar for the private sector. Whatis the right balance between time-series analysis and an impactful methodology? Similarly, what are
we gaining and what are we losing from having common indicators that run across the 2000
companies?

Learning questions
In 2023, the Research team’s primary learning questions will be:
•

•

•
•

•

How can we organise our research so that we can deliver a flow of assessments on 2000
companies across seven systems efficiently and in a way that supports company
engagement?
How can we find the right balance between having themes and indicators that cut across all
2000 companies (e.g., climate targets) while updating our methodologies to keep them
impactful?
How can we ensure our tools are developed in a way that supports our vision of a constantflow of research across that 2000 companies and eliminates unnecessary repetitive tasks?
How can we improve our data format and delivery so that our benchmarks better support ourengagement with allies, stakeholders, investors, and policymakers?
How can we capture better our impact our work may have on communities in low-income
countries?

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Operations
PeopleIn 2023, we aim to continue our efforts to become a self-sufficient learning organisation by strengthening
our vertical development, increasing impact through performance and talent management processes, aswell as growing transparency on primary and secondary benefits.
To achieve our goals, we will continue to expand our diverse team to 110 people by the end of 2023 basedon a remote-first model with TEAL organisational principles, grounded in our values more than ever.
We continue to actively build a diverse and inclusive organisation and aim to act based on the findings of
our external consultant Darvaja, whose report will be finalised before the end of Q4 2022. These findings
will be defined based on listening sessions with staff throughout Q3 2022 as well as the 2022 Team week.

Learning and development
To prioritise continuous learning and development, we will continue strengthening how WBA optimises
collaboration and impact by creating a Learning and Development Agenda as an integral element of ourlearning platform. Learning and development will be related to skills, such as storytelling that are needed tocreate lasting impact, as well as personal leadership, based on our values (Aspirational, Inclusive,
Independent and Simple) with a particular focus on the TEAL pillars of self-management, wholeness, andevolutionary purpose. The agenda will be based on the institutional learning questions in this annual plan
as well as the personal learning questions in CSCs. Besides this, we will create some learning questions
about becoming a learning-centric organisation in 2023.

Self-setting salaries
As part of making our primary and secondary benefits more transparent and equal to create more
ownership over benefits, we will finalise and evaluate our self-managed compensation system in 2023. We
continue to improve as a self-learning organisation through the Commitment Setting Circle (CSC), where
our staff have a formal conversation with their People Lead to explore, discuss, and evaluate theircommitments toward the WBA and their growth and learning.
Further key activities include:••

Increasing number of People Leads and developing their capabilities to support performance andtalent management, through training and collective learning.
Further develop and implement our global HR Systems to automatise our repetitive HR tasks,
including further outsourcing. as well as further equalising global benefits by using an Employer ofRecord Approach, which enables employment locally everywhere to continue to build a diverse
workforce.

Learning questions
1.
2.
3.

What is needed to become or stay a global remote and inclusive organisation with fair andequal primary and secondary benefits for all?
How do we further solidify our People Leading Team, to help us grow and support our TEAL
principles?
What is a good learning agenda moving forward and what capabilities are crucial forbecoming a learning organisation?

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Finance
As the finance team plays an integral role in the organisation, it must remain integrated and active in
its planned activities to ensure the broader organisation is up to date and in tune with its finances.
To facilitate this goal in 2023, the finance team will host monthly learning moments during one of thebi-weekly walk-in sessions. This aligns with WBA’s continuous learning environment and aims toempower our colleagues by improving their financial knowledge, help facilitate decentralised decision
making and thus improve internal efficiencies. Learning topics will include budget vs forecast vs
actuals, cost vs benefit and impact, internal controls relating to travel/procurement, reimbursements,
and purchase orders.
Additionally, we will conduct a drive to review internal policies and controls to ensure they are all
relevant and updated. To facilitate decentralised and informed decision-making, a multi-level
reporting dashboard is required and must be accessible by most of our colleagues. In 2023, we aim tocreate a working model of such a dashboard which will be updated monthly and show information ata monthly and year-to-date level.
It will contain the following information:
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•
•
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Donor allocations
Benchmark allocations (Budget, Forecast and Actuals)
Overall (Budget, Forecast and Actuals)
Liquidity forecast
Liquidity Matrix

In 2023, we aim to create and facilitate a finance environment that encourages decision-making at adecentralised level, improving efficiency and effectiveness for the entire organisation.
To undergo this transition, we have identified the learning questions below:•••

How can we make finance information readily available, organisation-wide?
What should the finance dashboard look like, and what information should it contain?
How do we create meaningful and concise multi-level reports?

