Industry Comparison

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Current language: English (2023)

You are viewing information about the following Industries:

  • Cruise Lines Cruise Lines industry entities provide passenger transportation and leisure entertainment, including deep sea cruises and river cruises. A few large entities dominate the industry. Cruises provide a luxury resort experience for thousands of passengers at a time. The Cruise Lines industry often has been the fastest-growing segment of the travel industry, but it is very cyclical.
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  • Health Care Delivery The Health Care Delivery industry owns and manages hospitals, clinics and other health care related facilities. Entities provide a range of services, including inpatient and outpatient care, surgery, mental health, rehabilitation and clinical laboratory services. Demand for health care delivery services is driven largely by insurance coverage rates, demographics, illness and injury rates. The industry is characterised by high fixed labour and facilities costs, and an increased regulatory focus on reduced costs of care and improved outcomes. Health care delivery entities also face significant competition for patients and resources from private, non-profit and religious health care systems.
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Relevant Issues for both Industries (16 of 26)

Why are some issues greyed out? The SASB Standards vary by industry based on the different sustainability-related risks and opportunities within an industry. The issues in grey were not identified during the standard-setting process as the most likely to be useful to investors, so they are not included in the Standard. Over time, as the ISSB continues to receive market feedback, some issues may be added or removed from the Standard. Each company determines which sustainability-related risks and opportunities are relevant to its business. The Standard is designed for the typical company in an industry, but individual companies may choose to report on different sustainability-related risks and opportunities based on their unique business model.

