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Waste Management
Waste Management industry entities collect, store, dispose of, recycle or treat various forms of waste from residential, commercial and industrial clients. Types of waste include municipal solid waste, hazardous waste, recyclable materials, and compostable or organic materials. Major entities commonly are integrated vertically, providing a range of services from waste collection to landfilling and recycling, while others provide specialised services such as treating medical and industrial waste. Waste-to-energy operations are a distinct industry segment. Some industry players also provide environmental engineering and consulting services, mostly to large industrial clients.
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Engineering & Construction Services
The Engineering & Construction Services industry provides engineering, construction, design, consulting, contracting and other related services that support various building and infrastructure projects. The industry has four major segments: engineering services, infrastructure construction, non-residential building construction, and building subcontractors and construction-related professional services. The infrastructure construction segment includes entities that design or build infrastructure projects such as power plants, dams, oil and gas pipelines, refineries, highways, bridges, tunnels, railways, ports, airports, waste treatment plants, water networks and stadiums. The non-residential building construction segment includes entities that design or build industrial and commercial facilities such as factories, warehouses, data centres, offices, hotels, hospitals, universities and retail spaces such as shopping centres. The engineering services segment includes entities that provide specialised architectural and engineering services such as design and development of feasibility studies for many of the project types listed above. Finally, the building subcontractors and other construction-related professional services segment includes smaller entities that provide ancillary services such as carpentry, electrical, plumbing, painting, waterproofing, landscaping, interior design and building inspection. The industry’s customers include infrastructure owners and developers in the public and private sectors. Large entities in this industry operate and generate revenue globally and typically operate in more than one segment.
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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.

Environment
- 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).
- 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.
- Energy Management
- Water & Wastewater Management
- 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.
- Ecological Impacts
  The category addresses management of the company’s impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity through activities including, but not limited to, land use for exploration, natural resource extraction, and cultivation, as well as project development, construction, and siting. The impacts include, but are not limited to, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and deforestation at all stages – planning, land acquisition, permitting, development, operations, and site remediation. The category does not cover impacts of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Social Capital
- Human Rights & Community Relations
- Customer Privacy
- Data Security
- Access & Affordability
- Product Quality & Safety
  The category addresses issues involving unintended characteristics of products sold or services provided that may create health or safety risks to end-users. It addresses a company’s ability to offer manufactured products and/or services that meet customer expectations with respect to their health and safety characteristics. It includes, but is not limited to, issues involving liability, management of recalls and market withdrawals, product testing, and chemicals/content/ingredient management in products.
- Customer Welfare
- Selling Practices & Product Labeling
Human Capital
- Labour Practices
  The category addresses the company’s ability to uphold commonly accepted labour standards in the workplace, including compliance with labour laws and internationally accepted norms and standards. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring basic human rights related to child labour, forced or bonded labour, exploitative labour, fair wages and overtime pay, and other basic workers’ rights. It also includes minimum wage policies and provision of benefits, which may influence how a workforce is attracted, retained, and motivated. The category further addresses a company’s relationship with organized labour and freedom of association.
- 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.
- Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion
Business Model and Innovation
- Product Design & Lifecycle Management
  The category addresses incorporation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in characteristics of products and services provided or sold by the company. It includes, but is not limited to, managing the lifecycle impacts of products and services, such as those related to packaging, distribution, use-phase resource intensity, and other environmental and social externalities that may occur during their use-phase or at the end of life. The category captures a company’s ability to address customer and societal demand for more sustainable products and services as well as to meet evolving environmental and social regulation. It does not address direct environmental or social impacts of the company’s operations nor does it address health and safety risks to consumers from product use, which are covered in other categories.
- Business Model Resilience
  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.
- Supply Chain Management
- Materials Sourcing & Efficiency
- Physical Impacts of Climate Change
Leadership and Governance
- Business Ethics
  The category addresses the company’s approach to managing risks and opportunities surrounding ethical conduct of business, including fraud, corruption, bribery and facilitation payments, fiduciary responsibilities, and other behaviour that may have an ethical component. This includes sensitivity to business norms and standards as they shift over time, jurisdiction, and culture. It addresses the company’s ability to provide services that satisfy the highest professional and ethical standards of the industry, which means to avoid conflicts of interest, misrepresentation, bias, and negligence through training employees adequately and implementing policies and procedures to ensure employees provide services free from bias and error.
- Competitive Behaviour
- Management of the Legal & Regulatory Environment
- Critical Incident Risk Management
- Systemic Risk Management

