Industry Comparison

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Current language: English (2023)

You are viewing information about the following Industries:

  • Oil & Gas – Refining & Marketing Oil & Gas - Refining & Marketing (R&M) entities refine petroleum products, market oil and gas products, or operate gas stations, all of which comprise the downstream operations of the oil and gas value chain. The types of refinery products and crude oil inputs influence the complexity of the refining process used, with varied expenditure needs and intensity of environmental and social impacts.
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  • Household & Personal Products Household & Personal Products industry entities manufacture a wide range of goods for personal and commercial consumption, including cosmetics, household and industrial cleaning supplies, soaps and detergents, sanitary paper products, household batteries, razors and kitchen utensils. Household and personal products entities operate globally and typically sell their products to mass merchants, grocery stores, membership club stores, drug stores, high-frequency stores, distributors and e-commerce retailers. Some entities sell products through independent representatives rather than third-party retail establishments.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (11 of 26)

Why are some issues greyed out? The SASB Standards vary by industry based on the different sustainability-related risks and opportunities within an industry. The issues in grey were not identified during the standard-setting process as the most likely to be useful to investors, so they are not included in the Standard. Over time, as the ISSB continues to receive market feedback, some issues may be added or removed from the Standard. Each company determines which sustainability-related risks and opportunities are relevant to its business. The Standard is designed for the typical company in an industry, but individual companies may choose to report on different sustainability-related risks and opportunities based on their unique business model.

Disclosure Topics

What is the relationship between General Issue Category and Disclosure Topics? The General Issue Category is an industry-agnostic version of the Disclosure Topics that appear in each SASB Standard. Disclosure topics represent the industry-specific impacts of General Issue Categories. The industry-specific Disclosure Topics ensure each SASB Standard is tailored to the industry, while the General Issue Categories enable comparability across industries. For example, Health & Nutrition is a disclosure topic in the Non-Alcoholic Beverages industry, representing an industry-specific measure of the general issue of Customer Welfare. The issue of Customer Welfare, however, manifests as the Counterfeit Drugs disclosure topic in the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals industry.
  • Oil & Gas – Refining & Marketing Remove
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    • GHG Emissions The category addresses direct (Scope 1) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that a company generates through its operations. This includes GHG emissions from stationary (e.g., factories, power plants) and mobile sources (e.g., trucks, delivery vehicles, planes), whether a result of combustion of fuel or non-combusted direct releases during activities such as natural resource extraction, power generation, land use, or biogenic processes. The category further includes management of regulatory risks, environmental compliance, and reputational risks and opportunities, as they related to direct GHG emissions. The seven GHGs covered under the Kyoto Protocol are included within the category—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
      • Greenhouse Gas Emissions Refining & Marketing (R&M) operations generate significant direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from a variety of sources. Emissions primarily consist of carbon dioxide and methane from stationary fossil fuel combustion for energy supply. Energy costs are a significant share of refinery operating costs. GHGs also are released from process emissions, fugitive emissions resulting from leaks, emissions from venting and flaring, and from non-routine events such as equipment maintenance. The energy intensity of production, and therefore the GHG emissions intensity, can vary significantly depending on the type of crude oil feedstock used and refined product specifications. Entities that cost-effectively reduce GHG emissions from their operations may capture operational efficiencies. Such reductions also may mitigate the effects of increased fuel costs from regulations that limit—or put a price on—GHG emissions.
    • Air Quality The category addresses management of air quality impacts resulting from stationary (e.g., factories, power plants) and mobile sources (e.g., trucks, delivery vehicles, planes) as well as industrial emissions. Relevant airborne pollutants include, but are not limited to, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals, particulate matter, and chlorofluorocarbons. The category does not include GHG emissions, which are addressed in a separate category.
      • Air Quality Non-greenhouse gas (GHG) air emissions from Refining & Marketing (R&M) operations include air pollutants, which can create significant and localised environmental or health risks. Specific emissions of concern include sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen sulphide, particulate matter and VOCs. Releases occur from stationary combustion sources, storage vessels, flares and equipment leaks, and may also occur because of accidents. Human health impacts and financial consequences may be exacerbated the closer a facility is to population centres. Active management of the issue—through technological and process improvements—may allow entities to mitigate the effect of regulations and benefit from operational efficiencies that could result in reduced costs.
