Industry Comparison

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  • Electric Utilities & Power Generators Electric Utilities & Power Generators industry entities generate electricity; build, own and operate transmission and distribution (T&D) lines; and sell electricity. Utilities generate electricity from many different sources, commonly including coal, natural gas, nuclear energy, hydropower, solar, wind and other renewable and fossil fuel energy sources. The industry comprises entities operating in both regulated and unregulated business structures. Regulated utilities face comprehensive regulatory oversight of their pricing mechanisms and their allowed return on equity, among other types of regulation, to maintain their licence to operate as a monopoly. Unregulated entities or merchant power entities are often independent power producers (IPPs) that generate electricity to sell to the wholesale market, which includes regulated utility buyers and other end users. Furthermore, entities in the industry may operate across both regulated and deregulated power markets depending on their operational span. Regulated markets typically contain vertically integrated utilities that own and operate everything from the generation of power to its retail distribution. Deregulated markets commonly split generation from distribution to encourage wholesale power generation competition. Overall, the complex task of providing reliable, accessible, low-cost power while balancing the protection of human life and the environment remains a challenge.
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  • Processed Foods Processed Foods industry entities process and package foods such as bread, frozen foods, snack foods, pet foods and condiments for retail consumer consumption. Typically, these products are made ready to consume, are marketed for retail consumers and can be found on food retailers’ shelves. The industry is characterised by large and complex ingredient supply chains, because many entities source ingredients from around the world. Large entities operate globally, and international opportunities are driving growth.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (16 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.
  • Electric Utilities & Power Generators 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 & Energy Resource Planning Electricity generation represents the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the world. Mainly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, these emissions are mostly by-products of fossil fuel combustion. The transmission or distribution (T&D) segments of the industry produce negligible emissions. Electric utility entities could face significant operating costs and capital expenditures for mitigating GHG emissions as environmental regulations become increasingly stringent. Although many of these costs may be passed to a utility’s customers, some power generators, especially in deregulated markets, may be unable to recoup these costs. Entities may reduce GHG emissions from electricity generation through careful infrastructure investment planning by ensuring the delivery of an energy mix capable of meeting the emissions requirements set forth by regulations, and by implementing industry-leading technologies and processes. Being proactive in cost-effectively reducing GHG emissions may create a competitive advantage for entities and mitigate unanticipated regulatory compliance costs. Failure to properly estimate capital-expenditure needs and permitting costs, or other difficulties in reducing GHG emissions, may result in significant negative effects on returns in the form of asset write-downs, the costs to obtain carbon credits, or unexpected increases in operating and capital expenditures. Regulatory emphasis on this issue may increase in the coming decades, as exemplified by the international emissions-reduction agreement made at the 21st session of the United Nations Conference of the Parties in 2015.
    • 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 Fuel combustion in electricity-generation operations generates hazardous air pollutants. These air pollutants can create significant and localised environmental and health risks. The most common and impactful are nitrogen oxides (excluding nitrous oxide), sulphur oxide, particulate matter (PM), lead and mercury. Emissions of these localised air pollutants often are strictly regulated, creating significant compliance risks for electricity generators. Regulatory and legal risks are higher for entities operating near large communities. Harmful operational air emissions may result in regulatory penalties, higher regulatory compliance costs and capital expenditures to install control technology. In some cases, such expenditures may be cost prohibitive to continued facility operations. Entities may manage air quality concerns by reducing emissions, as well as by working with regulators to establish priorities and manage short- and long-term capital planning risks.
    • 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.
      • Water Management Electricity generation is one of the most water-intensive industries in the world in terms of water withdrawals. Thermoelectric power plants—typically coal, nuclear and natural gas—use large quantities of water for cooling purposes. The industry is facing increasing water-related supply and regulatory risks, potentially requiring capital investment in technology or even creating stranded assets. As water supplies tighten in many regions—and electricity generation, agriculture and community use compete for water supplies—power plants increasingly may be unable to operate at full capacity, or at all, because of region-specific water constraints. The availability of water is an important factor to consider when calculating the future value of many electricity-generating assets and for evaluating proposals for new generation sources. Increased water scarcity—because of factors such as increasing consumption and reduced supplies resulting from climate change, which could result in more frequent or intense droughts—could prompt regulatory authorities to limit entities’ ability to withdraw necessary amounts of water, especially in regions with high baseline water stress. Furthermore, entities must manage the growing number of regulations related to the significant biodiversity impacts that such large withdrawals may cause. To mitigate these risks, entities can invest both in more efficient water-usage systems for plants, and place strategic priority on assessing long-term water availability, as well as water-related biodiversity risks, when siting new power plants.
    • 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.