Disclosure Topics

What is the relationship between General Issue Category and Disclosure Topics?

The General Issue Category is an industry-agnostic version of the Disclosure Topics that appear in each SASB Standard. Disclosure topics represent the industry-specific impacts of General Issue Categories. The industry-specific Disclosure Topics ensure each SASB Standard is tailored to the industry, while the General Issue Categories enable comparability across industries. For example, Health & Nutrition is a disclosure topic in the Non-Alcoholic Beverages industry, representing an industry-specific measure of the general issue of Customer Welfare. The issue of Customer Welfare, however, manifests as the Counterfeit Drugs disclosure topic in the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals industry.

Waste Management 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
    Landfills are a significant anthropogenic contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because they generate methane. As a result, regulators frequently require entities to limit landfill gas emissions. Entities can reduce these emissions through a variety of control technologies that require significant capital investments such as landfill gas collection efficiency improvements, control devices and increased methane oxidisation. Entities can capture and combust methane using a flare, an engine or a turbine to reduce the overall toxicity and potency of raw emissions dramatically. Landfill gas capture is particularly important for owners and operators of large landfills that have been the focus of regulation. Entities that operate in the waste-to-energy industry segment may reduce waste lifecycle emissions through decreased future emissions from landfills and displaced energy generation, but they face increased Scope 1 emissions from waste-to-energy facilities operations. Overall, GHG emissions pose regulatory risks for the industry, with potential effects on operational costs and capital expenditures. Entities also may generate revenue through the sale of natural gas and energy from waste-to-energy facilities, as well as reduce fuel purchases by using processed landfill gas to power operations. Performance on this issue may affect an entity’s ability to secure new permits or renew existing ones, which can affect revenue.
  - Fleet Fuel Management
    Many entities in the Waste Management industry own and operate large vehicle fleets for waste collection and transfer. The fuel consumption of vehicle fleets is a significant industry cost, both in terms of operating expenses and associated capital expenditures. Fossil fuel consumption can contribute to environmental impacts, including climate change and pollution. These environmental impacts may affect waste management entities through increased regulatory exposure and reduced competitiveness of new contract proposals. Hedging fuel purchases is a common tool used to manage fleet-fuel risks; however, increasingly, waste management entities are upgrading to more fuel-efficient fleets or switching to natural gas vehicles. A cleaner-burning fleet also may be perceived favourably by communities living near waste management facilities with heavy traffic.
- 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
    Air pollution is the presence of air contaminants in such quantities and duration that they may be injurious to humans, animals, plants or property. It also includes contaminants that interfere with enjoyment of life or property. Therefore, odours and toxic gases, such as those emitted from landfills, landfill fires, waste incinerators and waste treatment plants, are considered air pollution. The financial consequences from excessive air emissions vary depending on the specific location of operations and the prevailing air emissions regulations, but they may include capital expenditures, increased operating costs, fines, and lawsuits from affected communities. Human health impacts and financial consequences of poor air quality management may be exacerbated by the proximity of waste management facilities to communities. Active management of air pollutants and odours—through technological and process improvements—therefore may mitigate regulatory exposure and associated future compliance costs from increasingly stringent air quality regulations, help entities secure and maintain permits, and protect their licence to operate.
- 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.
  - Management of Leachate & Hazardous Waste
    Entities operating landfills must manage and reduce the risks of potential ecological impacts, including those caused by leachate and hazardous waste. Poor management of landfills and other disposal sites may contaminate soil, groundwater and nearby water bodies. To mitigate environmental and health risks to local communities, entities must effectively contain and manage leachate, as well as hazardous waste. Entities unable to manage these risks may suffer regulatory penalties, lose brand value, impair future business prospects and face lawsuits.
- Ecological Impacts
  The category addresses management of the company’s impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity through activities including, but not limited to, land use for exploration, natural resource extraction, and cultivation, as well as project development, construction, and siting. The impacts include, but are not limited to, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and deforestation at all stages – planning, land acquisition, permitting, development, operations, and site remediation. The category does not cover impacts of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity.
  
