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Drug Retailers
Drug Retailers industry entities operate retail pharmacies and distribution centres that supply retail stores. Stores may be entity-owned or franchised. Large entities source drugs and other merchandise through wholesalers and distributors. Consumer sales of prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical products generate a majority of the industry’s revenue; other goods sold include household goods, personal care products and a limited selection of groceries. Additionally, the pharmacy retailer segment is expanding its health-focused services by offering clinics at various retail locations, which may add to the industry’s shifting sustainability landscape.
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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 (6 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
  The category addresses environmental impacts associated with energy consumption. It addresses the company’s management of energy in manufacturing and/or for provision of products and services derived from utility providers (grid energy) not owned or controlled by the company. More specifically, it includes management of energy efficiency and intensity, energy mix, as well as grid reliance. Upstream (e.g., suppliers) and downstream (e.g., product use) energy use is not included in the scope.
- Water & Wastewater Management
- Waste & Hazardous Materials Management
- Ecological Impacts
Social Capital
- Human Rights & Community Relations
- Customer Privacy
- Data Security
  The category addresses management of risks related to collection, retention, and use of sensitive, confidential, and/or proprietary customer or user data. It includes social issues that may arise from incidents such as data breaches in which personally identifiable information (PII) and other user or customer data may be exposed. It addresses a company’s strategy, policies, and practices related to IT infrastructure, staff training, record keeping, cooperation with law enforcement, and other mechanisms used to ensure security of customer or user data.
- Access & Affordability
- 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.
- 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
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.

Drug Retailers Remove
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- Energy Management
  The category addresses environmental impacts associated with energy consumption. It addresses the company’s management of energy in manufacturing and/or for provision of products and services derived from utility providers (grid energy) not owned or controlled by the company. More specifically, it includes management of energy efficiency and intensity, energy mix, as well as grid reliance. Upstream (e.g., suppliers) and downstream (e.g., product use) energy use is not included in the scope.
  - Energy Management in Retail
    Chain drug retailers operate thousands of locations that consume large quantities of energy. Electricity is used primarily for lighting and refrigeration. Many retail locations may operate 24 hours a day, thereby increasing energy demand. Operational energy efficiency and diversification among a range of energy supply sources may mitigate exposure to rising energy costs and limit an entity’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions.
- Data Security
  The category addresses management of risks related to collection, retention, and use of sensitive, confidential, and/or proprietary customer or user data. It includes social issues that may arise from incidents such as data breaches in which personally identifiable information (PII) and other user or customer data may be exposed. It addresses a company’s strategy, policies, and practices related to IT infrastructure, staff training, record keeping, cooperation with law enforcement, and other mechanisms used to ensure security of customer or user data.
  - Data Security & Privacy
    Drug Retailers, as distributors of prescription medication and operators of retail health clinics, access and manage protected health information. The legal obligation to safeguard customer information includes the proper handling of sensitive information by staff in pharmacies and clinics, as well as the safe storage of information on physical and electronic media. Cyber attacks may compromise health information stored electronically, along with customers’ financial and personal data. Drug retailers that prevent major data breaches, including point-of-sales breaches and cyber attacks, can preserve brand value, reduce contingent liabilities and maintain market share.
- 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.
  - Drug Supply Chain Integrity
    The Drug Retailers industry supply chain is long and complex, consisting of distribution networks between manufacturers and retailers. Ensuring the quality and safety of pharmaceutical and healthcare products is critical to preserving brand value. The industry faces risks associated with counterfeit drugs, and effective supply chain management is essential in mitigating these challenges. Drug Retailers that effectively manage their supply chains may avoid costs related to recalls, and such incidents may present significant risks to customers. The prevalence of store-brand products, which constitute a growing portion of sales, increases the importance of this issue.
- 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.
  - Management of Controlled Substances
    Drug Retailers are distributors and sellers of a wide variety of controlled substances. Within this industry, the high volume of drugs processed and dispensed, along with the extensive retail and distribution networks of larger entities, increase the risk of theft, loss and illegal drug dispensing. These actions may result in adverse social externalities, including public health consequences related to drug abuse and the illicit drug trade. Drug Retailers may participate in jurisdictional drug monitoring programmes to mitigate some of the social issues associated with dispensing controlled substances. Furthermore, regulatory enforcement may result in fines and licence suspensions. Strong internal management of controlled substances may mitigate these risks and protect shareholder value in the long term.
  - Patient Health Outcomes
    Drug Retailers and pharmacists play an important role in the health care system, since they provide patients with medications and are often the last health care professionals to interact with patients before medications are consumed. Drug Retailers may enhance patient outcomes by improving communication, avoiding dispensing errors and raising patients’ drug-adherence rates. Pharmacies may engage and educate patients regarding the importance of adhering to prescriptions, which provides beneficial outcomes for patients as well as for businesses. Entities that effectively manage these interactions while avoiding dispensing errors may better protect shareholder value.
- 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
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- Energy Management
  The category addresses environmental impacts associated with energy consumption. It addresses the company’s management of energy in manufacturing and/or for provision of products and services derived from utility providers (grid energy) not owned or controlled by the company. More specifically, it includes management of energy efficiency and intensity, energy mix, as well as grid reliance. Upstream (e.g., suppliers) and downstream (e.g., product use) energy use is not included in the scope.
  
