Wavestone and Impact France to explore a new dimension of impact measurement
September 12, 2025 · News
In brief
The imperative to monetize positive impact
Companies today face a complex equation if they wish to remain viable over the long term: reconciling economic competitiveness with sustainability requirements. In this context, and as long-term resilience increasingly depends on the ability to anticipate non-financial risks, objectifying impact performance and integrating it into overall strategy has become essential.
For the past four years, Impact France, alongside expert and academic partners, has been working to redefine the criteria that determine business success beyond traditional financial indicators.
A new dimension of impact measurement: assessing the avoided costs of strategies that limit negative impacts
In this fifth consecutive year, and in a context of ecological backlash, the aim is to reaffirm that companies’ social and environmental commitments are not waning but rather gaining strength. Far from being a constraint, integrating ESG impact—through avoided costs—into business models should be seen as a driver of overall performance.
The objective of the new study led by Wavestone is to broaden the scope of analysis beyond impact-driven companies and explore the financial valuation of strategies that limit negative externalities, based on the calculation of avoided costs.
Co-led by Mouvement Impact France and Wavestone, a panel of six companies (Harmonie Mutuelle, Veolia, Sogaris, BEL, L’Occitane, La Poste) are the subject of concrete case studies covering various impact dimensions: carbon footprint, environmental footprint, and inclusive HR policies.
Combining expert insights and field feedback from the panel companies, the need to build a common language for impact measurement has emerged as essential to enable broader adoption of these methods. The study, announced at the Universités de l’Économie de Demain held on August 29, is scheduled for publication at the end of 2025.
The entire economic environment is already being led—partly by regulation—to account for the environmental and social costs generated by its activities. Supporting the valuation and dissemination of this integrated performance will only strengthen our model, which combines competitiveness and sustainability.
This partnership with Impact France reflects Wavestone’s commitment to actively contribute to collective strategic thinking, in addition to supporting companies in their sustainable transformations. We firmly believe that CSR is a key driver of long-term value creation—for both businesses and society. Through this exploratory study on avoided costs, we aim to enrich peer discussions on impact and equip companies to better understand and value the tangible outcomes of their commitments.”