  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
- Labour Practices
  The category addresses the company’s ability to uphold commonly accepted labour standards in the workplace, including compliance with labour laws and internationally accepted norms and standards. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring basic human rights related to child labour, forced or bonded labour, exploitative labour, fair wages and overtime pay, and other basic workers’ rights. It also includes minimum wage policies and provision of benefits, which may influence how a workforce is attracted, retained, and motivated. The category further addresses a company’s relationship with organized labour and freedom of association.
  - Labour Practices
    Organised labour is important in the Waste Management industry. Covering many workers, collective bargaining agreements protect workers’ rights and establish wages. Waste management entities may be vulnerable to strikes, shutdowns and delays if labour concerns are managed ineffectively. Proper management of, and communication around, labour issues such as worker pay and working conditions may prevent conflicts with workers that may result in extended strikes, which can slow or stop operations and create reputational risk. Waste management entities need a long-term perspective on managing workers—including their pay and benefits—in a way that protects workers’ rights and enhances productivity while ensuring the financial sustainability of an entity’s operations.
- 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
    The industry’s hazardous working conditions make safety a critical issue for waste management operations, and accidents can have a significant impact on workers. The Waste Management industry has higher fatality rates than most industries. Fatalities and other injuries are caused primarily by transportation incidents, contact with hazardous objects and equipment, and exposure to harmful substances. Additionally, temporary workers may be at increased risk because of a lack of training or industry experience. Poor health and safety records may result in fines and penalties, increased regulatory compliance costs and more stringent oversight. Waste management entities must ensure facilities and vehicles are operated with the highest safety standards and that the number of injuries and accidents is minimised through a strong safety culture. Entities that develop proactive safety management plans and training requirements for employees and contractors, including conducting regular audits, may improve workforce safety and minimise the chance of safety-related financial repercussions.
- Product Design & Lifecycle Management
  The category addresses incorporation of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in characteristics of products and services provided or sold by the company. It includes, but is not limited to, managing the lifecycle impacts of products and services, such as those related to packaging, distribution, use-phase resource intensity, and other environmental and social externalities that may occur during their use-phase or at the end of life. The category captures a company’s ability to address customer and societal demand for more sustainable products and services as well as to meet evolving environmental and social regulation. It does not address direct environmental or social impacts of the company’s operations nor does it address health and safety risks to consumers from product use, which are covered in other categories.
  
  None
- Business 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.
  - Recycling & Resource Recovery
    Recycling, reuse, composting and incineration are general methods of diverting waste from landfills. Landfill diversion can mitigate some of the environmental impacts of landfills and reduce the need for landfill expansion. Additionally, waste management entities play a critical role in the circular economy by separating and recovering reusable materials such as paper, glass, metal, organic materials and electronic waste. New regulations, customer demand and the increasing costs of extracting virgin materials are encouraging the development of a circular economy. As a result, waste management entities are facing a decrease in landfilled waste and an expanding recycling market. Cradle-to-cradle approaches initiated by other industries may fail if the recovery and recycling infrastructure or technologies do not exist. Entities that provide recycling and other resource recovery services will address changing consumer needs better, thereby positioning themselves for revenue growth while playing a critical role in reducing the environmental impact of the wider economy.
- 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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- 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).
  
  None
- 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.
  
