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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  • Electrical & Electronic Equipment Electrical and electronic equipment industry entities develop and manufacture a broad range of electric components including power generation equipment, energy transformers, electric motors, switchboards, automation equipment, heating and cooling equipment, lighting and transmission cables. These include non-structural commercial and residential building equipment, such as Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, lighting fixtures, security devices, and elevators; electrical power equipment; traditional power generation and transmission equipment; renewable energy equipment; industrial automation controls; measurement instruments; and electrical components used for industrial purposes, such as coils, wires and cables. In a mature and competitive industry, these entities operate globally and typically generate a significant portion of their revenue from outside the country of their domicile.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (9 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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    • 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
    • Waste & Hazardous Materials Management The category addresses environmental issues associated with hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated by companies. It addresses a company’s management of solid wastes in manufacturing, agriculture, and other industrial processes. It covers treatment, handling, storage, disposal, and regulatory compliance. The category does not cover emissions to air or wastewater nor does it cover waste from end-of-life of products, which are addressed in separate categories.
      None
    • 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.
    • Materials Sourcing & Efficiency The category addresses issues related to the resilience of materials supply chains to impacts of climate change and other external environmental and social factors. It captures the impacts of such external factors on operational activity of suppliers, which can further affect availability and pricing of key resources. It addresses a company’s ability to manage these risks through product design, manufacturing, and end-of-life management, such as by using of recycled and renewable materials, reducing the use of key materials (dematerialization), maximizing resource efficiency in manufacturing, and making R&D investments in substitute materials. Additionally, companies can manage these issues by screening, selection, monitoring, and engagement with suppliers to ensure their resilience to external risks. It does not address issues associated with environmental and social externalities created by operational activity of individual suppliers, which is covered in a separate category.
      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.
      • 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.
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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 Electrical and electronic equipment entities may use significant amounts of energy. Purchased electricity is the largest share of energy expenditure in the industry, followed by purchased fuels. The type of energy used, amount consumed and energy management strategies depend on the type of products manufactured. Including the use of electricity generated on site, grid-sourced electricity and alternative energy, an entity’s energy mix may be important in reducing the cost and increasing the reliability of energy supply and, ultimately, affecting the entity’s cost structure and exposure to regulatory shifts.
    • Waste & Hazardous Materials Management The category addresses environmental issues associated with hazardous and non-hazardous waste generated by companies. It addresses a company’s management of solid wastes in manufacturing, agriculture, and other industrial processes. It covers treatment, handling, storage, disposal, and regulatory compliance. The category does not cover emissions to air or wastewater nor does it cover waste from end-of-life of products, which are addressed in separate categories.
      • Hazardous Waste Management Electrical and electronic equipment manufacturing may generate hazardous waste which includes heavy metals and wastewater treatment sludge. Entities face regulatory and operational challenges in managing waste, since some wastes are subject to regulations governing their transport, treatment, storage and disposal. Waste management strategies include reduced generation, effective treatment and disposal, and recycling and recovery, if possible. Such activities, although requiring initial investment or operating costs, may reduce an entity’s long-term cost structure and mitigate the risk of remediation liabilities or regulatory penalties.
    • 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.
      • Product Safety The proper and safe functioning of electrical and electronic equipment is important because of the potential risks to customers, including electrical fires. In the event of a product safety incident, entities could be exposed to product liability claims, revenue loss because of damaged reputation, redesign costs, recalls, litigation or fines. Proper safety procedures, tests and protocols for products may reduce the risk of such adverse impacts and strengthen an entity’s brand.
    • 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.
      • Product Lifecycle Management Electrical and electronic equipment entities face increasing challenges and opportunities associated with environmental and social externalities that may stem from the use of their products. Regulations are incentivising entities to reduce or eliminate the use of harmful chemicals in their products. To a lesser extent, regulations and customers are encouraging entities to reduce the environmental footprint of their products in the use-phase, primarily in terms of energy intensity. Electrical and electronic equipment entities that develop cost-effective products and energy efficiency solutions may benefit from increased revenue and market share, stronger competitive positioning and enhanced brand value. Similarly, products with reduced chemical safety concerns may provide opportunities for increased market share.
    • Supply Chain Management The category addresses management of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks within a company’s supply chain. It addresses issues associated with environmental and social externalities created by suppliers through their operational activities. Such issues include, but are not limited to, environmental responsibility, human rights, labour practices, and ethics and corruption. Management may involve screening, selection, monitoring, and engagement with suppliers on their environmental and social impacts. The category does not address the impacts of external factors – such as climate change and other environmental and social factors – on suppliers’ operations and/or on the availability and pricing of key resources, which is covered in a separate category.
      None
    • Materials Sourcing & Efficiency The category addresses issues related to the resilience of materials supply chains to impacts of climate change and other external environmental and social factors. It captures the impacts of such external factors on operational activity of suppliers, which can further affect availability and pricing of key resources. It addresses a company’s ability to manage these risks through product design, manufacturing, and end-of-life management, such as by using of recycled and renewable materials, reducing the use of key materials (dematerialization), maximizing resource efficiency in manufacturing, and making R&D investments in substitute materials. Additionally, companies can manage these issues by screening, selection, monitoring, and engagement with suppliers to ensure their resilience to external risks. It does not address issues associated with environmental and social externalities created by operational activity of individual suppliers, which is covered in a separate category.
      • Materials Sourcing Electrical and electronic equipment entities are exposed to supply chain risks when critical materials are used in products. Entities in the industry manufacture products using critical materials with few or no available substitutes, many of which are sourced in only a few countries that may be subject to geopolitical uncertainty. Entities in this industry also face competition because of increasing global demand for these materials from other sectors, which may result in price increases and supply risks. Entities that limit the use of critical materials by using alternatives, as well as secure their supply, may mitigate the potential for financial effects stemming from supply disruptions and volatile input prices.
    • 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 Electrical and electronic equipment manufacturers based in jurisdictions with stronger business ethics laws may be vulnerable to regulatory scrutiny of their business ethics because of operations in regions with weaker government enforcement of business ethics laws. Some entities in this industry have been found in violation of corruption laws as well as anti-competitive behaviour. Unethical practices may jeopardise future revenue growth and may result in significant legal costs and a higher reputational risk. As such, strong governance practices can mitigate the risk of violations of business ethics laws and resulting regulatory penalties or brand-value impacts.

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Current Industries:
Medical Equipment & Supplies
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Electrical & Electronic Equipment
Health Care
Resource Transformation
Consumer Goods
Extractives & Minerals Processing
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