      • Coal Ash Management Electricity generators must safely discard the hazardous by-products of their operations. Coal-fired electricity generation is a major source of hazardous waste because of coal ash. Coal ash can have a significant effect on entity value in the power-generation segment of the industry. This issue will affect entities differently, depending on the extent to which they generate electricity from coal. Coal ash is one of the largest industrial waste streams in the world. It contains heavy metal contaminants associated with cancer and other serious diseases, especially when they leach into groundwater. Coal ash can have beneficial uses when recycled or reused, such as in the creation of fly ash concrete or wallboard, creating revenue opportunities for electric utilities. Safe handling of coal ash, locating coal ash impoundments to minimise potential harm to human life or the environment, effective monitoring and containment of coal ash, and the sale of coal ash for beneficial uses are important strategies to reduce regulatory compliance costs as well as penalties for non-compliance. Coal ash leaching into the surrounding environment can result in significant litigation and remediation costs.
    • 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.
      • Energy Affordability An objective of regulated electric utilities is to provide reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity. Entities in the industry manage these potentially competing priorities to maintain favourable relations with customers and regulators—and ultimately to earn appropriate returns for shareholders. The affordability of energy is particularly challenging for entities to balance because it often conflicts with other core objectives. Utility energy bills generally are perceived to be increasingly unaffordable for low-income customers (affordability is determined by both the net cost of energy bills and the underlying customer economics). Ensuring that utility bills are affordable is crucial for utilities working to build trust (intangible asset value) with regulators and customers. Regulatory relations are an important value driver for utilities and one of the issues analysed closely by investment analysts. The willingness of regulators to grant rate requests, rate structure modifications, cost recovery and allowed returns determines financial performance and investment risk. Effectively managing affordability may enable utilities to invest more capital, favourably revise rate structures and increase allowed returns. Furthermore, utilities that ineffectively manage affordability increasingly are exposed to customers defecting from the grid (or reducing reliance on the grid) by implementing distributed energy resources or pursuing other alternative energy sources (for example, industrial customers’ use of combined heat and power). Managing affordability involves operating an efficient business with a comprehensive, long-term strategy, as well as working closely with regulators and public policymakers on rate structures and, potentially, bill-assistance programmes. Although a utility’s business model and rate structure largely determine the precise nature of the financial effects, affordability is a critical business issue for utilities managing, maintaining and growing customer bases, building intangible asset value, creating investment and return opportunities, and ultimately delivering shareholder returns.
    • 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.
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    • Customer Welfare The category addresses customer welfare concerns over issues including, but not limited to, health and nutrition of foods and beverages, antibiotic use in animal production, and management of controlled substances. The category addresses the company’s ability to provide consumers with manufactured products and services that are aligned with societal expectations. It does not include issues directly related to quality and safety malfunctions of manufactured products and services, but instead addresses qualities inherent to the design and delivery of products and services where customer welfare may be in question. The scope of the category also captures companies’ ability to prevent counterfeit products.
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    • 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.
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    • 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 Health & Safety Employees of entities in the Electric Utilities & Power Generators industry face numerous hazards in the construction and maintenance of electric transmission and distribution lines, as well as with the various means of electricity generation. Many of these employees work for extended periods at great heights, operate heavy machinery and face electrocution risks. Although the industry has made significant strides in safety improvements, significant risks remain, along with opportunities for further improvements. The nature of the industry—as a necessity of modern life and economies, as well as commonly a legally granted monopoly—means that entity actions receive significant public and regulatory scrutiny. Entities must maintain a culture of safety to ensure adequate working conditions for their workers, strong operational productivity, and to uphold positive views from the perspective of regulators and manage potential risks of regulatory penalties.
    • 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.
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    • Business Model Resilience The category addresses an industry’s capacity to manage risks and opportunities associated with incorporating social, environmental, and political transitions into long-term business model planning. This includes responsiveness to the transition to a low-carbon and climate-constrained economy, as well as growth and creation of new markets among unserved and underserved socio-economic populations. The category highlights industries in which evolving environmental and social realities may challenge companies to fundamentally adapt or may put their business models at risk.
      • End-Use Efficiency & Demand Energy efficiency is a low-lifecycle-cost method to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, because less electricity needs to be generated to provide the same end-use energy services. Utilities can promote energy efficiency and conservation among their customers. Such strategies may include offering rebates for energy-efficient appliances, weatherising customers’ homes, educating customers on energy-saving methods, offering incentives to customers to curb electricity use during times of peak demand (‘demand response’), or investing in technology such as smart meters, which allow customers to track their energy use. While saving consumers money, these efforts also may reduce operating costs for electric utilities by decreasing peak demand. Furthermore, depending on the utility regulatory framework, local jurisdictions may mandate that entities develop energy efficiency plans before permitting new builds. Companies with effective strategies to reduce the downside risks from demand fluctuations, may gain adequate and timely returns on needed investments. Furthermore, reducing costs through efficiency initiatives may earn higher, long-term risk-adjusted returns.
