Industry Comparison

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Current language: English (2023)

You are viewing information about the following Industries:

  • 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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  • Road Transportation Road Transportation industry entities provide long- and short-haul freight trucking services. Important activities include containerised and bulk freight shipment, including consumer goods and a wide variety of commodities. Generally, the industry may be categorised two ways: truckload (vehicles carrying the goods of only one customer) and less-than-truckload (vehicles carrying the goods of multiple customers). Owner-operators comprise the vast majority of the industry because of the relative ease of entry. A few large operators maintain market share through contracts with major shippers. Large entities often subcontract with owner-operators to supplement their owned fleet.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (8 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.
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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).
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    • 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.
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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.
    • 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.
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    • 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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    • 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 The Road Transportation industry generates emissions mainly through the combustion of diesel and other fossil fuels in truck engines. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) including carbon dioxide (CO2) are of particular importance to government regulators concerned about climate change and to consumers demanding low-carbon or carbon-neutral transportation solutions. Because GHG emissions from trucks constitute a significant portion of transportation-related emissions, the industry is a focal point for regulations to limit GHG emissions. Operational changes that increase fuel efficiency may reduce fuel costs while also limiting exposure to volatile fuel pricing, regulatory costs and other consequences of GHG emissions. Although newer trucks are more fuel-efficient, other measures also may improve efficiency and reduce emissions in existing fleets.
    • 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 Compared to other modes of transport, road freight has a more localised negative effect on air quality from emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter (PM). Heavy reliance on diesel fuel is of particular concern. Although diesel engines realise better gas mileage than gasoline engines, they generate more harmful air pollutants. Using alternative fuels and filtering emissions prior to release may help entities comply with air quality regulations and avoid contributing to smog in cities and dense population centres, which may damage their social licence to operate.
    • 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
    • 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 Conditions, Health & Safety The Road Transportation industry faces challenges with driver recruitment and retention. The industry has challenging working conditions and regulations that limit working hours. Possible labour shortages may raise labour costs and reduce industry revenue. Time-critical deliveries are demanding for drivers, who may experience long and often odd hours behind the wheel, lengthy stays away from home, lack of sleep and feelings of isolation. These factors, in combination with high injury and illness rates, largely because of accidents, make recruiting new drivers and retaining existing staff difficult. Entities that offer better driver working conditions may benefit from lower employee turnover rates, higher productivity and the ability to hire staff to expand operations and increase revenue.
    • 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.
      • Accident & Safety Management Road transportation involves inherent dangers, including accidents resulting from mechanical failure or human error. Entities in this industry train drivers and maintenance staff to minimise accidents. Injury and fatality rates, associated costs, and investment in safety technologies show the significance of the issue for the industry. Entities with more effective safety management may improve operational efficiency, retain drivers, reduce delays and avoid costs associated with serious accidents. In contrast, those with poor safety management may experience regulatory penalties, higher insurance premiums and service disruptions that reduce revenues and impair brand value.

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