  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
- Ecological Impacts
  The category addresses management of the company’s impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity through activities including, but not limited to, land use for exploration, natural resource extraction, and cultivation, as well as project development, construction, and siting. The impacts include, but are not limited to, biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and deforestation at all stages – planning, land acquisition, permitting, development, operations, and site remediation. The category does not cover impacts of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity.
  - Environmental Impacts of Project Development
    Infrastructure construction projects improve economic and social development; however, they also may pose risks to the local environment and surrounding communities. Industry activities can disrupt local ecosystems through biodiversity impacts, air emissions, water discharges, natural resource consumption, waste generation and hazardous chemicals use. Construction entities perform clearing, grading and excavation activities and may generate harmful waste during project construction. Effectively assessing environmental impacts before construction may mitigate unforeseen issues that may increase operational expenses and capital costs. In some cases, environmental concerns or local community pushback may result in project delays and, in extreme cases, project cancellations, which may affect an entity’s profitability and growth opportunities. Failure to comply with environmental regulations during construction may result in costly fines and remediation costs, and it can damage an entity’s reputation. Environmental impact assessments can provide an understanding of a project’s potential environmental impacts and necessary mitigation activities before it begins. Likewise, proper management of environmental risks during project construction may reduce regulatory oversight or community pushback. By assessing environmental considerations before project initiation, as well as continuing to evaluate them during project development, engineering and construction entities may be prepared to mitigate potential environmental issues and the associated financial risks that may occur, while also establishing a competitive advantage for obtaining new contracts with prospective clients.
- 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.
  - Structural Integrity & Safety
    Whether providing engineering, design, architectural, consulting, inspection, construction or maintenance services, entities in this industry have a professional responsibility to ensure the safety and integrity of their work. Errors or inadequate quality in the project design phase and construction of buildings or infrastructure may result in significant personal injury, loss of property value and economic harm. Entities that manage structural integrity and safety poorly may incur incremental costs because of redesign or repair work and legal liabilities, as well as reputational damage that could hurt growth prospects. Moreover, when designing and constructing buildings or infrastructure, entities in the industry increasingly must contemplate potential climate change impacts, which may affect the project’s structural integrity and public safety. Compliance with minimum applicable codes and standards may not be enough to maintain and grow reputational value (or even mitigate legal liabilities) in some circumstances, especially if the frequency and severity of climate-change-related events increases as expected. Meeting or exceeding new industry quality standards, and setting up internal control procedures to identify and fix potential design issues, including those resulting from climate risks, are practices that may help entities reduce these risks.
- Labour Practices
  The category addresses the company’s ability to uphold commonly accepted labour standards in the workplace, including compliance with labour laws and internationally accepted norms and standards. This includes, but is not limited to, ensuring basic human rights related to child labour, forced or bonded labour, exploitative labour, fair wages and overtime pay, and other basic workers’ rights. It also includes minimum wage policies and provision of benefits, which may influence how a workforce is attracted, retained, and motivated. The category further addresses a company’s relationship with organized labour and freedom of association.
  