    • Water & Wastewater Management The category addresses a company’s water use, water consumption, wastewater generation, and other impacts of operations on water resources, which may be influenced by regional differences in the availability and quality of and competition for water resources. More specifically, it addresses management strategies including, but not limited to, water efficiency, intensity, and recycling. Lastly, the category also addresses management of wastewater treatment and discharge, including groundwater and aquifer pollution.
      • Water Management Refineries can use large quantities of water depending on their size and refining process complexity. This water use exposes them to the risk of water scarcity, depending on their location, and related costs. Extraction of water from water-stressed regions or water contamination also may create tensions with local communities. Refinery operations require wastewater treatment and disposal, often via on-site wastewater treatment plants before discharge. Reducing water use and contamination through recycling and other water management strategies may permit entities to capture operational efficiencies and reduce operating costs. They also could minimise regulatory, water supply shortages and community-related disruptions on operations.
    • Waste & Hazardous Materials Management The category addresses environmental issues associated with hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated by companies. It addresses a company’s management of solid wastes in manufacturing, agriculture, and other industrial processes. It covers treatment, handling, storage, disposal, and regulatory compliance. The category does not cover emissions to air or wastewater nor does it cover waste from end-of-life of products, which are addressed in separate categories.
      • Hazardous Materials Management As a by-product of their operations, Refining & Marketing (R&M) entities generate various forms of waste derived from the processing of petroleum products. Many of these substances are hazardous to human health and the environment and may be subject to regulation. Remediation of inactive or decommissioned sites may take many years to complete, and entities may accrue liabilities for past operations. Hazardous substance releases from underground storage tanks (USTs) used by refining facilities and gas stations can affect land redevelopment for abandoned or closed facilities. Spills and releases during operations can result in groundwater contamination and other negative impacts. R&M entities that reduce and recycle hazardous waste streams, as well as those that have effective and prompt clean-up and remediation measures in place for normal operations and decommissioned facilities, may reduce regulatory and litigation risks and associated costs.
    • Product Quality & Safety The category addresses issues involving unintended characteristics of products sold or services provided that may create health or safety risks to end-users. It addresses a company’s ability to offer manufactured products and/or services that meet customer expectations with respect to their health and safety characteristics. It includes, but is not limited to, issues involving liability, management of recalls and market withdrawals, product testing, and chemicals/content/ingredient management in products.
      None
    • Employee Health & Safety The category addresses a company’s ability to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace environment that is free of injuries, fatalities, and illness (both chronic and acute). It is traditionally accomplished through implementing safety management plans, developing training requirements for employees and contractors, and conducting regular audits of their own practices as well as those of their subcontractors. The category further captures how companies ensure physical and mental health of workforce through technology, training, corporate culture, regulatory compliance, monitoring and testing, and personal protective equipment.
      • Workforce Health & Safety Hazards associated with the operations of entities in the Refining & Marketing (R&M) industry may present risks to employee health and safety. Such hazards include the handling and processing of hydrocarbons, frequently at high temperatures and pressures during refining operations. Accidents or inadvertent exposures to chemicals and other hazards such as heat or noise may result in fatalities, severe injuries or illnesses. Releases of hydrocarbons or other hazardous substances resulting from accidents or leaks also can have negative consequences for neighbouring communities. An entity’s ability to protect employee health and safety, and to create a culture of safety and well-being among employees at all levels, can help prevent accidents, mitigate costs and operational downtime, and enhance workforce productivity.
    • Product Design & Lifecycle Management The category addresses incorporation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in characteristics of products and services provided or sold by the company. It includes, but is not limited to, managing the lifecycle impacts of products and services, such as those related to packaging, distribution, use-phase resource intensity, and other environmental and social externalities that may occur during their use-phase or at the end of life. The category captures a company’s ability to address customer and societal demand for more sustainable products and services as well as to meet evolving environmental and social regulation. It does not address direct environmental or social impacts of the company’s operations nor does it address health and safety risks to consumers from product use, which are covered in other categories.
