Industry Comparison

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  • Telecommunication Services Telecommunication Services industry entities provide a range of services from wireless and wireline telecommunications to cable and satellite services. The wireless services segment provides direct communication through radio-based cellular networks and operates and maintains the associated switching and transmission facilities. The wireline segment provides local and long-distance voice communication via the Public Switched Telephone Network. Wireline carriers also offer voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephone, television and broadband internet services over an expanding network of fibre optic cables. Cable providers distribute television programming from cable networks to subscribers. They typically also provide consumers with video services, high-speed internet service and VoIP. Traditionally, these services are bundled into packages that charge subscribers a single payment. Satellite entities distribute TV programming through broadcasting satellites orbiting the earth or through ground stations. Entities serve customers primarily in their domestic markets, although some entities operate in more than one country.
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  • Coal Operations The Coal Operations industry includes entities that mine coal and those that manufacture coal products. Mining activity covers both underground and surface mining, and thermal and metallurgical coal.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (15 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.
  • Telecommunication Services 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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    • 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.
      • Environmental Footprint of Operations Individual Telecommunication Services entities consume substantial amounts of energy. Depending on the source of energy and generation efficiency, electricity consumption by telecom network infrastructure can contribute significantly to environmental externalities, such as climate change, creating sustainability risks for the industry. Although network equipment and data centres are becoming more energy efficient, their overall energy consumption is increasing with the expansion in telecommunications infrastructure and data traffic. How Telecommunication Services entities manage their overall energy efficiency or intensity, reliance on different types of energy, and how they access alternative sources of energy may become increasingly material as the global regulatory focus on climate change increases, creating incentives for energy efficiency and renewable energy as well as pricing of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Because energy expenditures may be significant in the industry, entities that improve operational energy efficiency may increase cost savings and profit margins.
    • Water & Wastewater Management The category addresses a company’s water use, water consumption, wastewater generation, and other impacts of operations on water resources, which may be influenced by regional differences in the availability and quality of and competition for water resources. More specifically, it addresses management strategies including, but not limited to, water efficiency, intensity, and recycling. Lastly, the category also addresses management of wastewater treatment and discharge, including groundwater and aquifer pollution.
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    • 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.
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    • 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.
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    • Human Rights & Community Relations The category addresses management of the relationship between businesses and the communities in which they operate, including, but not limited to, management of direct and indirect impacts on core human rights and the treatment of indigenous peoples. More specifically, such management may cover socio-economic community impacts, community engagement, environmental justice, cultivation of local workforces, impact on local businesses, license to operate, and environmental/social impact assessments. The category does not include environmental impacts such as air pollution or waste which, although they may impact the health and safety of members of local communities, are addressed in separate categories.
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    • Customer Privacy The category addresses management of risks related to the use of personally identifiable information (PII) and other customer or user data for secondary purposes including but not limited to marketing through affiliates and non-affiliates. The scope of the category includes social issues that may arise from a company’s approach to collecting data, obtaining consent (e.g., opt-in policies), managing user and customer expectations regarding how their data is used, and managing evolving regulation. It excludes social issues arising from cybersecurity risks, which are covered in a separate category.
      • Data Privacy As customers increasingly pay attention to privacy issues associated with cell phone, internet and email services, Telecommunication Services entities must implement strong management practices and guidelines related to their use of customer data. Telecommunication Services entities use growing volumes of customer location, web browsing and demographic data to improve their services as well as generate revenue by selling such data to third parties. Growing public concern about privacy may result in increased regulatory scrutiny over the use, collection and sale of consumer data. These trends increase the importance of Telecommunication Services entities adopting and communicating policies about providing customer data to third parties transparently, including the amount and type of data provided and the nature of its use (for example, use for commercial purposes). Additionally, Telecommunication Services entities receive, and must determine whether to comply with, government requests for customer information. Entities in the industry that fail to manage data privacy may be susceptible to decreased revenues because of lost consumer confidence and churn, as well as to financial effects stemming from legal exposures.
    • 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 The Telecommunication Services industry is particularly vulnerable to data security threats because entities manage an increasing volume of customer data, including personally identifiable information, as well as demographic, behavioural and location data. Inadequate prevention, detection and remediation of data security threats may influence customer acquisition and retention and result in decreased market share and lower demand for the entity’s products. In addition to reputational damage and increased customer turnover, data breaches also may result in increased expenses, commonly associated with remediation efforts such as identity protection offerings and employee training on data protection. As the providers of critical infrastructure, the ability of entities to combat cyber-attacks may affect reputation and brand value, with a long-term effect on market share and revenue growth potential. Therefore, entities that identify and manage data security risks in a timely manner may be in a better position to protect market share and brand value while also reducing risk exposure to cyber-attacks. Additionally, new and emerging data security standards and regulations may affect the operating expenses of entities through increased costs of compliance.
