Industry Comparison

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Current language: English (2023)

You are viewing information about the following Industries:

  • Medical Equipment & Supplies The Medical Equipment & Supplies industry researches, develops and produces medical, surgical, dental, ophthalmic and veterinary instruments and devices. Hospitals, clinics and laboratories use these products, which range from disposable items to highly specialised equipment. The increased prevalence of diseases associated with unhealthy lifestyles and an ageing population are important factors that may encourage growth in this industry. Emerging markets and the expansion of health insurance may contribute to further growth. However, the extension of government insurance programmes, provider and payer consolidation, and regulatory emphasis on reduced costs in all markets may result in downward pricing pressure.
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  • Pulp & Paper Products Pulp & Paper Products industry entities manufacture a range of wood pulp and paper products, including pulp fibre, paper packaging and sanitary paper, office paper, newsprint, and paper for industrial applications. Entities in the industry typically function as business-to-business entities and may have operations in multiple countries. Although some integrated entities own or manage timber tracts and are engaged in forest management, sustainability issues arising from these activities are addressed in the Forestry Management (RR-FM) industry.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (10 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.
  • Medical Equipment & Supplies 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).
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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.
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    • 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.
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    • Access & Affordability The category addresses a company’s ability to ensure broad access to its products and services, specifically in the context of underserved markets and/or population groups. It includes the management of issues related to universal needs, such as the accessibility and affordability of health care, financial services, utilities, education, and telecommunications.
      • Affordability & Pricing Health care cost containment and health care access regulatory initiatives may place downward pricing pressures on the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry. This pressure may be increased further by consolidation among health care providers and the role of government-sponsored insurance programmes. Entities that ensure fair pricing may limit the negative effects of cost containment as well as benefitting from the potential revenue opportunities associated with expanded access. Entities that successfully balance the risks and opportunities associated with cost containment and improved access to health care may increase their market share among segments of the population that might ordinarily be less likely to seek health care.
    • 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 Safety Information on product safety and side effects may be discovered after controlled clinical trials and approval. In such cases, entities are exposed to the financial implications of recalls and other adverse events, such as unfavourable media coverage, fines or investigations. Issues related to product safety, such as equipment failures, manufacturing defects, design flaws or inadequate disclosure of product-related risks, may result in significant product liability claims. Entities that limit the incidence of recalls, safety concerns and enforcement actions for manufacturing concerns may better protect shareholder value.
    • 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.
      • Ethical Marketing Entities in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry face legal and regulatory challenges associated with product marketing. Direct-to-consumer advertisements for medical devices and outreach to physicians provide opportunities for entities to increase their market share. However, challenges arise from the potential for marketing off-label uses, which may result in significant fines and settlements. Corporate disclosure of legal and regulatory fines and the codes of ethics that govern marketing activities may allow investors to develop a better understanding of performance in this area.
    • 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 Design & Lifecycle Management Medical equipment and supplies entities face increasing challenges associated with the human and environmental impact of the industry’s products. Entities may face consumer and regulatory pressure to limit the use of material inputs associated with health concerns, while also addressing issues such as the energy efficiency and end-of-life disposal of specific products. Entities that address these concerns while engaging in efforts to enhance product take-back may satisfy consumer demand and reduce future liabilities better.
    • 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.
      • Supply Chain Management Supply chain quality is essential to protecting consumer health and corporate value. Entities that fail to ensure quality and traceability throughout their supply chains may be susceptible to fines, lost revenue and reputational damage. Additionally, entities may need to manage the use of material inputs that are considered scarce. Disclosure of supply chain audit programmes, strategies to ensure traceability and management of critical materials may better inform investors how entities in this industry are protecting shareholder value.
    • 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.