      • Product Specifications & Clean Fuel Blends Some regulatory jurisdictions have implemented product specifications and renewable fuel blends, which pose significant compliance and operational risks for Refining & Marketing (R&M) entities. Entities may face long-term reductions in revenue from fossil fuel-based products and services because of GHG mitigation policies such as renewable fuel mandates or standards, as well as competition from non-fossil fuel products. To ensure regulatory compliance and position themselves for long-term competitiveness, some entities are investing in clean fuel production or purchasing ethanol and other renewable biofuels. Advanced biofuels and fuel technologies have lower lifecycle impacts than traditional biofuels, and they can be used to minimise future regulatory risks and public pressure. Although short-term costs to find commercially viable technologies can be significant, investments in R&D for such technologies could serve to support R&M entities’ long-term profitability.
    • Supply Chain Management The category addresses management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks within a company’s supply chain. It addresses issues associated with environmental and social externalities created by suppliers through their operational activities. Such issues include, but are not limited to, environmental responsibility, human rights, labour practices, and ethics and corruption. Management may involve screening, selection, monitoring, and engagement with suppliers on their environmental and social impacts. The category does not address the impacts of external factors – such as climate change and other environmental and social factors – on suppliers’ operations and/or on the availability and pricing of key resources, which is covered in a separate category.
      None
    • Competitive Behaviour The category covers social issues associated with existence of monopolies, which may include, but are not limited to, excessive prices, poor quality of service, and inefficiencies. It addresses a company’s management of legal and social expectation around monopolistic and anti-competitive practices, including issues related to bargaining power, collusion, price fixing or manipulation, and protection of patents and intellectual property (IP).
      • Pricing Integrity & Transparency Regulators are responsible for overseeing issues related to pricing integrity and transparency, which includes the potential for market manipulation by oil and gas entities, including Refining & Marketing (R&M) entities. Regulatory agencies focusing on refineries may investigate various competitive factors, including capacity utilisation and refinery maintenance decisions, product supply decisions, product margins, and capital planning, creating uncertainty regarding future enforcement. The focus of enforcement actions also may include prices reported to price index publishers, as well as potential price distortions through trading positions in physical transactions, and through swaps, futures and derivatives. Maintaining market integrity and ensuring transparency in product pricing can therefore reduce regulatory risks and liabilities for R&M entities and protect consumers from unfair pricing.
    • Management of the Legal & Regulatory Environment The category addresses a company’s approach to engaging with regulators in cases where conflicting corporate and public interests may have the potential for long-term adverse direct or indirect environmental and social impacts. The category addresses a company’s level of reliance upon regulatory policy or monetary incentives (such as subsidies and taxes), actions to influence industry policy (such as through lobbying), overall reliance on a favorable regulatory environment for business competitiveness, and ability to comply with relevant regulations. It may relate to the alignment of management and investor views of regulatory engagement and compliance at large.
      • Management of the Legal & Regulatory Environment The Refining & Marketing (R&M) industry is subject to numerous sustainability-related regulations and an often rapidly changing regulatory environment. Changes to the legal and regulatory environment may result in material effects on shareholder value. Entities in the industry regularly participate in the regulatory and legislative process on a wide variety of environmental and societal issues. Such engagement can result from entities seeking to ensure industry views are represented in the development of regulations affecting the industry as well as to represent shareholder interests. At the same time, such engagement to influence environmental laws and regulations may adversely affect entities’ reputations and ultimately affect an entity’s social licence to operate.
    • Critical Incident Risk Management The category addresses the company’s use of management systems and scenario planning to identify, understand, and prevent or minimize the occurrence of low-probability, high-impact accidents and emergencies with significant potential environmental and social externalities. It relates to the culture of safety at a company, its relevant safety management systems and technological controls, the potential human, environmental, and social implications of such events occurring, and the long-term effects to an organization, its workers, and society should these events occur.
      • Critical Incident Risk Management The operations of Refining & Marketing (R&M) entities are often characterised by a high number of hazards, including the handling of flammable, volatile substances, the use of highly reactive chemicals, and the processing of fluids at high temperature and pressure. Accidental releases of hydrocarbons or other hazardous substances can have significant consequences for an entity’s workforce, as well as external social and environmental consequences. In addition to effective process safety management practices, entities frequently prioritise developing a culture of safety to reduce the probability that accidents and other health and safety incidents will occur. If accidents and other emergencies do occur, entities with a strong safety culture often can detect and respond effectively to such incidents. A culture that engages and empowers employees and contractors to work with management to safeguard their own health, safety and well-being and prevent accidents may help entities reduce production downtime, mitigate costs, ensure workforce productivity and maintain their licence to operate.