Disclosure Topics

What is the relationship between General Issue Category and Disclosure Topics? The General Issue Category is an industry-agnostic version of the Disclosure Topics that appear in each SASB Standard. Disclosure topics represent the industry-specific impacts of General Issue Categories. The industry-specific Disclosure Topics ensure each SASB Standard is tailored to the industry, while the General Issue Categories enable comparability across industries. For example, Health & Nutrition is a disclosure topic in the Non-Alcoholic Beverages industry, representing an industry-specific measure of the general issue of Customer Welfare. The issue of Customer Welfare, however, manifests as the Counterfeit Drugs disclosure topic in the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals industry.
  • Cruise Lines 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 Cruise lines generate emissions mainly from the combustion of diesel in ship engines. The industry’s reliance on heavy fuel oil (‘bunker fuel’) is of material concern because of rising fuel costs and intensifying greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations. Evolving environmental regulations are encouraging the adoption of more fuel-efficient engines, engine retrofits and the use of cleaner-burning fuels. Fuel constitutes a major expense for industry players, providing a further incentive for investing in upgrades or retrofits to boost fuel efficiency. In addition, GHG regulation violations may result in fines and compliance costs.
    • Air Quality The category addresses management of air quality impacts resulting from stationary (e.g., factories, power plants) and mobile sources (e.g., trucks, delivery vehicles, planes) as well as industrial emissions. Relevant airborne pollutants include, but are not limited to, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), oxides of sulfur (SOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), heavy metals, particulate matter, and chlorofluorocarbons. The category does not include GHG emissions, which are addressed in a separate category.
      • Air Quality Fuel use on cruise lines generates air pollutants such as sulphur oxides (SO?), nitrogen oxides (NO?) and particulate matter (PM10). These pollutants can have localised environmental and health impacts and are of particular concern at port cities and other restricted areas where entities may be penalised for exceeding emissions limits. Entities can manage these risks by commissioning more energy-efficient vessels, retrofitting existing fleets and using onshore power if it is available at ports.
    • 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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    • 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.
      • Discharge Management & Ecological Impacts Cruise holidays offer access to undeveloped ocean waters and destinations with marine protected areas or areas with protected conservation status. Cruise ships, associated with large vessels, rapid influxes of tourists, intensive resource consumption and high waste generation, can be particularly damaging to ecosystems in which they travel and operate. Cruise ships discharge many types of treated and untreated wastewater at sea and non-degradable solid wastes on land. Careful management of ship discharge and the mitigation of cruise line ecological impacts may maintain shipping access to ports and preserve the natural beauty guests wish to experience, both of which are essential for entities to maintain market share as well as attract new customers.
    • 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.
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    • Access & Affordability The category addresses a company’s ability to ensure broad access to its products and services, specifically in the context of underserved markets and/or population groups. It includes the management of issues related to universal needs, such as the accessibility and affordability of health care, financial services, utilities, education, and telecommunications.
      None
    • Product Quality & Safety The category addresses issues involving unintended characteristics of products sold or services provided that may create health or safety risks to end-users. It addresses a company’s ability to offer manufactured products and/or services that meet customer expectations with respect to their health and safety characteristics. It includes, but is not limited to, issues involving liability, management of recalls and market withdrawals, product testing, and chemicals/content/ingredient management in products.
      • Customer Health & Safety Cruise lines offer a variety of luxury experiences and activities to their customers, including elabourate shows, casinos, fine dining, indoor skydiving, spa treatments, swimming and fitness facilities. Each activity comes with its own set of health risks, safety challenges and liabilities that entities must navigate. Consumer expectations for safety and comfort are high, so avoiding health and physical safety risks is especially important for entities’ viability. Publicised cases of crimes, injuries and illnesses onboard cruise ships may have serious repercussions on brand value and ticket sales. Customer lawsuits may also result in high incremental legal costs. Although cruise ship crime rates are low when compared to crime rates in most developed countries, law enforcement is much more difficult to navigate, and cases are not as easy to resolve since ships commonly take passengers to international waters and fly a foreign flag, leading to uncertainty about which jurisdictions are responsible for law enforcement. Entities can protect customer health and safety by implementing a robust safety management system.
    • Customer Welfare The category addresses customer welfare concerns over issues including, but not limited to, health and nutrition of foods and beverages, antibiotic use in animal production, and management of controlled substances. The category addresses the company’s ability to provide consumers with manufactured products and services that are aligned with societal expectations. It does not include issues directly related to quality and safety malfunctions of manufactured products and services, but instead addresses qualities inherent to the design and delivery of products and services where customer welfare may be in question. The scope of the category also captures companies’ ability to prevent counterfeit products.
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    • Selling Practices & Product Labeling The category addresses social issues that may arise from a failure to manage the transparency, accuracy, and comprehensibility of marketing statements, advertising, and labeling of products and services. It includes, but is not limited to, advertising standards and regulations, ethical and responsible marketing practices, misleading or deceptive labeling, as well as discriminatory or predatory selling and lending practices. This may include deceptive or aggressive selling practices in which incentive structures for employees could encourage the sale of products or services that are not in the best interest of customers or clients.