  None
- Employee Health & Safety
  The category addresses a company’s ability to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace environment that is free of injuries, fatalities, and illness (both chronic and acute). It is traditionally accomplished through implementing safety management plans, developing training requirements for employees and contractors, and conducting regular audits of their own practices as well as those of their subcontractors. The category further captures how companies ensure physical and mental health of workforce through technology, training, corporate culture, regulatory compliance, monitoring and testing, and personal protective equipment.
  - Workforce Health & Safety
    Construction, maintenance and repair services and other on-site activities require substantial manual labour. Fatality and injury rates in the Engineering & Construction Services industry are high compared with those in other industries because of the workforce’s exposure to powered haulage and heavy machinery accidents, fall accidents, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and other unique and potentially dangerous situations. Additionally, temporary workers may be at a higher risk because of a lack of training or industry experience. Failing to protect worker health and safety can result in fines and penalties; serious incidents may result in acute, one-time extraordinary expenses and contingent liabilities from legal or regulatory actions. In addition, health and safety incidents may result in project delays and downtime that increase project costs and decrease profitability. Entities that seek to train both permanent and temporary employees professionally and build a strong safety culture may reduce their risk profile while potentially gaining a competitive advantage in new project bids and proposals because of good workforce health and safety statistics.
- 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.
  - Lifecycle Impacts of Buildings & Infrastructure
    Buildings and major infrastructure projects are among the largest users of natural resources in the economy; during construction, these materials include iron and steel products, cement, concrete, bricks, drywall, wallboards, glass, insulation, fixtures, doors, and cabinetry, among others. Once completed, and during their daily use, these projects often consume significant amounts of resources in the form of energy and water (for a discussion on direct environmental impacts from project construction see the Environmental Impacts of Project Development topic). Therefore, the sourcing of construction materials and the everyday use of buildings and infrastructure may contribute to direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global or local resource constraints, water stress and negative human health outcomes. Client and regulatory pressures to develop a sustainable built environment are contributing to the growth of markets intended to reduce the lifecycle impacts of buildings and infrastructure projects. In response, various international sustainable building and infrastructure certification schemes assess, among other aspects, a project’s use-phase energy and water efficiency, impacts on human health, and the use of sustainable construction and building materials. As a result, various opportunities are being created for industries in the value chain—from suppliers that can provide such materials, to entities in the Engineering & Construction Services industry that can provide sustainability-oriented project design, consulting and construction services. Such services can provide a competitive advantage and revenue growth opportunities as client demand for economically advantageous sustainable projects increases and related regulations evolve. Entities unable to effectively integrate such considerations into their services may lose market share in the long term.
  - Climate Impacts of Business Mix
    Engineering & Construction Services industry clients may be exposed to potentially disruptive climate regulation as well as those that mitigate climate change. Some types of construction projects are significant climate change contributors because of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted during their use phase. Projects that may contribute to global GHG emissions include those in extractive industries, as well as large buildings. Whereas some infrastructure projects, such as renewable energy projects, are designed to reduce GHG emissions, many types of projects present trade-offs. Mass transit systems, for example, may contribute to GHG emissions while reducing net emissions once the benefits offered by the system are factored. Several entities in the industry generate a substantial share of revenue and profits from clients in carbon-intensive industries and whose future capital investments may be at risk because of evolving climate regulations. Downside risks may manifest through project delays, cancellations and diminished long-term revenue growth opportunities. On the other hand, entities that specialise in infrastructure projects that contribute to GHG mitigation could develop competitive advantages as they continue to focus on these growing markets. As the industry and its customers continue to operate within an uncertain business environment and face increasing environmental and regulatory requirements, assessing and communicating the risks and opportunities stemming from climate change that are embedded in an entity’s backlog and future business prospects may help investors in assessing the overall business impact of climate change.
- 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
- 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 industry face risks associated with bribery, corruption and anti-competitive practices. Several factors contribute to these risks, including global operations, managing many local agents and subcontractors, project financing and project permitting complexity, the magnitude of the contracts involved in building large infrastructure projects, and the competitive process to secure contracts with private and public entities. Ethical breaches may result in regulatory authority investigations, as well as large fines, settlement costs and damaged reputations. Such breaches may include violations of anti-bribery laws, such as paying government officials to gain project contracts. They also may include unethical bidding practices, such as complementary bidding (for example, submitting an artificially high or otherwise unacceptable bid for a contract that a bidder does not intend to win) and bid-pooling (for example, coordinating to split contracts and ensure each bidder is awarded a specific amount of work). Moreover, entities with poor track records may be barred from future projects, resulting in lost revenue. Developing an ethical culture through employee training, effective governance structures and internal controls is critical for entities to mitigate business ethics risks.