    • 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
      • Product End-of-life Management Because of the rapid obsolescence of communications devices, particularly mobile phones, they represent an increasing proportion of electronic waste (e-waste) going to landfills, driven in part by a low recycling rate. Telecommunication Services entities face growing regulatory risks related to this issue. Numerous jurisdictions have implemented e-waste recycling laws mandating that electronics retailers and manufacturers create a system for recycling, reuse or proper disposal of electronic devices. Although in their early days many of these laws covered a limited scope of products, recent laws extend to mobile devices, requiring entities to finance the collection, treatment, recycling or proper disposal of e-waste, as concerns around e-waste from communications devices increase. E-waste laws often require vendors or manufacturers to pay for waste recycling or product take-back and recycling programmes. Penalties or costs, because of such laws, together with potential revenues generated from refurbishing and re-selling products, increasingly are providing incentives for entities in the industry to manage end-of-life impacts. Many Telecommunication Services entities work in partnership with phone manufacturers to bundle telecom services and mobile devices, and therefore have a shared responsibility for end-of-life management of such devices. Their relationship with customers provides an opportunity for effective management of product recycling, reuse and disposal. Establishing take-back programmes to recover end-of-life materials for further reuse, recycling or remanufacturing may increase cost savings and develop a more resilient supply of manufacturing materials.
    • Competitive Behaviour The category covers social issues associated with existence of monopolies, which may include, but are not limited to, excessive prices, poor quality of service, and inefficiencies. It addresses a company’s management of legal and social expectation around monopolistic and anti-competitive practices, including issues related to bargaining power, collusion, price fixing or manipulation, and protection of patents and intellectual property (IP).
      • Competitive Behaviour & Open Internet The Telecommunication Services industry contains classic examples of natural monopolies, where high capital costs allow them to offer the most efficient production. Given the concentrated nature of telecommunications, cable and satellite entities, they must manage their growth strategies within the parameters of a regulatory landscape designed to ensure competition. In addition to natural monopoly, many entities in this industry benefit from terminal access monopolies over the so-called ‘last-mile’ of their networks, given their contractual relationship with each subscriber and the barriers for subscribers to change service providers. The nature of this relationship is the basis of much of the discussion regarding an open internet, where all data on the internet is treated equally in terms of performance and access. The industry faces legislative and regulatory actions to ensure competition, which may limit the market share and growth potential of some larger players. Merger and acquisition activity by dominant market players has come under regulatory scrutiny. This has resulted in entities abandoning plans to consolidate, affecting their value. Strong reliance on market dominance also may be a source of risk if entities are vulnerable to legal challenges, increasing their risk profile and cost of capital.
    • 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.
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    • 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.
      • Managing Systemic Risks from Technology Disruptions Given the systemic importance of telecommunications networks, systemic or economy-wide disruption may result if the Telecommunication Services network infrastructure is unreliable and prone to business continuity risks. As the frequency of extreme weather events associated with climate change increases, Telecommunication Services entities may face growing physical threats to network infrastructure, with potentially significant social or systemic impacts. In the absence of resilient and reliable infrastructure, entities may lose revenue associated with service disruptions or face unplanned capital expenditures to repair damaged or compromised equipment. Entities that successfully manage business continuity risks, including identifying critical business operations, and that enhance resilience of the system may substantially reduce their risk exposure and decrease their cost of capital. While implementation of such measures may have upfront costs, entities may gain long-term benefits in terms of lower remediation expenses in cases of high-impact disruptions.
  • Coal Operations 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 Coal operations are energy intensive and generate significant direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including carbon dioxide from fuel use and methane released from coal beds during mining and post-mining activities. Regulatory efforts to reduce GHG emissions in response to the risks posed by climate change may result in higher operating and capital expenditures based on the magnitude of their direct emissions. Operational efficiencies can be achieved through the cost-effective reduction of GHG emissions. Such efficiencies can mitigate the potential financial impact of increased fuel costs from regulations that limit—or put a price on—GHG emissions.
    • 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 Coal operations have an impact on both the quality and quantity of local water resources. Coal operations are water intensive. The use of water in coal washing to remove sulphur, cool drilling equipment and transport coal in slurry pipelines can impact resources. The severity of these risks can vary depending on the region’s water availability and the regulatory environment. Reducing water use and contamination also could create operational efficiencies for entities and lower their operating costs. Wastewater treatment and discharge often is regulated by jurisdictional authorities. Violating limits on selenium, sulphate and dissolved solids could affect coal operations entities through significant penalties, compliance costs, delays in production or higher costs related to mine closure.
