November 11, 2021

Directors’ Guide to the SASB Standards


This Guide to SASB Standards for Corporate Directors provides industry-by-industry guidance on how directors can use the SASB Standards to inform and enhance their engagement with management. SASB Standards identify the sustainability issues most likely to impact financial performance of companies in 77 industries. For every industry, Guide suggests questions that facilitate a more complete and robust assessment of long-term risks and value creation. The questions in this Guide are based on the disclosure topics and accounting metrics in the 77 SASB Standards, which can be downloaded here. The “contextual considerations” correspond to activity metrics in the Standards, which help to normalize ESG data and allow for comparisons between companies. Note that the questions also mirror the questions in the “Engagement Guide for Asset Owners and Asset Managers,” which help guide investors in their engagements with portfolio companies. In this way, the SASB Standards help create a common language between management, boards and investors.