That brings us to a third pathway to impact: directly exerting traction on national governments.
Schools cannot impact directly on poverty but they can reduce the impact of poverty.
This season, a lack of European football will impact directly on their income.
"The power centers are seeing the impact directly," said Jim Sullivan, an analyst at Green Street Advisors.
The sheer scale of reputational risk and its potential to impact directly on a brand's business performance means doing nothing is not an option.
I've heard from renewable energy investors that negative comments from senior politicians on going green impact directly on their ability to raise funds for investment in the UK".
But it's not like being out there on the field and then being able to have an impact directly on the game.
I hope that agreement reached in Samoa will impact directly on the secretary general's climate change summit in New York on 23 September.
I find that as the year progresses, my students become increasingly reluctant to engage in any academic behaviour that does not impact directly on their assignment grade.
This seems illogical and ethically faulty, given that businesses impact directly on their immediate vicinity in terms of traffic, car parking, noise and litter.
Paul Davis looks at how design fundamentals and the effects of pump wear impact directly on energy costs.