Finance’s proactive involvement throughout the organisation:•••

How can we utilise the quarterly resource meetings in such a way that the organisation feels
empowered, and how do we involve the broader organisation in financial decision-making?
How can we ensure that finance is integral to every conversation rather than an afterthought?
How can we make finance sound/appear less daunting to colleagues?

Using finance to facilitate the continuity and sustainability of the organisation:•••

How can we go about building and maintaining our continuity reserve?
What would our treasury management look like, and how can we implement it?
How do our internal controls contribute to the good stewardship of our resources?

Technology
The responsibility for implementing our data management strategy has been moved to Research tofacilitate the progress and speed of the development and usage of our tools (including theEngagement tool) as well as the backend, our data warehouse. As a result, technology in Operations
will focus on managing our operational technology, including laptops and software.

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By 2023, we aim to outsource our IT management, particularly for security reasons, due to growing
vulnerability as a direct result of the growth of the organisation and the increasing recognition of ourorganisation.
Back-end Technology forms a major component of that organisational support cost. This includes
developing and maintaining our open standard data warehouse and software needed to support our
Research, Operations, and Engagement staff to deliver the best possible impact while preparing
ourselves for automated interfaces with other stakeholder groups. To keep a healthy organisational
footprint, it is imperative to provide support, considering that we will be transitioning to more
automation in research work as data volumes increase.

GovernanceIn 2023, we aim to further strengthen and explore the connection between the Supervisory Board and
WBA to identify the most effective ways the Supervisory Board can support a TEAL organisation.
Through the support of the board evaluation process with Odgers Berndtson, which will begin in Q3
2022, we hope to implement critical suggestions and practices to streamline efficiency and strengthen
the strategic capacity of the Board. These will include evaluating ways to optimise the current
Research, Engagement and Operations committee structure in place as well as the creation of an ad
hoc committee for nomination and board composition.
Learning to navigate a Teal structure was a learning priority for 2022 and continues to be the leading
learning question for 2023. The further evolution of a two-tiered governance model that is both
effective and inclusive remains a priority.
Learning question: How do we balance inclusive, rapid growth whilst maintaining an appropriatequality of engagement with the Board?

Annual Plan 2023

17

Impact, Learning and Development
Establishing WBA’s Impact, Learning and Development Function
Since WBA was established, our Theory of Change has guided our work. MEL (Monitoring, Evaluationand Learning) accountabilities have been part of distinct roles. This has proven to be effective inbuilding the wider WBA “MEL” capacity. We have built a solid monitoring basis that allows us tocollect data and information (both qualitative and quantitative, formal, and informal) throughindicators in our Results Management Framework (RMF) and Quarterly Impact Journeys.

FIGURE 1: DIKW PYRAMID

To embed impact and learning more systemically and into WBA’s modus operandi, we haveestablished a dedicated Impact, Learning and Development Function. In addition to strengthening our
Measuring, Evaluation and Learning capabilities the new function will build a strong link to people
development. We believe that the organisation can only learn how to increase its impact if our people
learn, develop, and grow. This why our Lead Learning and Development will also sit in this new
function.
The Impact, Learning and Development Function will therefore focus on:
Impact and Learning

Annual Plan 2023

18

1.

Implementing WBA’s 3-tiered impact model (see figure 2) and developing the framework for
impact projects and case studies.

2.

Regular sharing of outcomes, learnings and Guiding learning activities based on quarterly
data and stories, case studies, impact projects and independent evaluations, both internallyand externally.

3.

Ensure the learning agenda facilitates decision making and resources allocation with the aim
to maximize our impact.

4.

Transparent and consistent sharing of progress, impact and learnings with donors, Allies,
and other stakeholders.

Learning and Development
5.

Driving and building capacity for learning across the organisation and its people.

Impact, Learning and Development
Managing and evolving the WBA learning agenda based on the data and insights generated by our 3tiered impact model and insights coming from our people; collected through an organisation-wide
survey, Commitment Setting Cycles and People Leads.

