Industry Comparison

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You are viewing information about the following Industries:

Tobacco
The Tobacco industry is comprised of entities that manufacture tobacco products including cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco products. Many large tobacco entities operate globally. Entities may obtain or sell exclusive rights to sell certain brands of cigarettes in diverse markets. Most tobacco is grown by independent tobacco farmers, who typically sell their crops to tobacco merchants or to manufacturers under contract.
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Real Estate Services
Real Estate Services industry entities provide a range of services to real estate owners, tenants, investors and developers. Primary services include property management, brokerage, appraisal and information services for real estate owners. Property management services may include leasing, tenant relations, building maintenance and building security. Many entities also provide brokerage services, facilitating sales and leasing transactions. Appraisals and other advisory or information services are other specialised services commonly provided to clients. Entities in the industry play important roles in the real estate value chain, which is a substantial part of the global economy.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (4 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.

Environment
- GHG Emissions
- Air Quality
- Energy Management
- Water & Wastewater Management
- Waste & Hazardous Materials Management
- Ecological Impacts
Social Capital
- Human Rights & Community Relations
- Customer Privacy
- Data Security
- Access & Affordability
- Product Quality & Safety
- Customer Welfare
  The category addresses customer welfare concerns over issues including, but not limited to, health and nutrition of foods and beverages, antibiotic use in animal production, and management of controlled substances. The category addresses the company’s ability to provide consumers with manufactured products and services that are aligned with societal expectations. It does not include issues directly related to quality and safety malfunctions of manufactured products and services, but instead addresses qualities inherent to the design and delivery of products and services where customer welfare may be in question. The scope of the category also captures companies’ ability to prevent counterfeit products.
- Selling Practices & Product Labeling
  The category addresses social issues that may arise from a failure to manage the transparency, accuracy, and comprehensibility of marketing statements, advertising, and labeling of products and services. It includes, but is not limited to, advertising standards and regulations, ethical and responsible marketing practices, misleading or deceptive labeling, as well as discriminatory or predatory selling and lending practices. This may include deceptive or aggressive selling practices in which incentive structures for employees could encourage the sale of products or services that are not in the best interest of customers or clients.
Human Capital
- Labour Practices
- Employee Health & Safety
- Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion
Business Model and Innovation
- 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.
- Business Model Resilience
- Supply Chain Management
- Materials Sourcing & Efficiency
- Physical Impacts of Climate Change
Leadership and Governance
- Business Ethics
  The category addresses the company’s approach to managing risks and opportunities surrounding ethical conduct of business, including fraud, corruption, bribery and facilitation payments, fiduciary responsibilities, and other behaviour that may have an ethical component. This includes sensitivity to business norms and standards as they shift over time, jurisdiction, and culture. It addresses the company’s ability to provide services that satisfy the highest professional and ethical standards of the industry, which means to avoid conflicts of interest, misrepresentation, bias, and negligence through training employees adequately and implementing policies and procedures to ensure employees provide services free from bias and error.
- Competitive Behaviour
- Management of the Legal & Regulatory Environment
- Critical Incident Risk Management
- Systemic Risk Management

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.

