Sustainability Accounting Standards Board: Outstanding Contribution to ESG Responsible Transparency Global 2020

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) believes that what gets measured gets managed. Responsible investing and transparent reporting go hand-in-hand, so the San Francisco non-profit has developed — with the support of donors and the input of companies, industry associations and institutional investors — a set of industry-specific standards that are used by companies and investors worldwide to track and communicate ESG performance. SASB standards are tailored for 77 industries across 11 sectors, helping companies to understand the sustainability issues most likely to affect their bottom line. SASB holds financial materiality as its north star to fine-tune industry metrics under the rubrics of environment, human capital, social capital, business model and innovation, leadership and governance. The standards provide a roadmap to manage environmental and social issues and generate benefit for company, shareholders and society. Hundreds of companies use SASB solutions to identify and quantify the financially material sustainability information that guides development and decision-making. The standards are supported by 170 institutional investors in 19 countries, representing investor support of $55tn. The non-profit has a resilient business model that consists of philanthropic donations, market-support grants and income from products, membership fees and licensing agreements. SASB also offers a credential-conferring course on the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting. For its evidence-based research and solid stakeholder engagement, the CFI.co judging panel presents SASB with the 2020 global award for Outstanding Contribution to ESG Responsible Transparency.