FIGURE 2: THREE TIER APPROACH TO MEASURING PROGRESS AND IMPACT

Annual Plan 2023

19

Activities
The case studies and impact projects will be identified throughout 2023. The learning & developmentof the organisation will focus on the development of the people leads, the newly formed executive
team and specific competencies from which the entire organisation will benefit. The latter are basedon an organisation wide survey and together with the learning questions formulated as part of thisannual plan, form the learning agenda 2023.

Recruitment
To ensure the Impact and Learning Platform is operational as of Q1 2023, we will focus on recruitment
in Q4 2022 for the following roles: Impact and Learning Lead (1 FTE), Impact Researchers (2 FTEs) and
Impact Analyst (1 FTE). The Impact and Learning Director and People Learning and Development Leadare already in position as of the 1st of October 2022.

Annual Plan 2023

20

Impact, learning and development priorities
for 2023
Learning and Monitoring and Evaluation
•
•
•
•
•

Ensure consistent and quality quantitative (RMF) and qualitative (Impact Journey) reporting
against our Theory of Change
Develop case studies for CHRB, Digital, Social, and Decarbonisation and Energy
Visualisation of RMF data, potentially supported by RMF dashboard
Start new impact project in Q3/Q4
Finalise external evaluation end 2023

Learning and development
WBA learning agenda contains a set of broad questions, both long-term as well as short-term, that
directly related to our work and personal development. Answering them will help us work more
effectively and efficiently and allows employees to grow and maximise their impact. It is a living
document that adapts to learnings over time and changing priorities and contexts. The learningquestions for 2023 are listed below (Table 1).
TABLE 1: WBA LEARNING AGENDA 2023
Learning questions
Priority learningquestions 2023
SCALING

Learning activities

Teams1) How do we
maximise company
engagement rates?

What are the most effective
strategies for increasing
company engagement
rates?

Comparison of outcomes ofdifferent engagement strategies
applied by benchmark teams
and assess effectiveness.

Research,
engagement

2) How can we
ensure alignmentand streamline
processes across thedifferent
transformations andbenchmarks?

How can we organise ourresearch so that we candeliver a flow of assessing
2,000 companies acrossseven systems, efficiently
and in a way that supports
engagement?

Workshop(s) with Research
Leads and Benchmark Leads todiscuss challenges and learnings
across benchmarks (e.g.,significant overlap between
companies included in Natureand FAB (Food and Agriculture
Benchmark)).
Indicator mapping; evaluation of
implementation of first climate
module and CSI (Core Social
Indicators).

Research,
engagement

Workshop(s) with Research Data
Lead, Data and Technology Leadand Research Leads to align tool

Research

What is the right balance
between having themes
and indicators that cut
across all 2000 companies(e.g., climate, social) while
updating our
methodologies?
How can we ensure ourtools are developed in a
way that supports ourAnnual Plan 2023

Research213) How do weensure quality andalignment whenworking withpartners?

STRENGTHENING
1) How can we
ensure maximum
relevance anduseability of our
methodologies andbenchmark results
for key
stakeholders?

2) Which levers andstakeholder actions
are most effective inchanging company
behaviour?

vision of a constant flow ofresearch across 2000
companies?
How do we coordinate andcombine research partners
and internal research toensure alignment anduniform quality?
What would be the ideal
terms for these partnerships
to maximise mutual
benefit?

usage and confirm tool
development priorities.
Evaluation of and with research
partners after benchmark
publications.

Research

Evaluation of and with research
partners after benchmark
publications.

Research

What is the role of eachstakeholder group in using
WBA evidence to engage
with companies and push
for impact? Are thererisks/opportunities toengagement specificallywith each stakeholder
group?
How can we improve ourdata format and delivery sothat our benchmarks bettersupport our engagementwith allies, stakeholders,investors, andpolicymakers?

Analysis of quarterly Impact
Journeys since Q2 2022 andidentify stakeholder groups andactions taken.

Impact,Learning andDevelopment(IL&D) Platform

Independent evaluation; focus
groups with key stakeholder
groups (e.g., companies,
investors, civil society,policymakers).