General Issue Category

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GHG Emissions

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Landfills are a significant anthropogenic contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions because they generate methane. As a result, regulators frequently require entities to limit landfill gas emissions. Entities can reduce these emissions through a variety of control technologies that require significant capital investments such as landfill gas collection efficiency improvements, control devices and increased methane oxidisation. Entities can capture and combust methane using a flare, an engine or a turbine to reduce the overall toxicity and potency of raw emissions dramatically. Landfill gas capture is particularly important for owners and operators of large landfills that have been the focus of regulation. Entities that operate in the waste-to-energy industry segment may reduce waste lifecycle emissions through decreased future emissions from landfills and displaced energy generation, but they face increased Scope 1 emissions from waste-to-energy facilities operations. Overall, GHG emissions pose regulatory risks for the industry, with potential effects on operational costs and capital expenditures. Entities also may generate revenue through the sale of natural gas and energy from waste-to-energy facilities, as well as reduce fuel purchases by using processed landfill gas to power operations. Performance on this issue may affect an entity’s ability to secure new permits or renew existing ones, which can affect revenue.
Fleet Fuel Management
Many entities in the Waste Management industry own and operate large vehicle fleets for waste collection and transfer. The fuel consumption of vehicle fleets is a significant industry cost, both in terms of operating expenses and associated capital expenditures. Fossil fuel consumption can contribute to environmental impacts, including climate change and pollution. These environmental impacts may affect waste management entities through increased regulatory exposure and reduced competitiveness of new contract proposals. Hedging fuel purchases is a common tool used to manage fleet-fuel risks; however, increasingly, waste management entities are upgrading to more fuel-efficient fleets or switching to natural gas vehicles. A cleaner-burning fleet also may be perceived favourably by communities living near waste management facilities with heavy traffic.

Air Quality

Air Quality
Air pollution is the presence of air contaminants in such quantities and duration that they may be injurious to humans, animals, plants or property. It also includes contaminants that interfere with enjoyment of life or property. Therefore, odours and toxic gases, such as those emitted from landfills, landfill fires, waste incinerators and waste treatment plants, are considered air pollution. The financial consequences from excessive air emissions vary depending on the specific location of operations and the prevailing air emissions regulations, but they may include capital expenditures, increased operating costs, fines, and lawsuits from affected communities. Human health impacts and financial consequences of poor air quality management may be exacerbated by the proximity of waste management facilities to communities. Active management of air pollutants and odours—through technological and process improvements—therefore may mitigate regulatory exposure and associated future compliance costs from increasingly stringent air quality regulations, help entities secure and maintain permits, and protect their licence to operate.

Waste & Hazardous Materials Management

Management of Leachate & Hazardous Waste
Entities operating landfills must manage and reduce the risks of potential ecological impacts, including those caused by leachate and hazardous waste. Poor management of landfills and other disposal sites may contaminate soil, groundwater and nearby water bodies. To mitigate environmental and health risks to local communities, entities must effectively contain and manage leachate, as well as hazardous waste. Entities unable to manage these risks may suffer regulatory penalties, lose brand value, impair future business prospects and face lawsuits.

Ecological Impacts

Environmental Impacts of Project Development
Infrastructure construction projects improve economic and social development; however, they also may pose risks to the local environment and surrounding communities. Industry activities can disrupt local ecosystems through biodiversity impacts, air emissions, water discharges, natural resource consumption, waste generation and hazardous chemicals use. Construction entities perform clearing, grading and excavation activities and may generate harmful waste during project construction. Effectively assessing environmental impacts before construction may mitigate unforeseen issues that may increase operational expenses and capital costs. In some cases, environmental concerns or local community pushback may result in project delays and, in extreme cases, project cancellations, which may affect an entity’s profitability and growth opportunities. Failure to comply with environmental regulations during construction may result in costly fines and remediation costs, and it can damage an entity’s reputation. Environmental impact assessments can provide an understanding of a project’s potential environmental impacts and necessary mitigation activities before it begins. Likewise, proper management of environmental risks during project construction may reduce regulatory oversight or community pushback. By assessing environmental considerations before project initiation, as well as continuing to evaluate them during project development, engineering and construction entities may be prepared to mitigate potential environmental issues and the associated financial risks that may occur, while also establishing a competitive advantage for obtaining new contracts with prospective clients.