  None
- Data Security
  The category addresses management of risks related to collection, retention, and use of sensitive, confidential, and/or proprietary customer or user data. It includes social issues that may arise from incidents such as data breaches in which personally identifiable information (PII) and other user or customer data may be exposed. It addresses a company’s strategy, policies, and practices related to IT infrastructure, staff training, record keeping, cooperation with law enforcement, and other mechanisms used to ensure security of customer or user data.
  
  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.
  
  None
- 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
- 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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Energy Management

Energy Management in Retail
Chain drug retailers operate thousands of locations that consume large quantities of energy. Electricity is used primarily for lighting and refrigeration. Many retail locations may operate 24 hours a day, thereby increasing energy demand. Operational energy efficiency and diversification among a range of energy supply sources may mitigate exposure to rising energy costs and limit an entity’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

Data Security

Data Security & Privacy
Drug Retailers, as distributors of prescription medication and operators of retail health clinics, access and manage protected health information. The legal obligation to safeguard customer information includes the proper handling of sensitive information by staff in pharmacies and clinics, as well as the safe storage of information on physical and electronic media. Cyber attacks may compromise health information stored electronically, along with customers’ financial and personal data. Drug retailers that prevent major data breaches, including point-of-sales breaches and cyber attacks, can preserve brand value, reduce contingent liabilities and maintain market share.

Product Quality & Safety

Drug Supply Chain Integrity
The Drug Retailers industry supply chain is long and complex, consisting of distribution networks between manufacturers and retailers. Ensuring the quality and safety of pharmaceutical and healthcare products is critical to preserving brand value. The industry faces risks associated with counterfeit drugs, and effective supply chain management is essential in mitigating these challenges. Drug Retailers that effectively manage their supply chains may avoid costs related to recalls, and such incidents may present significant risks to customers. The prevalence of store-brand products, which constitute a growing portion of sales, increases the importance of this issue.

Customer Welfare

Management of Controlled Substances
Drug Retailers are distributors and sellers of a wide variety of controlled substances. Within this industry, the high volume of drugs processed and dispensed, along with the extensive retail and distribution networks of larger entities, increase the risk of theft, loss and illegal drug dispensing. These actions may result in adverse social externalities, including public health consequences related to drug abuse and the illicit drug trade. Drug Retailers may participate in jurisdictional drug monitoring programmes to mitigate some of the social issues associated with dispensing controlled substances. Furthermore, regulatory enforcement may result in fines and licence suspensions. Strong internal management of controlled substances may mitigate these risks and protect shareholder value in the long term.
Patient Health Outcomes
Drug Retailers and pharmacists play an important role in the health care system, since they provide patients with medications and are often the last health care professionals to interact with patients before medications are consumed. Drug Retailers may enhance patient outcomes by improving communication, avoiding dispensing errors and raising patients’ drug-adherence rates. Pharmacies may engage and educate patients regarding the importance of adhering to prescriptions, which provides beneficial outcomes for patients as well as for businesses. Entities that effectively manage these interactions while avoiding dispensing errors may better protect shareholder value.

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 (6 of 26)

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