Research,comms,
engagement

How can we best leveragesocial media to reach key
stakeholders?
How have our CICs and
CoPs (Community ofPractice) efforts contributed
to improved company
performance in thebenchmarks?

Social media analysis

Comms

Use results of Digital, FAB, SSI(Seafood Stewardship Index),
CHRB and CSI to assess changes
in company performance on
CIC- and CoP-related topics;
Establish feedback loop between
CIC-members and WBA
regarding actions taken andcompany responses; Interviews
with CIC-members.
Interviews with CIC-membersand (potentially) companies.

Research,
engagement

Use benchmark results andoutcomes of stakeholder
engagement activities to identify
catalytic issues (e.g., high media
visibility, issues on which
companies score very low, issues

Research,
engagement

What CIC actions were mosteffective in driving changes
in company behaviour?
What do we identify as
catalytic issues for each of
the transformations andwhat are the most relevant
stakeholders in that space?

Annual Plan 2023

Research,
engagement223) To what extent
does strong
performance in thebenchmark cascade
through to positive
impact on people
and the planet?

4) How do we
increase visibility
among keyaudiences?

5) How do weensure quality
engagement with

Annual Plan 2023

How can we best monitor
the effects of stakeholders’actions that are informed
by WBA benchmark results?
How can we ensure ourpolicy engagement
activities actively contributeto and benefit from thetransformation specificactivities
What policy engagement
strategies are most effectivein ensuring benchmark
insights are impactful with
policy makers, taking into
account regional context?
To what extent does strong
performance in thebenchmark cascade
through supply chains andpositively impact people
and planet beyond the
keystone companies? Whatfactors influence this?

How can we capture betterthe impact our work may
have on communities in
low-income countries?
How can the thought
leadership of ourcolleagues help to position
WBA amongst our key
audiences?
How can we get companies
to communicate about
WBA and what motivatesthem to do so?
How to position
WBA/benchmarks as a core
partner in the ecosystem ofstandards, targets, anddata?

Who are the most relevant
Allies and CIC-members forcomms collaborations?

where there is little movement
over time etc.).
Focus group with Allies during
Allies Assembly 2023.

Engagement/Al
lies

Use benchmark results andoutcomes for policy
recommendations. Strategy
sessions between policy teamand transformation teams

Engagement/
PolicyUse the policy tracker as guiding
tool for reviewing effectiveness,outcome harvesting sessions
with policy team to capture
impact stories for the quarterly
impact journey.
Case studies focused on Digital,
FAB, SSI, CHRB and CSI to create
better understanding of how
companies impact people,
workers, communities, and theenvironment; use IKEA supply
chain project insights and start
two impact projects focused on
topics relevant to multiple
benchmarks.
Outcomes IKEA supply chain
project,Engagement/
Policy(Social) media analysis

Comms

Analysis of corporate press
releases; monitoring social
media mentions by companies.

Comms

Proactively discussing with data
platforms and investor service
providers to assess both how WBA
methodologies and assessments
are currently used and how they
can be further embedded into
these actors' activities

Engagement

Mapping Allies for potential
collaborations. End-of-year
internal evaluation ofEngagement/C
omms

Research23

the Alliance and key
stakeholders?

How do we promote andmake possible intra-Alliancepartnerships in practicalways, encourage cocreation and Allies taking‘ownership’ of someelements of the Alliance?
How can we ensure quality
engagement with our
Board?

What value do funders getfrom working with WBA?

SUSTAINING
1) How do weensure systemic
integration of ourdata and results by
the UN and its
member states?

Annual Plan 2023

What are the most effective
UN ‘entry points’ for WBA
and each of thetransformations/benchmarks?
Which UN Agencies,
multilateral bodies andMember States could
potentially support or resist
to WBA’s sustaining
agenda.
What are the most relevant
channels for connectingwith relevant audiences in
the multilateral system?
How can we position our
methodologies andbenchmarks as a reference

collaborations with Allies or CIC
members (e.g., for press release,social media campaign, video orother medium).
Taking stock of intra-Alliancepartnerships so far, discussion
with Allies’ during Allies’
assembly 2023

Engagement/Al
lianceBoard evaluation processincluding updated committee
structure by 2023, monthly email
updates, key strategic
discussions in quarterly
meetings instead of general
information sessions, Q4
meeting in person in
Amsterdam.
Regular meetings to discuss,exchange and obtain insights on
programmatic developments,
our reporting and progress, andsystemic thinking. Engage themwith WBA's broader work andmap their priorities andinterests. Strengthen feedback
loops on their portfolio
priorities, and corporate
accountability strategies. Accessto networks.