    • 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.
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    • 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.
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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.
      • Nuclear Safety & Emergency Management Although rare, nuclear accidents can have significant human health and environmental consequences because of their severity. Owners of nuclear power plants in many regions have operated for decades without any major public safety incidents, but the occurrence of infrequent but large-magnitude incidents anywhere in the world can have major effects on the entire nuclear power industry. Entities that own and operate nuclear plants may lose their licence to operate, as well as face many other financial consequences in the event of an accident—though entities carry insurance and may have legal protections from some liabilities. Failure to comply with the safety regulations can be expensive to nuclear power operators; in extreme circumstances it may make the continued operation of the plant uneconomical. Facing potentially significant financial repercussions, both from ongoing safety compliance as well as tail risk incidents, entities that own or operate nuclear plants must be vigilant in the safety compliance, best practices and upgrades of their facilities. They also must maintain robust emergency preparedness training for their staff and a strong safety culture. These measures can reduce the probability that accidents will occur and enable an entity to effectively detect and respond to such incidents.
    • Systemic Risk Management The category addresses the company’s contributions to or management of systemic risks resulting from large-scale weakening or collapse of systems upon which the economy and society depend. This includes financial systems, natural resource systems, and technological systems. It addresses the mechanisms a company has in place to reduce its contributions to systemic risks and to improve safeguards that may mitigate the impacts of systemic failure. For financial institutions, the category also captures the company’s ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress and meet stricter regulatory requirements related to the complexity and interconnectedness of companies in the industry.
      • Grid Resiliency Electricity is critical for the continued function of most elements of modern life, from medicine to finance, creating a societal reliance on continuous service. Major disruptions to electricity infrastructure may result in potentially high societal costs. Disruptions can be caused by extreme weather events, natural disasters and cyberattacks. As the frequency and severity of extreme weather events associated with climate change continues to increase, all segments of electric utilities entities—and especially major transmission and distribution (T&D) operations—will face increasing physical threats to their infrastructure. Extreme weather events could result in frequent or significant service disruptions, outages and require upgrade or repair of damaged or compromised equipment, all of which may add substantial costs and damage brand reputation among regulators and customers. The increased use of smart grid technology has several benefits, including strengthening the resiliency of the grid to extreme weather events. However, this technology may make the grid more vulnerable to cyberattacks, because it provides hackers more entryways into infrastructure systems. Entities must implement strategies that minimise the probability and magnitude of impacts from extreme weather events and cyberattacks. To remain competitive in the face of increasing external competition, entities must improve the reliability, resilience and quality of their infrastructure.
  • Processed Foods 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.
      • Energy Management The Processed Foods industry is reliant on energy and fuel as primary inputs for value creation in manufacturing food products. Energy is needed to operate large manufacturing facilities for cooking, refrigeration and packaging. Energy production and consumption contributes to significant environmental impacts, including climate change and pollution, which have the potential indirectly, yet materially, to affect processed food entity operations. Energy efficiency in production and distribution can mitigate exposure to volatile energy costs and limit an entity’s contribution to direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Producers may be able to reduce the risk posed by volatile fossil fuel energy costs—particularly natural gas, which the industry uses heavily—by diversifying their energy portfolio across a range of sources. Decisions regarding alternative fuels use, renewable energy and on-site generation of electricity versus purchasing from the grid, may influence both the costs and reliability of the energy supply.
    • 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 Processed Foods entities rely on a reliable water supply for cooking, processing and cleaning finished goods. Additionally, entities in the industry generate and must manage the wastewater discharge from processing activities. As water scarcity becomes an issue of increasing importance, processed foods entities—operating in water-stressed regions—may face increasing operational risks. Entities in the industry may face higher operational costs as well as water shortages because of the physical availability or more stringent regulations. Entities can manage water-related risks and opportunities through capital investments and assessment of facility locations relative to water scarcity risks, improvements to operational efficiency, and partnerships with regulators and communities on issues related to water access and effluent.
    • 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.
      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.
      • Food Safety As it relates to production quality, spoilage, contamination, supply chain traceability and allergy labelling, food safety can significantly affect entities in the Processed Foods industry. Food safety recalls can happen for numerous reasons, including packaging defects, food contamination, spoilage and mislabelling. Food safety issues that arise within an entity’s supply chain often result in recalls of final products, with consequences on the brand reputation, operations and revenue of entities. Supply chain traceability is a major concern for entities in the industry. Poor management of food quality and safety may impair brand value, reduce revenues and increase costs associated with recalls, fines, lost inventory or litigation. Obtaining food safety certifications and ensuring suppliers meet food safety guidelines may help entities in the industry safeguard product safety and communicate the quality of their products to retailers and consumers.
