SASB Standards
SASB Standards are industry-specific, evidence-based standards for financially material sustainability topics. The exam tests how to select an industry standard, apply disclosure topics and accounting metrics, and use technical protocols and activity metrics.
Core mechanics
- SASB organizes standards into 11 sectors and 77 industries. Each industry standard identifies disclosure topics reasonably likely to affect financial condition or operating performance, plus accounting metrics and activity metrics.
- Metrics are defined in technical protocols: unit, scope, calculation, and presentation. Activity metrics, such as available seat miles for airlines, normalize performance and aid comparability.
- SASB uses financial materiality, not broad stakeholder impact. The Materiality Map is a starting point; the industry standard and evidence still govern.
- Since the ISSB consolidation, SASB Standards sit under the IFRS Foundation and inform industry-based metrics in ISSB reporting.
Worked example
An airline applies the Airlines standard. It selects disclosure topics such as greenhouse gas emissions and labor practices; then uses the technical protocol for each accounting metric, and pairs emissions with activity metrics such as available seat miles. The reasoning: industry determines the topic set; the protocol determines the number; activity metrics provide the denominator. A company-specific ESG survey is not a substitute.
Traps
- Mixing GRI-style impact materiality with SASB financial materiality.
- Reporting only the favorable topic or metric.
- Using a metric with a different boundary or unit than the protocol.
- Omitting activity metrics, which makes intensity comparisons unreliable.