Industry Comparison

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You are viewing information about the following Industries:

Professional & Commercial Services
The industry includes entities that rely on the unique skills and knowledge of their employees to serve a range of clients. Services are often provided on an assignment basis, where an individual or team is responsible for the delivery of services to clients. Offerings include, but are not limited to, management and administration consulting services, such as staffing and executive search services; legal, accounting, and tax preparation services; and financial and non-financial information services. Non-financial information service providers may specialise in an array of topics such as energy, healthcare, real estate, technology, and science. Financial information service entities include credit and rating agencies as well as data and portfolio analytics providers. Customers of professional and commercial service providers include private and public for-profit institutions and non-profit organisations.
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Car Rental & Leasing
Entities in this industry rent or lease passenger vehicles to customers. Consumers typically rent vehicles for periods of less than a month, whereas leases may last a year or more. The industry includes car-sharing business models in which rentals are measured hourly and typically include subscription fees. Car rental entities operate out of airport locations, which serve business and leisure travellers, and out of neighbourhood locations, which mostly provide repair-shop and weekend rentals. The industry is concentrated, with several dominant market players, who operate globally using a franchise model. The growth of public transit and ride-sharing services in major metropolitan areas may represent a threat to the long-term profitability of the Car Rental & Leasing industry if customers choose to hail rides or take public transit rather than rent vehicles.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (5 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
- Air Quality
- Energy Management
- Water & Wastewater Management
- Waste & Hazardous Materials Management
- Ecological Impacts
Social Capital
- Human Rights & Community Relations
- Customer Privacy
- Data Security
  The category addresses management of risks related to collection, retention, and use of sensitive, confidential, and/or proprietary customer or user data. It includes social issues that may arise from incidents such as data breaches in which personally identifiable information (PII) and other user or customer data may be exposed. It addresses a company’s strategy, policies, and practices related to IT infrastructure, staff training, record keeping, cooperation with law enforcement, and other mechanisms used to ensure security of customer or user data.
- 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
- Employee Health & Safety
- Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion
  The category addresses a company’s ability to ensure that its culture and hiring and promotion practices embrace the building of a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the makeup of local talent pools and its customer base. It addresses the issues of discriminatory practices on the bases of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors.
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
- 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.

Professional & Commercial Services Remove
Access Standard
- Data Security
  The category addresses management of risks related to collection, retention, and use of sensitive, confidential, and/or proprietary customer or user data. It includes social issues that may arise from incidents such as data breaches in which personally identifiable information (PII) and other user or customer data may be exposed. It addresses a company’s strategy, policies, and practices related to IT infrastructure, staff training, record keeping, cooperation with law enforcement, and other mechanisms used to ensure security of customer or user data.
  - Data Security
    Entities in every segment of the industry are entrusted with customer data. Employment and temporary staffing agencies as well as data providers and consulting entities store, process and transmit increasing amounts of sensitive personal data about employees, clients and candidates. In addition, the clients of financial and non-financial services providers may handle sensitive information and share this information with professional and commercial services entities. The exposure of sensitive customer information through cybersecurity breaches, other malicious activities or employee negligence may result in significant risks such as identity fraud and theft. Data breaches may compromise client perception of the effectiveness of a service provider’s security measures, which may result in reputational damage and affect an entity’s ability to attract and retain clients adversely.
- 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
- Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion
  The category addresses a company’s ability to ensure that its culture and hiring and promotion practices embrace the building of a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the makeup of local talent pools and its customer base. It addresses the issues of discriminatory practices on the bases of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors.
  - Workforce Diversity & Engagement
    Developing a broad base of valued, respected and supported employees throughout an organisation is essential for the long-term growth prospects of professional and commercial services entities. Human capital is the primary source of revenue generation, contributing knowledge, talent, advice and various technical skills. Although financial and non-financial service providers may hire a diverse workforce among lower-level employees, they may lack diversity among senior management. Enhancing workforce diversity, particularly among management positions, may help entities attract and develop the best talent. Significant employee engagement, fair treatment and equitable levels of pay and advancement opportunities for all workers are all likely to contribute to increased productivity and performance through all levels of the entity.
- 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 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.
  - Professional Integrity
    The business model of professional and commercial services entities is dependent on client trust and loyalty. To ensure long-term and mutually beneficial relationships, entities must provide services that meet the highest professional standards of the industry. Professional integrity is an important industry governance issue because the collective actions of professionals inside a single organisation may make the detection and prevention of conflicts of interest, bias or negligence more challenging. Training employees adequately, providing advice and distributing data free from bias and error, and taking other measures to ensure professional integrity, are important both for strengthening an entity’s licence to operate as well as for attracting and retaining clients.
Car Rental & Leasing Remove
Access Standard
- Data Security
  The category addresses management of risks related to collection, retention, and use of sensitive, confidential, and/or proprietary customer or user data. It includes social issues that may arise from incidents such as data breaches in which personally identifiable information (PII) and other user or customer data may be exposed. It addresses a company’s strategy, policies, and practices related to IT infrastructure, staff training, record keeping, cooperation with law enforcement, and other mechanisms used to ensure security of customer or user data.
  