    • 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.
      • Health & Nutrition Nutritional and health concerns such as obesity, ingredient safety and nutritional value are important factors in how entities compete with one another. The health and nutritional characteristics of products and ingredients are of growing concern to both consumers and regulators, increasing the potential for these issues to affect an entity’s reputation and licence to operate. New regulations, including taxes on processed foods, may affect industry profitability and pose long-term risks in the form of reduced demand for the industry’s products. Entities that adapt to changing consumer preferences to promote healthier, more nutritious offerings may be able to address consumer demand in emerging market segments and avoid risks associated with potential regulation.
    • 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.
      • Product Labelling & Marketing Communication with consumers through product labelling and marketing is an important facet of the Processed Foods industry. The accuracy and depth of information presented in food labelling is important to consumers and regulators. Labelling regulations require specific and detailed product information to ensure food safety and inform consumers of the nutritional content of products. To inform purchasing decisions, consumers may seek additional information about product ingredients, such as the presence of genetically modified organism (GMO) content, or about the methods used in product manufacturing. The marketing practices of entities are another area of public concern, especially those targeting children or presenting potentially false or misleading nutritional information. Product labelling and marketing issues can affect competition among entities, since entities may be subject to litigation or criticism resulting from misleading statements or failing to adapt to consumer demand for increased labelling transparency. Additionally, adherence to product labelling and marketing regulations may introduce near-term costs and may reduce the risk of penalties or litigation. All these factors can impact an entity’s brand value, operating costs and revenue growth.
    • 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.
      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.
      • Packaging Lifecycle Management Packaging materials represent a major business cost and contribute to the environmental footprint of entities in the Processed Foods industry. Each stage of a package’s lifecycle, including design, transportation and disposal, presents unique environmental challenges and opportunities. Entities are also affected by legislation regarding allowable packaging materials or packaging end-of-life management. Entities can work with packaging manufacturers on packaging design to reduce costs, improve brand reputation and reduce the environmental impact of packaging. Innovations such as developing lightweight materials may also result in reduced goods transportation costs. Other innovations can improve end-of-life management of products, such as using recyclable or compostable materials, which may mitigate potential risks related to costs and compliance.
    • Business Model Resilience The category addresses an industry’s capacity to manage risks and opportunities associated with incorporating social, environmental, and political transitions into long-term business model planning. This includes responsiveness to the transition to a low-carbon and climate-constrained economy, as well as growth and creation of new markets among unserved and underserved socio-economic populations. The category highlights industries in which evolving environmental and social realities may challenge companies to fundamentally adapt or may put their business models at risk.
      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.
      • Environmental & Social Impacts of Ingredient Supply Chain Entities in the Processed Foods industry manage global supply chains to source a wide range of ingredient inputs. How entities screen, monitor and engage with suppliers on environmental and social topics affects the ability of entities to maintain steady supplies and manage price fluctuations. Supply chain management issues related to labour and environmental practices, ethics or corruption also may result in regulatory fines or increased long-term operational costs for entities. The consumer-facing nature of the industry increases the reputational risks associated with supplier performance. Entities can engage with important suppliers to manage environmental and social risks to improve supply chain resiliency, mitigate reputational risks, potentially increase consumer demand, or capture new market opportunities.
    • 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.
      • Ingredient Sourcing Entities in the Processed Foods industry source a wide range of ingredients, largely agricultural inputs, from global suppliers. The industry’s ability to source ingredients, and at some price points, fluctuates with supply availability, which may be affected by climate change, water scarcity, land management and other resource scarcity considerations. This exposure may cause price volatility which may affect entity profitability. Climate change, water scarcity and land-use restrictions present risks to an entity’s long-term ability to source essential materials and ingredients. Entities that source ingredients which are more productive and less resource-intensive, or coordinate with suppliers to increase their adaptability to climate change and other resource scarcity risks, may reduce price volatility and supply disruptions.
    • 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
    • Systemic Risk Management The category addresses the company’s contributions to or management of systemic risks resulting from large-scale weakening or collapse of systems upon which the economy and society depend. This includes financial systems, natural resource systems, and technological systems. It addresses the mechanisms a company has in place to reduce its contributions to systemic risks and to improve safeguards that may mitigate the impacts of systemic failure. For financial institutions, the category also captures the company’s ability to absorb shocks arising from financial and economic stress and meet stricter regulatory requirements related to the complexity and interconnectedness of companies in the industry.
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Select up to 4 industries

Current Industries:
Electric Utilities & Power Generators
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Processed Foods
Food & Beverage
Infrastructure
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