Tobacco Remove
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- Customer Welfare
  The category addresses customer welfare concerns over issues including, but not limited to, health and nutrition of foods and beverages, antibiotic use in animal production, and management of controlled substances. The category addresses the company’s ability to provide consumers with manufactured products and services that are aligned with societal expectations. It does not include issues directly related to quality and safety malfunctions of manufactured products and services, but instead addresses qualities inherent to the design and delivery of products and services where customer welfare may be in question. The scope of the category also captures companies’ ability to prevent counterfeit products.
  - Public Health
    Tobacco use can create serious health risks as established by many scientific studies over the past several decades. Health problems associated with tobacco include lung disease, cancer and heart disease. Tobacco product manufacturers have faced lawsuits from individuals, governments, corporations and other groups. In some cases, these lawsuits resulted in significant settlements. A growing public awareness of the associated health risks has driven down tobacco use dramatically in many countries. Tobacco product manufacturers are introducing an array of ‘harm reduction’ products, such as non-tobacco nicotine products and heated tobacco products, seeking to minimise the health impacts of tobacco use while accessing new markets. Scientific studies questioning these assertions of harm reduction may emerge, with continuing effects on entity revenue and growth potential.
- Selling Practices & Product Labeling
  The category addresses social issues that may arise from a failure to manage the transparency, accuracy, and comprehensibility of marketing statements, advertising, and labeling of products and services. It includes, but is not limited to, advertising standards and regulations, ethical and responsible marketing practices, misleading or deceptive labeling, as well as discriminatory or predatory selling and lending practices. This may include deceptive or aggressive selling practices in which incentive structures for employees could encourage the sale of products or services that are not in the best interest of customers or clients.
  - Marketing Practices
    Tobacco product labelling and marketing is regulated heavily internationally. The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has encouraged many countries to introduce new, stricter regulatory approaches to prevent people from using tobacco at an early age through transparent advertising about tobacco’s health risks. The industry has faced costly legal battles related to the marketing and advertising of its products. Marketing for combustible and new non-combustible products must balance regulatory requirements with the need to reach new markets. Failing to effectively manage negative social externalities may result in further unfavourable regulation and may impair the industry’s social licence to operate. Entities that effectively manage this issue may avoid extraordinary expenses, preserve market share and decrease contingent liabilities.
- 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.
  
  None
- Business Ethics
  The category addresses the company’s approach to managing risks and opportunities surrounding ethical conduct of business, including fraud, corruption, bribery and facilitation payments, fiduciary responsibilities, and other behaviour that may have an ethical component. This includes sensitivity to business norms and standards as they shift over time, jurisdiction, and culture. It addresses the company’s ability to provide services that satisfy the highest professional and ethical standards of the industry, which means to avoid conflicts of interest, misrepresentation, bias, and negligence through training employees adequately and implementing policies and procedures to ensure employees provide services free from bias and error.
  
  None
Real Estate Services Remove
Access Standard
- Customer Welfare
  The category addresses customer welfare concerns over issues including, but not limited to, health and nutrition of foods and beverages, antibiotic use in animal production, and management of controlled substances. The category addresses the company’s ability to provide consumers with manufactured products and services that are aligned with societal expectations. It does not include issues directly related to quality and safety malfunctions of manufactured products and services, but instead addresses qualities inherent to the design and delivery of products and services where customer welfare may be in question. The scope of the category also captures companies’ ability to prevent counterfeit products.
  
  None
- Selling Practices & Product Labeling
  The category addresses social issues that may arise from a failure to manage the transparency, accuracy, and comprehensibility of marketing statements, advertising, and labeling of products and services. It includes, but is not limited to, advertising standards and regulations, ethical and responsible marketing practices, misleading or deceptive labeling, as well as discriminatory or predatory selling and lending practices. This may include deceptive or aggressive selling practices in which incentive structures for employees could encourage the sale of products or services that are not in the best interest of customers or clients.
  
  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.
  - Sustainability Services
    In the Real Estate Services industry, buildings owned or occupied by clients generally have significant sustainability impacts. Buildings, and the activities that take place within them, drive energy consumption, direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water consumption, waste generation and indoor environmental quality concerns that can impact occupant health. Entities have an opportunity to improve the sustainability impacts of buildings and their operations through sustainability-related services. These services may include utility data management, energy procurement, energy and water benchmarking, resource efficiency improvements, activities related to sustainability certifications, and sustainability consulting and training. Entities may impact building sustainability further by arranging leases that incentivise both owners and tenants to improve sustainability performance, while yielding financial benefits for both parties. Providing these services may drive new revenue growth and increase client retention. Effective sustainability services may benefit owners or tenants through improved asset values, increased tenant demand, decreased operating costs and improved tenant experiences.
- Business Ethics
  The category addresses the company’s approach to managing risks and opportunities surrounding ethical conduct of business, including fraud, corruption, bribery and facilitation payments, fiduciary responsibilities, and other behaviour that may have an ethical component. This includes sensitivity to business norms and standards as they shift over time, jurisdiction, and culture. It addresses the company’s ability to provide services that satisfy the highest professional and ethical standards of the industry, which means to avoid conflicts of interest, misrepresentation, bias, and negligence through training employees adequately and implementing policies and procedures to ensure employees provide services free from bias and error.
  - Transparent Information & Management of Conflict of Interest
    The real estate services business model is dependent on client trust and loyalty. To ensure long-term, mutually beneficial relationships, entities must provide services that satisfy the highest professional and ethical standards of the industry. Professional integrity is an important governance issue. The range of services and the number of professionals within a single organisation can make the management of conflicts of interest more challenging. Brokerage and appraisal services may come with particularly high risk of conflicts of interest and negligence. To manage and avoid these risks, entities may implement a range of governance measures, including employee training, oversight, and policies, procedures and enforcement systems focused on transparency and appropriate disclosures. Effective risk management may result in increased client trust and improved brand value, adding to long-term revenue growth. Inadequate risk management may result in regulatory fines and penalties, as well as decreased client trust and reduced market share.