  None
- Product Quality & Safety
  The category addresses issues involving unintended characteristics of products sold or services provided that may create health or safety risks to end-users. It addresses a company’s ability to offer manufactured products and/or services that meet customer expectations with respect to their health and safety characteristics. It includes, but is not limited to, issues involving liability, management of recalls and market withdrawals, product testing, and chemicals/content/ingredient management in products.
  - Customer Safety
    Meeting customer satisfaction standards for the Car Rental & Leasing industry means ensuring vehicles are in proper working condition and customers understand how to safely operate the vehicles. Since rental vehicles accumulate significant mileage compared to private vehicles, frequent maintenance and repair are required, which can be costly. Vehicle recalls are materially significant to the industry because the associated repairs temporarily may reduce entities’ available fleet, create customer service issues and decrease the residual value of cars. In addition, if customers are involved in accidents and the car rental entity is found negligent, the entity may face legal fees, impaired brand value and a higher risk profile. Balancing cost savings while ensuring safety can be complex. The franchise model under which car rental and leasing entities operate adds to the complexity, since franchisees separately own and manage their fleets.
- Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion
  The category addresses a company’s ability to ensure that its culture and hiring and promotion practices embrace the building of a diverse and inclusive workforce that reflects the makeup of local talent pools and its customer base. It addresses the issues of discriminatory practices on the bases of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and other factors.
  
  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.
  - Fleet Fuel Economy & Utilisation
    By providing fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, car rental and leasing entities may improve the environmental sustainability of their operations while also achieving financial benefits. Consumer demand for more efficient vehicles is growing, motivated by both environmental stewardship and lower operating costs associated with fuel efficiency. In addition to providing fuel-efficient and low-emission fleets, entities in the industry are adapting to changing vehicle needs by providing car-sharing services. In urban settings, car sharing is an attractive alternative to vehicle ownership that reduces congestion and the environmental impacts associated with private ownership of vehicles. By maximising fleet utilisation rates through car-sharing, entities may improve operational efficiency.
- 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

General Issue Category

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Data Security

Data Security
Entities in every segment of the industry are entrusted with customer data. Employment and temporary staffing agencies as well as data providers and consulting entities store, process and transmit increasing amounts of sensitive personal data about employees, clients and candidates. In addition, the clients of financial and non-financial services providers may handle sensitive information and share this information with professional and commercial services entities. The exposure of sensitive customer information through cybersecurity breaches, other malicious activities or employee negligence may result in significant risks such as identity fraud and theft. Data breaches may compromise client perception of the effectiveness of a service provider’s security measures, which may result in reputational damage and affect an entity’s ability to attract and retain clients adversely.

Product Quality & Safety

Customer Safety
Meeting customer satisfaction standards for the Car Rental & Leasing industry means ensuring vehicles are in proper working condition and customers understand how to safely operate the vehicles. Since rental vehicles accumulate significant mileage compared to private vehicles, frequent maintenance and repair are required, which can be costly. Vehicle recalls are materially significant to the industry because the associated repairs temporarily may reduce entities’ available fleet, create customer service issues and decrease the residual value of cars. In addition, if customers are involved in accidents and the car rental entity is found negligent, the entity may face legal fees, impaired brand value and a higher risk profile. Balancing cost savings while ensuring safety can be complex. The franchise model under which car rental and leasing entities operate adds to the complexity, since franchisees separately own and manage their fleets.

Employee Engagement, Diversity & Inclusion

Workforce Diversity & Engagement
Developing a broad base of valued, respected and supported employees throughout an organisation is essential for the long-term growth prospects of professional and commercial services entities. Human capital is the primary source of revenue generation, contributing knowledge, talent, advice and various technical skills. Although financial and non-financial service providers may hire a diverse workforce among lower-level employees, they may lack diversity among senior management. Enhancing workforce diversity, particularly among management positions, may help entities attract and develop the best talent. Significant employee engagement, fair treatment and equitable levels of pay and advancement opportunities for all workers are all likely to contribute to increased productivity and performance through all levels of the entity.

Product Design & Lifecycle Management

Fleet Fuel Economy & Utilisation
By providing fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles, car rental and leasing entities may improve the environmental sustainability of their operations while also achieving financial benefits. Consumer demand for more efficient vehicles is growing, motivated by both environmental stewardship and lower operating costs associated with fuel efficiency. In addition to providing fuel-efficient and low-emission fleets, entities in the industry are adapting to changing vehicle needs by providing car-sharing services. In urban settings, car sharing is an attractive alternative to vehicle ownership that reduces congestion and the environmental impacts associated with private ownership of vehicles. By maximising fleet utilisation rates through car-sharing, entities may improve operational efficiency.

Business Ethics

Professional Integrity
The business model of professional and commercial services entities is dependent on client trust and loyalty. To ensure long-term and mutually beneficial relationships, entities must provide services that meet the highest professional standards of the industry. Professional integrity is an important industry governance issue because the collective actions of professionals inside a single organisation may make the detection and prevention of conflicts of interest, bias or negligence more challenging. Training employees adequately, providing advice and distributing data free from bias and error, and taking other measures to ensure professional integrity, are important both for strengthening an entity’s licence to operate as well as for attracting and retaining clients.

Relevant Issues for both Industries (5 of 26)

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