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    • 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 Cruise lines employ thousands of workers onboard each large vessel. Ships may register in countries where labour laws related to pay, working hours, fair treatment and termination may be flexible. Ship crews are multinational, and many are hired on a contract basis. Crews often work long hours for many months residing in shared quarters, which can make recuperation difficult. Some entities offer a gratuity-based wage structure to reduce payroll costs. Language barriers, the complexity of flag state laws and the laws in workers’ home countries may make labour law violation charges difficult for workers to file. Low morale among workers may impair their ability to meet customer service expectations, potentially reducing an entity’s revenues and market share over the long term.
    • 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 Entities in the Cruise Lines industry operate a unique service that requires them to provide safety oversight comparable to a small city, including addressing all medical and security needs. A commitment to providing a clean and sanitary environment on board is important for protecting crew health, which can affect productivity and morale as well as customer health, and thus an entity’s reputation and market share. Additionally, several governing bodies—including the flag state, port state and home country of a crew member—may be involved in both providing and enforcing industry safety regulations. This regulatory mix may create confusion regarding the protections afforded to crew members. Entities that fail to protect crew health and safety may also experience higher employee turnover and difficulties with employee recruitment and retention.
    • 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.
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    • Physical Impacts of Climate Change The category addresses the company’s ability to manage risks and opportunities associated with direct exposure of its owned or controlled assets and operations to actual or potential physical impacts of climate change. It captures environmental and social issues that may arise from operational disruptions due to physical impacts of climate change. It further captures socio-economic issues resulting from companies failing to incorporate climate change consideration in products and services sold, such as insurance policies and mortgages. The category relates to the company’s ability to adapt to increased frequency and severity of extreme weather, shifting climate, sea level risk, and other expected physical impacts of climate change. Management may involve enhancing resiliency of physical assets and/or surrounding infrastructure as well as incorporation of climate change-related considerations into key business activities (e.g., mortgage and insurance underwriting, planning and development of real estate projects).
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    • 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
    • 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.
      • Accident Management Although cruise ships are one of the safest forms of travel for holidays, the industry competes on customer experience and satisfaction, making safety management a top priority. Given the scale of cruise vessels and the vulnerability of passengers at sea, one mismanaged accident may significantly reduce consumer confidence in an entity. Although major accidents are rare, they may affect not only an entity’s revenue and brand value, but those of the entire Cruise Lines industry. Proper equipment maintenance, staff training and implementation of the latest safety technologies and practices may protect an entity’s safety record and ensure high customer satisfaction while lowering an entity’s risk profile and cost of capital.
  • Health Care Delivery 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).
      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
    • Energy Management The category addresses environmental impacts associated with energy consumption. It addresses the company’s management of energy in manufacturing and/or for provision of products and services derived from utility providers (grid energy) not owned or controlled by the company. More specifically, it includes management of energy efficiency and intensity, energy mix, as well as grid reliance. Upstream (e.g., suppliers) and downstream (e.g., product use) energy use is not included in the scope.
      • Energy Management Health Care Delivery entities operate energy-intensive facilities and rely on both purchased electricity and fuel. The consumption of both can contribute to environmental impacts, including climate change and pollution. Legislative attempts to limit these impacts and to incentivise energy efficiency and renewable energy may result in price volatility associated with fossil fuels and conventional electricity. Entities that improve energy efficiency may decrease costs and limit exposure to energy price fluctuations.
    • 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 Health Care Delivery entities generate a significant amount of regulated medical and pharmaceutical waste. Disposal fees for these types of waste are typically higher than that of conventional waste and may present a significant cost for the industry. Entities that reduce the amount of waste generated by enhanced waste segregation strategies, recycling and reuse may limit their exposure to these 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.
      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.
      • Patient Privacy & Electronic Health Records Many jurisdictions require health care providers to establish administrative, physical and technical safeguards to protect the integrity, confidentiality, interoperability and availability of patient health information. Failure to comply with such regulations may result in civil and criminal penalties.
    • Access & Affordability The category addresses a company’s ability to ensure broad access to its products and services, specifically in the context of underserved markets and/or population groups. It includes the management of issues related to universal needs, such as the accessibility and affordability of health care, financial services, utilities, education, and telecommunications.
      • Access for Low-Income Patients Some care delivery entities will continue to face challenges associated with serving uninsured and low-income patients. Health care delivery entities that develop innovative pricing structures that allow them to profit from increased private insurance enrolment and to expand their patient base may create a positive effect on revenue. Disclosure on how entities manage the provision of care to uninsured populations may allow users to understand the associated risks and opportunities.
