The Impact Challenge

Reframing Sustainability for Businesses

Are businesses ready to deliver both financial outcomes and positive social benefits?

How can short-term organizational behaviors be aligned with long-term sustainability commitments?

Integrating sustainability into organizational strategy enables faster adoption of social, environmental and governance metrics that generate lasting enterprise value. But doing so inevitably runs up against data challenges that must be overcome.

This book is a guide to systemic innovation that readers can leverage to design corporate sustainability efforts in a programmatic and intentional way.


“A playbook focused on reshaping business and economic practices in the 21st century.” Kirkus Reviews

First in the new Impactful Data Science series by Taylor and Francis, The Impact Challenge:

  • Defines a toolkit to generate sustainable business value by focusing on the organizational design underpinning sustainability-oriented initiatives.
  • Provides a multidisciplinary lens on shaping the impact dialogue through applied frameworks.
  • Discusses the need to analytically identify an organizational learning curve before developing impact targets and framing sustainability commitments around them.
  • Combines theory and practice in a practical style by presenting a variety of real-life applications at a global level.

If as a student or a practitioner you are committed to delivering both positive financial and positive societal outcomes in your organization and doing so systematically and sustainably, The Impact Challenge is the book you’ve been waiting for.

Order your copy today...

For scholars, students and academic staff, The Impact Challenge is available through many universities. Click here for a growing list

Looking for a good book or two to dig into this summer? Now in its tenth year, the Summer Reading

The Impact Challenge featured in Stanford Magazine Authors’ Showcase 2022 Summer Reading List

Innovation is central to reframing successful sustainability roadmaps for businesses. Interested in learning more about Digital Product Passports (DPPs)?Over the

Innovation Spotlight: Digital Product Passports (DPPs)

For the sustainability leader operating at the top, middle, or bottom of the organization, The Impact Challenge :

  • Equips you with frameworks. Access to applied frameworks through the lens of practitioners will help you to map the impact journey that your organization faces.
  • Highlights the role of data. The art and science behind unveiling patterns in data is what will make the learning experience lasting and rewarding for your teams.
  • Looks into the future. It explores what lies beyond pledges and how each of us can contribute directly to make the impact challenge an opportunity.

Download a Free Preview

Also note that the Open Access version of this book, available on the publisher's website, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Meet the Author

Alessia Falsarone

Alessia Falsarone

Author + Educator

ALESSIA FALSARONE is an award winning author and sustainable finance expert who discovered her passion for the science of impact while studying mathematics at Stanford University. Her work bridges the gap between sustainability, financial innovation and risk taking behaviors. In recognition of her innovative vision for business and society, she is the recipient of the 2019 Honoree Award from the Women’s Venture Fund and the 2021 Global Leadership Award by the SheInspires Foundation in the UK. A fellow of the Aspen Institute, she is an avid advocate of the role of impact science in business education, contributing to educational initiatives on the topic in the US, Asia Pacific and Latin America.

Praise from around the world

Paul Ellis

The Impact Challenge is an exceptionally clear and detailed review of where sustainable business modeling and learning has come from and how it is developing during the 21st Century. From my point of view as a consultant to financial advisory practices on ESG investment strategy integration this is a must read.

Paul Ellis

ESG CONSULTANT, HOST, THE SUSTAINABLE FINANCE PODCAST, USA

Tun Kim Ong

Very informative and thorough, well researched with facts, references, in-depth reviews, interviews, and company level assessments. I like how “The Learning Journey” and the “Technical Notes” are organized at the end of each chapter. The checklist, pointers, questions help the reader to pause and reflect. This is a book with rich contents and great learning for many.

Tun Kim Ong

GENERAL MANAGER AND SUPPLY CHAIN LEADER, SINGAPORE

Kathryn Buis

The Impact Challenge is a true example of knowledge mobilization for ESG impact driven decision makers and those looking to elaborate on their existing data science for impact skills set. Readers will be better equipped to measure and validate impact through a variety of analytical methods for various ESG topics including: environmental, diversity and inclusion and human rights. A must read among Environmental and Social Governance market entrants and seasoned veterans.

Kathryn Buis

HEALTHCARE BANKING AND PRIVATE WEALTH DIRECTOR, CANADA

Sachio Nishioka

The book introduces useful checklists which give a reader practical steps to implementing it as a design driven organization. I would highly recommend it to anyone which deals with sustainability and the implementation towards businesses. It gives great guidance to implement in a practical way.

Sachio Nishioka

STRATEGIC GROWTH AND INNOVATION LEADER, JAPAN

Pierluigi Pace

I believe it is important to focus on data on all dimensions, which make it possible to measure sustainable impact and report it in full transparency. In this book, I find the analytical perspective that I consider primary for anyone who really wants to approach the "Impact Challenge", in a profit or non-profit context it doesn't matter. The cultural / organizational learning aspect is also fundamental in my opinion. Professionally I really appreciated the learning through gamification that the book indicates as a possible approach: it is one of the use cases that I also propose as a concrete and usable approach in the context of business transformation.

Pierluigi Pace

PRINCIPAL STRATEGIST AND TECHNOLOGIST, ITALY

Ready to help define the impact journey of a business and deliver positive, sustainable outcomes for your organization and for society at large?

Order your copy of The Impact Challenge  today.

Front and Back 3d render
For scholars, students and academic staff, The Impact Challenge is available through many universities. Click here for a growing list