General Issue Category

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Customer Welfare

Public Health
Tobacco use can create serious health risks as established by many scientific studies over the past several decades. Health problems associated with tobacco include lung disease, cancer and heart disease. Tobacco product manufacturers have faced lawsuits from individuals, governments, corporations and other groups. In some cases, these lawsuits resulted in significant settlements. A growing public awareness of the associated health risks has driven down tobacco use dramatically in many countries. Tobacco product manufacturers are introducing an array of ‘harm reduction’ products, such as non-tobacco nicotine products and heated tobacco products, seeking to minimise the health impacts of tobacco use while accessing new markets. Scientific studies questioning these assertions of harm reduction may emerge, with continuing effects on entity revenue and growth potential.

Selling Practices & Product Labeling

Marketing Practices
Tobacco product labelling and marketing is regulated heavily internationally. The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) has encouraged many countries to introduce new, stricter regulatory approaches to prevent people from using tobacco at an early age through transparent advertising about tobacco’s health risks. The industry has faced costly legal battles related to the marketing and advertising of its products. Marketing for combustible and new non-combustible products must balance regulatory requirements with the need to reach new markets. Failing to effectively manage negative social externalities may result in further unfavourable regulation and may impair the industry’s social licence to operate. Entities that effectively manage this issue may avoid extraordinary expenses, preserve market share and decrease contingent liabilities.

Product Design & Lifecycle Management

Sustainability Services
In the Real Estate Services industry, buildings owned or occupied by clients generally have significant sustainability impacts. Buildings, and the activities that take place within them, drive energy consumption, direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water consumption, waste generation and indoor environmental quality concerns that can impact occupant health. Entities have an opportunity to improve the sustainability impacts of buildings and their operations through sustainability-related services. These services may include utility data management, energy procurement, energy and water benchmarking, resource efficiency improvements, activities related to sustainability certifications, and sustainability consulting and training. Entities may impact building sustainability further by arranging leases that incentivise both owners and tenants to improve sustainability performance, while yielding financial benefits for both parties. Providing these services may drive new revenue growth and increase client retention. Effective sustainability services may benefit owners or tenants through improved asset values, increased tenant demand, decreased operating costs and improved tenant experiences.

Business Ethics

Transparent Information & Management of Conflict of Interest
The real estate services business model is dependent on client trust and loyalty. To ensure long-term, mutually beneficial relationships, entities must provide services that satisfy the highest professional and ethical standards of the industry. Professional integrity is an important governance issue. The range of services and the number of professionals within a single organisation can make the management of conflicts of interest more challenging. Brokerage and appraisal services may come with particularly high risk of conflicts of interest and negligence. To manage and avoid these risks, entities may implement a range of governance measures, including employee training, oversight, and policies, procedures and enforcement systems focused on transparency and appropriate disclosures. Effective risk management may result in increased client trust and improved brand value, adding to long-term revenue growth. Inadequate risk management may result in regulatory fines and penalties, as well as decreased client trust and reduced market share.

Relevant Issues for both Industries (4 of 26)

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