W+ Standard Verification Information Webinar Liz Allen & Lisa - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

W+ Standard Verification Information Webinar

Liz Allen & Lisa McMullan Social Audit Network May 2019

Webinar hosts, SAN Directors

Liz Allen

• Social enterprise, corporate social

responsibility, business planning and all things social impact

• Director at The Connectives
• linkedin profile

Lisa McMullan

• Women’s entrepreneurship,

enterprise education, social enterprise and social impact

• Director at The Women's Organisation
• linkedin profile

Prove! – demonstrate and report on social, environmental and economic performance and impact… Improve! – use the information for planning future actions and improving performance Account! – be accountable to all those you work with and work for…

Webinar aims

• To raise awareness and understanding of the W+ Standard
• To share information about the W+ Standard Verification process
• To build a network of interested parties
• To invite expressions of interest to become a SAN approved W+

Standard Verifier

What is W+?

• A standard that can be applied to projects supporting the economic

and social development of women

• A methodology to measure progress on women’s empowerment
• A means of compensating for women’s unpaid work
• A chance to support communities in developing countries
• Developed by WOCAN

What is W+?

The W+ measures women’s empowerment in 6 domains:

• 1. Time
• 2. Income & Assets
• 3. Health
• 4. Leadership
• 5. Education & Knowledge
• 6. Food Security

Why do we need a standard?

• WOCAN created the W+ Standard to:
• measure the impact of projects and investments on women’s empowerment
• accelerate investments in women - particularly women’s groups
• address persistent gaps in women's access to resources and capital and scale

up solutions to climate change, food security and poverty

W+ Verification

• Independent verification provided by SAN
• Review
• Project Idea Note
• Project Design Document
• Monitoring Report
• Site visits to establish
• What has been achieved?
• How much change has happened in the lives of the women?
• Can we see evidence of their empowerment?

Underpinned by SAN principles…

1. Clarify purpose 2. Define scope 3. Engage stakeholders 4. Determine materiality 5. Make comparisons 6. Be transparent 7. Verify accounts 8. Embed the process

W+ benefits

• It produces quantified women-benefit units that contribute towards

post 2015 Sustainability Goals (SDGs), Climate Financing or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) targets.

• Demonstrating commitment to women’s empowerment
• Evidencing of impact; individual woman and community levels
• Engaging & consulting women as key stakeholders
• Improving & informing future activities
• Being accountable

Associated Standards

• VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) that can now have a W+ label
• SD VISTA certification of VERRA (the same organization as that of

VCS): the W+ is going to become the mechanism to measure SDG 5

• GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network) – Gender Lens Investing

Initiative - has asked to include the W+ in their Impact Toolkit

Examples

• Ouarzazate, Morocco – sheep farming co-operative
• Kavre & Sindhuli, Nepal – biogas units
• Lombok, Indonesia – biogas units
• Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam – financial education

Morocco sheep farming co-operative

Indonesian Biogas

Biogas Unit

Vietnam – financial education programme

Next Steps – becoming a SAN W+ Standard Verifier

• Learning programme
• In person and online options
• Next opportunity: online programme; 4 x sessions in July 2019 with portfolio

to be submitted in September 2019

• Anticipated cost per place circa £500 GBP
• Opportunity to participate in verification process
• Lead a verification process

Interested?

info@socialauditnetwork.org.uk

ANY QUESTIONS?

Thank you

• info@socialauditnetwork.org.uk