    • 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.
      • Waste Management The Coal Operations industry generates large volumes of mineral and non-mineral waste, including process refuse, liquid coal waste, and solid rock and clay waste, which may contain toxic elements such as mercury, arsenic or cadmium. Waste produced during coal mining and processing operations can, depending on its type, be treated, discarded, or stored off- or on-site, in impoundments or disused mine pits. Improper disposal or storage of hazardous materials or mining waste can present significant long-term threats to human health and ecosystems through potential contamination of groundwater or surface water used for drinking or agriculture, posing operational and regulatory challenges for entities. Entities that reduce waste streams, effectively manage risks related to waste containing heavy metals and maintain rigorous hazardous waste disposal practices may reduce regulatory and litigation risks, remediation liabilities and operating costs.
    • 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.
      • Biodiversity Impacts Coal operations can have a range of impacts on biodiversity. Surface mining and mountaintop removal can alter the landscape, removing vegetation and wildlife habitats. A particularly concerning effect of coal operations is acid rock drainage, in which surface and shallow subsurface water encounters coal mining overburden, contaminating the water with heavy metals and rendering it highly acidic, with harmful effects on humans, animals and vegetation. Biodiversity impacts of coal operations can affect the valuation of reserves and create operational risks. Because of increasing interest in the protection of ecosystems, the environmental characteristics of the land where reserves are located may lead to higher extraction costs. Entities might also face regulatory or reputational barriers to accessing reserves in ecologically sensitive areas, such as new protection status afforded to areas where reserves are located. Coal operations entities face regulatory risks related to reclamation after a mine is decommissioned, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements to restore mined property according to a prior, approved reclamation plan. Material costs may arise from removing or covering refuse piles, fulfilling water treatment obligations and dismantling infrastructure at decommissioning. Furthermore, coal operations are subject to laws protecting endangered species. Entities with an effective environmental management plan for each stage of the project lifecycle may minimise their compliance costs and legal liabilities, face less resistance in developing new mines, avert delays in project completion, and avoid difficulties in obtaining permits, accessing reserves and completing projects.
    • Human Rights & Community Relations The category addresses management of the relationship between businesses and the communities in which they operate, including, but not limited to, management of direct and indirect impacts on core human rights and the treatment of indigenous peoples. More specifically, such management may cover socio-economic community impacts, community engagement, environmental justice, cultivation of local workforces, impact on local businesses, license to operate, and environmental/social impact assessments. The category does not include environmental impacts such as air pollution or waste which, although they may impact the health and safety of members of local communities, are addressed in separate categories.
      • Rights of Indigenous Peoples Entities in the Coal Operations industry can operate and hold assets in areas occupied by indigenous peoples. Entities perceived as contributing to human rights violations or failing to account for indigenous peoples’ rights may be affected by protests, riots or suspension of permits. These entities could face substantial costs related to compensation or settlement payments, and write-downs in the value of their reserves in such areas. In the absence of applicable jurisdictional laws or regulations to address such cases, several international instruments have emerged to provide guidelines for entities. These instruments include obtaining the free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples for decisions that affect them. Several countries have implemented specific laws protecting indigenous peoples’ rights, creating increasing regulatory risk for entities that violate those rights.
      • Community Relations Coal operations take place over many years and can have a wide range of adverse effects on communities. Community rights and interests may be affected by the environmental and social impacts of operations, air emissions, waste generation, wastewater discharges and decommissioning activities. Entities often need support from local communities to obtain permits and leases and conduct their activities without disruptions. The expected value of reserves could be affected if the community interferes or lobbies its government to interfere with the rights of a coal entity to extract those reserves. In addition to community concerns about the direct impacts of projects, the presence of coal mining activities may create associated socioeconomic concerns related to education, health and livelihoods. Coal entities that engage in rent-seeking and exploiting a community’s resources without providing proportional socioeconomic benefits in return may be exposed to actions by host governments and communities that restrict their activities or impose additional costs. Entities in the extractives industries can adopt various community engagement strategies in their global operations to manage risks and opportunities associated with community rights and interests, such as integrating community engagement into each phase of the project cycle. Entities that adopt a ‘shared value’ approach may be able to provide significant socioeconomic benefits to communities and allow them to operate profitably.
    • Customer Privacy The category addresses management of risks related to the use of personally identifiable information (PII) and other customer or user data for secondary purposes including but not limited to marketing through affiliates and non-affiliates. The scope of the category includes social issues that may arise from a company’s approach to collecting data, obtaining consent (e.g., opt-in policies), managing user and customer expectations regarding how their data is used, and managing evolving regulation. It excludes social issues arising from cybersecurity risks, which are covered in a separate category.