      • Business Ethics Entities in the Medical Equipment & Supplies industry are subject to various international, national and local laws pertaining to health care fraud and abuse. An entity’s ability to ensure compliance throughout its global and domestic operational footprint may have notable effects on enterprise viability and reputation. Corporate disclosure of legal and regulatory fines and the codes of ethics that govern interactions with health professionals may better allow investors to monitor performance in this area.
  • Pulp & Paper 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).
      • Greenhouse Gas Emissions The manufacturing of pulp and paper products generates direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the combustion of fossil fuels and biomass in stationary and mobile engines, cogeneration boilers, and other processing equipment. Entities in this industry also typically use significant amounts of carbon-neutral biomass for their energy needs, the use of which may reduce the costs associated with purchasing fossil fuels, as well as mitigate regulatory risk associated with carbon emissions. Emissions associated with fossil fuel sources may add regulatory compliance costs, depending on the magnitude of emissions and the prevailing emissions regulations. Entities that cost-effectively manage GHG emissions through greater energy efficiency, alternative fuels use or manufacturing process improvements may benefit from improved operating efficiency and reduced regulatory compliance costs.
    • 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 Pulp and paper products mills generate air emissions including sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. The sources of emissions include cogeneration fuel boilers, pulp and paper pressure chambers, wood chip pulping, pulping chemical recovery, and process engines. Although emissions from the industry have declined considerably in recent years, emissions abatement expenditures may be significant, while evolving air-quality regulations can create regulatory uncertainty. Entities that can cost-effectively reduce air emissions may improve operational efficiency, benefit from a lower cost structure and mitigate regulatory risk.
    • 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 Pulp and paper products manufacturing is energy-intensive. In most facilities, entities generate energy primarily from the combustion of biomass and fossil fuels, although purchased electricity also may be used in some facilities. Decisions regarding on-site electricity generation versus sourcing it from the grid, as well as the use of biomass and other renewable energy, may create trade-offs related to the energy supply’s cost and reliability for operations and the extent of the regulatory risk from Scope 1 or other air emissions. The way an entity manages energy efficiency, its reliance on varied types of energy and the associated sustainability risks, and its access to alternative energy sources, may mitigate the effects of energy cost variability.
    • 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 Pulp and paper products manufacturing is typically water-intensive in materials processing, process cooling and steam generation at on-site energy plants. Entities require ample, stable water supplies and may produce large volumes of wastewater, the majority of which is treated and returned to the environment. Process water typically contains dissolved organic compounds and other solids, underscoring the importance of water treatment. In addition to water effluents, water availability is an important consideration because water scarcity may result in higher supply costs, supply disruptions or tension with local water users. Entities may adopt various strategies to address water supply and treatment issues, such as cost-effectively enhancing the recycling of process water, improving production techniques to lower water intensity, and ensuring compliance with water-effluent regulations.
    • Access & Affordability The category addresses a company’s ability to ensure broad access to its products and services, specifically in the context of underserved markets and/or population groups. It includes the management of issues related to universal needs, such as the accessibility and affordability of health care, financial services, utilities, education, and telecommunications.
      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
    • 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.
      None
    • 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.
      • Supply Chain Management Pulp and paper products entities source wood and wood fibre from forestry management entities, paper fibre recyclers and forests that the entities themselves manage. Supply chain risks include decreased productivity of forestlands because of management practices or climate change, regulations addressing sustainable forest management, and reputational effects. To mitigate such risks and satisfy growing customer demand for sustainably sourced fibre and paper products, manufacturers implement forest certification and fibre chain-of-custody standards which verify that virgin and recycled fibre originate from sustainably managed forests. In addition, pulp and paper manufacturers may face trade-offs from the use of recovered fibre. Products with recycled content are increasingly in demand, providing a possible avenue for product differentiation, while using recycled fibre can minimise the need for virgin fibre. Conversely, manufacturing products with a greater recycled content may increase waste generation and energy consumption, while recycled fibre can be costlier, given demand–supply gaps. Therefore, entities may benefit by optimising recycled fibre use to balance its environmental and economic trade-offs.
    • 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

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