Product Quality & Safety

Structural Integrity & Safety
Whether providing engineering, design, architectural, consulting, inspection, construction or maintenance services, entities in this industry have a professional responsibility to ensure the safety and integrity of their work. Errors or inadequate quality in the project design phase and construction of buildings or infrastructure may result in significant personal injury, loss of property value and economic harm. Entities that manage structural integrity and safety poorly may incur incremental costs because of redesign or repair work and legal liabilities, as well as reputational damage that could hurt growth prospects. Moreover, when designing and constructing buildings or infrastructure, entities in the industry increasingly must contemplate potential climate change impacts, which may affect the project’s structural integrity and public safety. Compliance with minimum applicable codes and standards may not be enough to maintain and grow reputational value (or even mitigate legal liabilities) in some circumstances, especially if the frequency and severity of climate-change-related events increases as expected. Meeting or exceeding new industry quality standards, and setting up internal control procedures to identify and fix potential design issues, including those resulting from climate risks, are practices that may help entities reduce these risks.

Labour Practices

Labour Practices
Organised labour is important in the Waste Management industry. Covering many workers, collective bargaining agreements protect workers’ rights and establish wages. Waste management entities may be vulnerable to strikes, shutdowns and delays if labour concerns are managed ineffectively. Proper management of, and communication around, labour issues such as worker pay and working conditions may prevent conflicts with workers that may result in extended strikes, which can slow or stop operations and create reputational risk. Waste management entities need a long-term perspective on managing workers—including their pay and benefits—in a way that protects workers’ rights and enhances productivity while ensuring the financial sustainability of an entity’s operations.

Employee Health & Safety

Workforce Health & Safety
The industry’s hazardous working conditions make safety a critical issue for waste management operations, and accidents can have a significant impact on workers. The Waste Management industry has higher fatality rates than most industries. Fatalities and other injuries are caused primarily by transportation incidents, contact with hazardous objects and equipment, and exposure to harmful substances. Additionally, temporary workers may be at increased risk because of a lack of training or industry experience. Poor health and safety records may result in fines and penalties, increased regulatory compliance costs and more stringent oversight. Waste management entities must ensure facilities and vehicles are operated with the highest safety standards and that the number of injuries and accidents is minimised through a strong safety culture. Entities that develop proactive safety management plans and training requirements for employees and contractors, including conducting regular audits, may improve workforce safety and minimise the chance of safety-related financial repercussions.

Workforce Health & Safety
Construction, maintenance and repair services and other on-site activities require substantial manual labour. Fatality and injury rates in the Engineering & Construction Services industry are high compared with those in other industries because of the workforce’s exposure to powered haulage and heavy machinery accidents, fall accidents, exposure to hazardous chemicals, and other unique and potentially dangerous situations. Additionally, temporary workers may be at a higher risk because of a lack of training or industry experience. Failing to protect worker health and safety can result in fines and penalties; serious incidents may result in acute, one-time extraordinary expenses and contingent liabilities from legal or regulatory actions. In addition, health and safety incidents may result in project delays and downtime that increase project costs and decrease profitability. Entities that seek to train both permanent and temporary employees professionally and build a strong safety culture may reduce their risk profile while potentially gaining a competitive advantage in new project bids and proposals because of good workforce health and safety statistics.