      None
    • 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
    • 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 Relations Working conditions related to coal operations are usually physically demanding and hazardous. Labour unions play an important role in representing workers’ interests and managing collective bargaining for better wages and working conditions. This makes the management of labour relations critical, since conflict with workers can result in labour strikes and other disruptions that can delay or stop production, leading to lost revenue and reputational damage. Persistent labour disputes can adversely affect the long-term profitability of the entity.
    • 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 Safety is critical to coal mining operations because of the hazardous working conditions involved. Fatalities and injuries can result from the many hazards associated with the industry, including accidents, cave-ins, explosions and flooding. Because of these hazards, the industry is characterised by higher-than-average mortality and injury rates. Coal miners are also susceptible to long-term health risks such as chronic lung disease as well as mental health problems. Some jurisdictional health and safety laws protect coal mining workers and may provide compensation for work-related chronic illnesses that can impose additional costs on entities or result in regulatory penalties. An entity’s ability to protect employee health and safety, and to create a culture of safety and well-being among employees, may prevent accidents, mitigate costs, reduce operational downtime and enhance workforce productivity.
    • 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.
      • Reserves Valuation & Capital Expenditures Coal entities may be unable to extract a significant proportion of their coal reserves if greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are controlled to limit global temperature increases. Stewardship of capital resources while considering medium- to long-term trends, particularly related to climate change mitigation actions, is critical to prevent asset impairment and maintain profitability and creditworthiness. Globally, regulations and policies are and may continue to be put into place to limit GHG emissions from coal-fired power plants—the customers of coal entities—thus reducing demand for and the price of coal. Coal demand also is being affected by regulations governing other harmful air emissions that apply to coal-fired power plants. An expansion of GHG-mitigation regulations may increase the magnitude of potential financial impacts in the medium to long term. Along with improved competitiveness of alternative energy technologies, these jurisdictional regulations and policies pose long-term risks for the reserves and capital investments of coal operations entities.
    • Materials Sourcing & Efficiency The category addresses issues related to the resilience of materials supply chains to impacts of climate change and other external environmental and social factors. It captures the impacts of such external factors on operational activity of suppliers, which can further affect availability and pricing of key resources. It addresses a company’s ability to manage these risks through product design, manufacturing, and end-of-life management, such as by using of recycled and renewable materials, reducing the use of key materials (dematerialization), maximizing resource efficiency in manufacturing, and making R&D investments in substitute materials. Additionally, companies can manage these issues by screening, selection, monitoring, and engagement with suppliers to ensure their resilience to external risks. It does not address issues associated with environmental and social externalities created by operational activity of individual suppliers, which is covered in a separate category.
      None
    • Competitive Behaviour The category covers social issues associated with existence of monopolies, which may include, but are not limited to, excessive prices, poor quality of service, and inefficiencies. It addresses a company’s management of legal and social expectation around monopolistic and anti-competitive practices, including issues related to bargaining power, collusion, price fixing or manipulation, and protection of patents and intellectual property (IP).
      None
    • 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.
      • Tailings Storage Facilities Management Coal waste impoundments or fine coal refuse ponds, also called tailings storage facilities (TSFs), can leak and contaminate water supplies if mismanaged, potentially leading to adverse impacts on the environment and human health. These impacts may carry financial implications such as regulatory penalties, compensation payments, and remediation or compliance obligations. Entities’ ability to reduce the number and size of fine coal refuse ponds and ensure the structural integrity of impoundments can minimise such impacts. A catastrophic failure of such facilities (for example, a dam failure) could still release significant volumes of waste and materials that are harmful to the environment, leading to severe impacts on ecosystems, human livelihood, and local economies and communities. Such catastrophic incidents may result in significant financial losses for entities and may impair their social licence to operate. Robust processes and approaches to tailings facility design, management, operation and closure, as well as appropriate management of associated risks, can help prevent such incidents from occurring. Entities that adopt robust practices to maintain the safety of TSFs may do so through ensuring accountability for tailings management at the highest levels of the entity, conducting frequent internal and external independent technical reviews of TSFs, and ensuring mitigation measures are implemented in a timely manner in case of a safety concern. Additionally, a strong safety culture and well-established emergency preparedness and response plans can mitigate the impacts and financial implications of such events. Entity obligations related to long-term remediation and compensation for damages may result in additional financial effects in case of failure. An entity’s ability to meet such obligations after an incident has occurred is an additional component of emergency preparedness.
    • 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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