    • 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.
      • Quality of Care & Patient Satisfaction Quality care delivery and patient satisfaction are essential value drivers for health care delivery entities. The link between quality of care performance and value creation may be strengthened by effective management focus on improving health care quality measures. In addition, entities may improve health care outcomes and preserve brand value by developing programmes to reduce excessive patient readmission rates and hospital-acquired conditions.
    • Customer Welfare The category addresses customer welfare concerns over issues including, but not limited to, health and nutrition of foods and beverages, antibiotic use in animal production, and management of controlled substances. The category addresses the company’s ability to provide consumers with manufactured products and services that are aligned with societal expectations. It does not include issues directly related to quality and safety malfunctions of manufactured products and services, but instead addresses qualities inherent to the design and delivery of products and services where customer welfare may be in question. The scope of the category also captures companies’ ability to prevent counterfeit products.
      • Management of Controlled Substances The Health Care Delivery industry is in a unique position with respect to the evolving use of controlled substances and managing the risk of addiction. As the provider of care, the industry also treats individuals suffering from addiction and related health concerns. Health Care Delivery entities face significant costs in addressing the health care needs of those suffering from addiction and related illnesses. Industry-wide efforts to re-evaluate controlled substance management strategies through the development of new policies, training and oversight may have positive financial effects.
    • Selling Practices & Product Labeling The category addresses social issues that may arise from a failure to manage the transparency, accuracy, and comprehensibility of marketing statements, advertising, and labeling of products and services. It includes, but is not limited to, advertising standards and regulations, ethical and responsible marketing practices, misleading or deceptive labeling, as well as discriminatory or predatory selling and lending practices. This may include deceptive or aggressive selling practices in which incentive structures for employees could encourage the sale of products or services that are not in the best interest of customers or clients.
      • Pricing & Billing Transparency Concern regarding pricing and billing transparency in the Health Care Delivery industry has resulted in increased legal and regulatory scrutiny in some jurisdictions. Coupled with increased attention to health care cost containment, this scrutiny may increase regulatory oversight of pricing and billing practices in this industry. Entities that achieve compliance and institute transparent pricing structures may better protect shareholder value.
    • 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 The Health Care Delivery industry is heavily dependent on a skilled workforce, and employees routinely are exposed to injury, illness and infection during regular duties. Relative to other industries, Health Care Delivery has one of the highest rates of injury and illness. Entities that manage this issue more effectively may reduce costs associated with workers’ compensation, productivity, morale and employee retention. Entities often mitigate risks by implementing proactive health and safety management protocols, developing employee training requirements, and conducting regular audits of their own safety practices.
    • 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.
      • Employee Recruitment, Development & Retention Health care delivery entities will continue to face increased competition for physicians because of increased demand, which is intensified by current and future shortages. The ability to recruit, develop and retain health care practitioners is critical to success in this industry, and disclosure on related performance indicators allows users to understand how entities are managing this important human capital issue.
    • Physical Impacts of Climate Change The category addresses the company’s ability to manage risks and opportunities associated with direct exposure of its owned or controlled assets and operations to actual or potential physical impacts of climate change. It captures environmental and social issues that may arise from operational disruptions due to physical impacts of climate change. It further captures socio-economic issues resulting from companies failing to incorporate climate change consideration in products and services sold, such as insurance policies and mortgages. The category relates to the company’s ability to adapt to increased frequency and severity of extreme weather, shifting climate, sea level risk, and other expected physical impacts of climate change. Management may involve enhancing resiliency of physical assets and/or surrounding infrastructure as well as incorporation of climate change-related considerations into key business activities (e.g., mortgage and insurance underwriting, planning and development of real estate projects).
      • Climate Change Impacts on Human Health & Infrastructure An increase in extreme weather events associated with climate change may present physical threats to health care delivery facilities and create challenges in serving affected populations. Coupled with the potential spread of infectious diseases and food and water scarcity, these events may present material implications for the Health Care Delivery industry.
    • 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.
      • Fraud & Unnecessary Procedures Health care delivery entities may be subject to significant fines and penalties if their staff are found to be engaged in medical fraud. Many entities must have written policies for all employees and contractors regarding false claims, false statements and whistle-blower protections. The ability to ensure compliance in this area may have implications for health care delivery entities, including one-time charges and reputational damage.
    • Critical Incident Risk Management The category addresses the company’s use of management systems and scenario planning to identify, understand, and prevent or minimize the occurrence of low-probability, high-impact accidents and emergencies with significant potential environmental and social externalities. It relates to the culture of safety at a company, its relevant safety management systems and technological controls, the potential human, environmental, and social implications of such events occurring, and the long-term effects to an organization, its workers, and society should these events occur.
      None

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