Operations

Mapping of UN Agencies,
multilateral bodies, and Member
States and their openness toengage with WBA

Engagement,
PolicyMapping of UN Agencies,
multilateral bodies, and Member
States.

Engagement,
PolicyIdentify which channels are
currently used by UN and its
member states

Engagement,
PolicyIdentify opportunities with UN
Agencies and actors whichenable us to position

Engagement/P
olicy

Fundraising24

LEARNING
1) What does itmean to be alearning
organisation?

Annual Plan 2023

point for regulatory
developments?

methodologies and benchmarks
as a reference point

What is needed to becomeor stay a globally remote
and inclusive learningorganisation?
How do we solidify ourPeople Leading team tohelp us grow and support
our TEAL principles?
What capabilities are crucial
for becoming a learningorganisation?
How can the Learning andDevelopment Agenda give
guidance and connect toone’s own responsibilities
for learning?

Independent evaluation 2023

IL&D Platform

Assess People Lead capabilities
and identify gaps inperformance and talentmanagement.
Independent evaluation 2023

IL&D Platform

Interviews with key employees

IL&D Platform

IL&D Platform

25

Budget and funding
Budget structure and rational
In 2022, we have adopted a 24-month budget cycle, which aligns with the two-year cycles for thebenchmarks. We’ve also incorporated quarterly forecasting cycles and Quarterly Resource Allocation
meetings to allow us the agility to act proactively toward meeting organisational needs and closing
the funding gap.
The Quarterly Resource Allocation meetings are solution-driven moments, where the Finance meetswith the Funding team, Executive Directors and Transformation Leads to review the quarterly results
and make decisions on the short-medium term requirements of the organisation, and how they will
be met. These events and actions allow the organisation to produce more accurate results and propel
us into further stability and sustainability.
This move has encouraged active participation, by the Transformation Leads, in the budgeting andforecasting process, with a specific focus on the allocation of resources to activities. The benchmarks
and associated activities are the core of WBA, and thus, form the core of the budget structure.

•

Total salaries and wages (Research, Engagement, Communication)• An FTE rate is used to assign people to Benchmarks through their activities within
the respective benchmarks• All people-and team-related costs are included into the FTE rate
• FTE Rate, includes direct costs, such as salaries and indirect costs, such as
recruitment and personal technology• FTE Rate includes the salaries of the indirect people e.g., the research director’ssalary is split amongst all research people.

•

Total outreach and communication• Other expenses are assigned to Benchmarks based on activities• Costs related to activities (round tables / reports / publishing of benchmarks)•

Total benchmark operations• Team related tooling such as engagement tool or administrative tools• Downstream partners, research partners and other consultants. These are all costs ofactivities that are directly attributable to the Benchmarks.

•

Organisational Support• Consists only of indirect costs, including Finance, Technology and HR (Human
Resources) teams• Supervisory Board expenses• Audit, legal & HR consultancy• Housing and Office expenses

Organisational Support is more than overhead as it also includes activities that overarch across alltransformations and those that needed to be centralised for them to be attributable to the activitiesof the benchmarks.

Annual Plan 2023

26

Most communication expenses are part of the benchmark budgets, but items such as the annual
report require an overarching budget. In addition, whilst other directors have been divided in the FTE
rate and are directly allocated to the benchmarks, the Operations Director is fully allocated toOrganisational support while still being part of the Executive Board.
In 2023, we aim for a maximum of 13% organisational support added to the benchmark costs.

2023 Budget
The budget for 2023 symbolises the end of an early growth period and represents the transition of
the organisation from a toddler stage to steadier growth.
It emphasises the advancement of our impact and learning portfolio, transitioning to morecollaborative research work, rethinking the organisation’s structure, and employing technology to
improve our efficiency.
The budget is best illustrated by the table on the next page.