Product Design & Lifecycle Management

Lifecycle Impacts of Buildings & Infrastructure
Buildings and major infrastructure projects are among the largest users of natural resources in the economy; during construction, these materials include iron and steel products, cement, concrete, bricks, drywall, wallboards, glass, insulation, fixtures, doors, and cabinetry, among others. Once completed, and during their daily use, these projects often consume significant amounts of resources in the form of energy and water (for a discussion on direct environmental impacts from project construction see the Environmental Impacts of Project Development topic). Therefore, the sourcing of construction materials and the everyday use of buildings and infrastructure may contribute to direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, global or local resource constraints, water stress and negative human health outcomes. Client and regulatory pressures to develop a sustainable built environment are contributing to the growth of markets intended to reduce the lifecycle impacts of buildings and infrastructure projects. In response, various international sustainable building and infrastructure certification schemes assess, among other aspects, a project’s use-phase energy and water efficiency, impacts on human health, and the use of sustainable construction and building materials. As a result, various opportunities are being created for industries in the value chain—from suppliers that can provide such materials, to entities in the Engineering & Construction Services industry that can provide sustainability-oriented project design, consulting and construction services. Such services can provide a competitive advantage and revenue growth opportunities as client demand for economically advantageous sustainable projects increases and related regulations evolve. Entities unable to effectively integrate such considerations into their services may lose market share in the long term.
Climate Impacts of Business Mix
Engineering & Construction Services industry clients may be exposed to potentially disruptive climate regulation as well as those that mitigate climate change. Some types of construction projects are significant climate change contributors because of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted during their use phase. Projects that may contribute to global GHG emissions include those in extractive industries, as well as large buildings. Whereas some infrastructure projects, such as renewable energy projects, are designed to reduce GHG emissions, many types of projects present trade-offs. Mass transit systems, for example, may contribute to GHG emissions while reducing net emissions once the benefits offered by the system are factored. Several entities in the industry generate a substantial share of revenue and profits from clients in carbon-intensive industries and whose future capital investments may be at risk because of evolving climate regulations. Downside risks may manifest through project delays, cancellations and diminished long-term revenue growth opportunities. On the other hand, entities that specialise in infrastructure projects that contribute to GHG mitigation could develop competitive advantages as they continue to focus on these growing markets. As the industry and its customers continue to operate within an uncertain business environment and face increasing environmental and regulatory requirements, assessing and communicating the risks and opportunities stemming from climate change that are embedded in an entity’s backlog and future business prospects may help investors in assessing the overall business impact of climate change.

Business Model Resilience

Recycling & Resource Recovery
Recycling, reuse, composting and incineration are general methods of diverting waste from landfills. Landfill diversion can mitigate some of the environmental impacts of landfills and reduce the need for landfill expansion. Additionally, waste management entities play a critical role in the circular economy by separating and recovering reusable materials such as paper, glass, metal, organic materials and electronic waste. New regulations, customer demand and the increasing costs of extracting virgin materials are encouraging the development of a circular economy. As a result, waste management entities are facing a decrease in landfilled waste and an expanding recycling market. Cradle-to-cradle approaches initiated by other industries may fail if the recovery and recycling infrastructure or technologies do not exist. Entities that provide recycling and other resource recovery services will address changing consumer needs better, thereby positioning themselves for revenue growth while playing a critical role in reducing the environmental impact of the wider economy.

Business Ethics

Business Ethics
Entities in the industry face risks associated with bribery, corruption and anti-competitive practices. Several factors contribute to these risks, including global operations, managing many local agents and subcontractors, project financing and project permitting complexity, the magnitude of the contracts involved in building large infrastructure projects, and the competitive process to secure contracts with private and public entities. Ethical breaches may result in regulatory authority investigations, as well as large fines, settlement costs and damaged reputations. Such breaches may include violations of anti-bribery laws, such as paying government officials to gain project contracts. They also may include unethical bidding practices, such as complementary bidding (for example, submitting an artificially high or otherwise unacceptable bid for a contract that a bidder does not intend to win) and bid-pooling (for example, coordinating to split contracts and ensure each bidder is awarded a specific amount of work). Moreover, entities with poor track records may be barred from future projects, resulting in lost revenue. Developing an ethical culture through employee training, effective governance structures and internal controls is critical for entities to mitigate business ethics risks.

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