  • Household & Personal Products Remove
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    • GHG Emissions The category addresses direct (Scope 1) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that a company generates through its operations. This includes GHG emissions from stationary (e.g., factories, power plants) and mobile sources (e.g., trucks, delivery vehicles, planes), whether a result of combustion of fuel or non-combusted direct releases during activities such as natural resource extraction, power generation, land use, or biogenic processes. The category further includes management of regulatory risks, environmental compliance, and reputational risks and opportunities, as they related to direct GHG emissions. The seven GHGs covered under the Kyoto Protocol are included within the category—carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
      None
    • Air Quality The category addresses management of air quality impacts resulting from stationary (e.g., factories, power plants) and mobile sources (e.g., trucks, delivery vehicles, planes) as well as industrial emissions. Relevant airborne pollutants include, but are not limited to, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals, particulate matter, and chlorofluorocarbons. The category does not include GHG emissions, which are addressed in a separate category.
      None
    • Water & Wastewater Management The category addresses a company’s water use, water consumption, wastewater generation, and other impacts of operations on water resources, which may be influenced by regional differences in the availability and quality of and competition for water resources. More specifically, it addresses management strategies including, but not limited to, water efficiency, intensity, and recycling. Lastly, the category also addresses management of wastewater treatment and discharge, including groundwater and aquifer pollution.
      • Water Management Water is vital to the Household & Personal Products industry, both as a coolant in manufacturing processes and as a main input for many of the industry’s products. Water is becoming a scarce resource around the world because of population growth and increasing consumption, rapid urbanisation, and declining supplies because of subsurface aquifer depletion, drought and climate change. Many entities in this industry have operations in regions of the world facing water scarcity. Without careful planning, entities could face increased costs or lose water access in these regions, which may be a risk to production. Having rigorous checks in place to ensure a steady supply of water to all factories, as well as investing in technology to increase water use efficiency, will help entities reduce water-related risks as water scarcity becomes an increasingly global issue.
    • Waste & Hazardous Materials Management The category addresses environmental issues associated with hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated by companies. It addresses a company’s management of solid wastes in manufacturing, agriculture, and other industrial processes. It covers treatment, handling, storage, disposal, and regulatory compliance. The category does not cover emissions to air or wastewater nor does it cover waste from end-of-life of products, which are addressed in separate categories.
      None
    • Product Quality & Safety The category addresses issues involving unintended characteristics of products sold or services provided that may create health or safety risks to end-users. It addresses a company’s ability to offer manufactured products and/or services that meet customer expectations with respect to their health and safety characteristics. It includes, but is not limited to, issues involving liability, management of recalls and market withdrawals, product testing, and chemicals/content/ingredient management in products.
      • Product Environmental, Health and Safety Performance The Household & Personal Products industry faces consumer and regulatory scrutiny over the use of chemicals of concern, which have been linked to adverse effects on human health and the environment. These chemicals include persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances and carcinogenic, mutagen or teratogenic chemicals. Isolating and determining causal channels for negative impacts on health and the environment is difficult, which often results in a significant delay between a product’s market introduction and the point at which regulation or public opinion demands entities in the industry to reformulate harmful chemicals. Applicable jurisdictional laws and regulations place restrictions on, or suggest alternatives to, the use of harmful chemicals within the industry. Large retailers have implemented programmes to ban chemicals of concern in the products they sell, placing greater pressure on the industry. Entities that anticipate the changing regulatory landscape and implement stricter processes and testing are more likely to gain a competitive advantage. Early adopters of innovations in green chemistry and the reduction of chemicals of concern may improve profitability by being better able to capture changing customer demand and avoid regulatory burdens.
    • Employee Health & Safety The category addresses a company’s ability to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace environment that is free of injuries, fatalities, and illness (both chronic and acute). It is traditionally accomplished through implementing safety management plans, developing training requirements for employees and contractors, and conducting regular audits of their own practices as well as those of their subcontractors. The category further captures how companies ensure physical and mental health of workforce through technology, training, corporate culture, regulatory compliance, monitoring and testing, and personal protective equipment.