FIGURE 1: WBA BUDGET 2023

Annual Plan 2023

27

Annual Plan 2023

28

FIGURE 4: 2023 BUDGET BY CATEGORY

2023 Budget by category€ 10000 000€ 9397 667€ 9000 000€ 8000 000€ 7000 000€ 6000 000€ 5000 000€ 3820 535€ 4000 000€ 3000 000€ 1336 344€ 2000 000€ 536 378

€ 1000 000€ 0Salaries and Wages

Outreach andcommunication

Research partners

Organisational
supportFundraising ambition towards 2024
To deliver our core strategy structured around scaling, strengthening, and sustaining, we need to
grow to an annual budget of approximately €15 million by 2024. Our ambition is 70% of this funding
will be institutional funding (€10 to €11 million). We refer to institutional funding when we have theflexibility to allocate across different areas of the organisation, when it’s unrestricted or earmarked forthree or more transformations. We anticipate needing a coalition of five to seven core funders toprovide the €10 - €11 million.
We aim to secure the remaining 30% (€4 to €5 million) of our funding based on grants that areallocated to one or two transformations. While this transformational funding will be largely restricted,
we believe there is room for one or two more strategic funding partners per transformation.

Fundraising targets for 2023
We are set to start 2023 with a commitment of €11 113 354, of which € 4 846 663 are from private
funders and € 6 266 691 are from government funders. Our funding gap for 2023 as it stands isapproximately €4 million.
Maintaining the relationship with existing funders is our number one priority, and we, therefore, seek
to deepen the relationship with our current funders in 2023 by:•

Keeping our funders abreast of developments across WBA to broaden their depth ofknowledge of WBA’s work.

•

Understanding their evolving needs and adapt our offerings accordingly.

•

Organising four virtual funders synergy hubs.

•

Organising in-person events during key international events such as UNGA and WEF Davos.

•

Hosting monthly or bi-monthly calls with each funder individually.

Annual Plan 2023

29•

Holding annual reflection meetings to identify where we can further leverage the partnership.

•

Identifying ways in which WBA can amplify their portfolio’s objectives through network
introductions or tailored workshop sessions.

•Meeting contractual reporting obligations and proactively engaging with them beyond ourreporting scope to inform of our progress toward achieving our Theory of Change.

To further strengthen the coalition and close the €4 million funding gap for 2023, WBA will seek toengage with five new funders from our philanthropic and governmental funding pipeline. Additionally,
with a lens, we will endeavour to tap into and connect with individual philanthropists through our
networks. As we advance, we aim to secure 50% of our funding from government partners, to ensure
a balance between public and philanthropic sources remains. At the same time, we will use 2023 togrow our funding pipeline with new proposals for existing funders and by starting funding
conversations with eight new funders that might join the coalition in 2024.
Experience has taught us that the most effective way to grow our funding pipeline is through referrals
from existing donors (particularly for philanthropic organisations) and by building policy relationships(particularly for governments).
We target new funders that can meet the following criteria:•

Provide a minimum of €250,000/year opportunities or have the ability and intent to grow tosuch a funding commitment.

•

Can commit to multi-year partnerships.

•

Are willing to become an active partner by working with our data, contribute throughexpertise, foster collaboration between their networks, Allies, and the broader ecosystem
and/or provide engagement opportunities and platforms.

•

Enhance our credibility and legitimacy in the ecosystem and do not compromise our
independence and impartiality.

Learning questions:
•
•
•
•
•
•

What value do funders get from working with WBA beyond the agreed deliverables?
What value do funders get from being part of the funder's coalition?
What does it take for a funder to publicly advocate our work and mission?
What does a funder need to move from restricted to unrestricted funding?
How do we cultivate relationship with High-Net-Worth Individuals and Family Offices?
How do we become and remain relevant to our funders?

Annual Plan 2023

30

AnnexAnnex 1: Closing the Corporate Accountability Gap - WBA Strategy
2022-2026
Annex 2: Social Strategy
Annex 3 Financial Systems Strategy
Annex 4: Decarbonisation and Energy Strategy
Annex 5: Nature Strategy
Annex 6: Food and Agriculture Strategy
Annex 7: Digital Strategy
Annex 8 Urban Strategy
Annex 9: Communications Strategy 2022-2026
Annex 10: Data Management Strategy

Annual Plan 2023

31

Climate Arc

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Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit:www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

DISCLAIMER
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Annual Plan 2023

32