      None
    • Product Design & Lifecycle Management The category addresses incorporation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in characteristics of products and services provided or sold by the company. It includes, but is not limited to, managing the lifecycle impacts of products and services, such as those related to packaging, distribution, use-phase resource intensity, and other environmental and social externalities that may occur during their use-phase or at the end of life. The category captures a company’s ability to address customer and societal demand for more sustainable products and services as well as to meet evolving environmental and social regulation. It does not address direct environmental or social impacts of the company’s operations nor does it address health and safety risks to consumers from product use, which are covered in other categories.
      • Packaging Lifecycle Management The Household & Personal Products industry uses a large quantity of materials for product packaging, which often constitutes a significant portion of entities’ expenses. Packaging design, particularly packaging weight, has direct consequences for transportation expenses, which can be significant. The industry also faces pressure from both consumers and large retail outlets to manage the negative environmental externalities associated with packaging because of material extraction and waste. The sustainability performance of packaging depends largely on the type, use and ultimate disposal of materials. However, entities that effectively manage the sustainability characteristics of their product packaging—including developing light-weight, using recycled content and recyclable materials and adopting sustainably sourced materials—may be positioned better to capture shifting consumer demand and avoid (or mitigate) the effects of regulation related to extended producer responsibility. By managing the sustainability of product packaging, entities also potentially can reduce input and transportation costs.
    • Supply Chain Management The category addresses management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks within a company’s supply chain. It addresses issues associated with environmental and social externalities created by suppliers through their operational activities. Such issues include, but are not limited to, environmental responsibility, human rights, labour practices, and ethics and corruption. Management may involve screening, selection, monitoring, and engagement with suppliers on their environmental and social impacts. The category does not address the impacts of external factors – such as climate change and other environmental and social factors – on suppliers’ operations and/or on the availability and pricing of key resources, which is covered in a separate category.
      • Environmental & Social Impacts of Palm Oil Supply Chain Palm oil has increased in popularity as a cheap input for a wide range of goods in the Household & Personal Products industry, including cleaning products, candles and cosmetics. Palm oil harvesting in specific regions of the world may contribute to deforestation, GHG emissions and other environmental and social problems. If not sourced responsibly, palm oil materials contribute to environmental and social externalities that can present reputational and regulatory risks for entities. Furthermore, entities in this industry are exposed to the risk of supply chain disruptions, input price increases and reputational damage associated with environmental and social externalities from palm oil sourcing. Entities face pressure to track and responsibly source palm oil and ensure minimum working condition standards in the supply chain, because palm oil production often is associated with labour issues. Implementing sourcing standards can reduce these risks, as can product-design phase innovations to reduce dependence on controversial materials such as palm oil.
    • Competitive Behaviour The category covers social issues associated with existence of monopolies, which may include, but are not limited to, excessive prices, poor quality of service, and inefficiencies. It addresses a company’s management of legal and social expectation around monopolistic and anti-competitive practices, including issues related to bargaining power, collusion, price fixing or manipulation, and protection of patents and intellectual property (IP).
      None
    • Management of the Legal & Regulatory Environment The category addresses a company’s approach to engaging with regulators in cases where conflicting corporate and public interests may have the potential for long-term adverse direct or indirect environmental and social impacts. The category addresses a company’s level of reliance upon regulatory policy or monetary incentives (such as subsidies and taxes), actions to influence industry policy (such as through lobbying), overall reliance on a favorable regulatory environment for business competitiveness, and ability to comply with relevant regulations. It may relate to the alignment of management and investor views of regulatory engagement and compliance at large.
      None
    • Critical Incident Risk Management The category addresses the company’s use of management systems and scenario planning to identify, understand, and prevent or minimize the occurrence of low-probability, high-impact accidents and emergencies with significant potential environmental and social externalities. It relates to the culture of safety at a company, its relevant safety management systems and technological controls, the potential human, environmental, and social implications of such events occurring, and the long-term effects to an organization, its workers, and society should these events occur.
      None

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Oil & Gas – Refining & Marketing
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