SASB Automobiles

1. Review the SASB Automobiles Standard: Download the free standard from the SASB website (sasb.org) and familiarize yourself with the industry-specific disclosure topics and accounting metrics defined for the Automobiles sector.

1. Use the SASB Navigator Tool: Access the free online Navigator tool at sasb.org to explore the specific metrics, units of measure, and guidance notes relevant to the Automobiles industry classification.

1. Conduct a Materiality Assessment: Map your organization's existing sustainability data and reporting against the SASB Automobiles topics — including fuel economy, emissions, product safety, and supply chain management — to identify gaps.

1. Assemble Your Reporting Team: Engage cross-functional stakeholders including investor relations, sustainability, legal, finance, and operations teams who own the data behind each disclosure topic.

1. Collect and Validate Data: Gather quantitative and qualitative data aligned with SASB's defined accounting metrics. Ensure data quality processes are in place, and consider whether external assurance is appropriate for your organization.

1. Prepare Your Disclosure: Integrate SASB-aligned disclosures into your annual report, sustainability report, or SEC filings. Use SASB's recommended disclosure format and clearly reference the standard version used.

1. Register Your Adoption (Optional): Notify SASB of your adoption via their reporting portal so your organization can be listed among SASB adopters, increasing visibility with investors.

1. Monitor Standard Updates: Stay current with updates from the IFRS Foundation's ISSB, which now maintains and evolves the SASB Standards, and update your disclosures accordingly in future reporting cycles.

The SASB Automobiles Standard defines disclosure topics and associated accounting metrics across several financially material sustainability dimensions specific to the auto industry. Organizations report quantitative and qualitative data against each topic, with no pass/fail threshold — the goal is transparent, comparable disclosure.

Fuel Economy & Use-Phase Emissions: This is a primary focus area, covering fleet-wide fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions performance. Metrics include sales-weighted average fuel economy, percentage of vehicles meeting regulatory fuel economy standards, and GHG emissions from the use phase of sold vehicles. This topic reflects regulatory risk from tightening emissions standards globally.

Product Safety: Covers the number of recalls issued, total units recalled, and fatalities or injuries attributable to product defects. This topic captures reputational and financial risk from safety failures, which are highly material for auto manufacturers.

Materials Sourcing & Efficiency: Addresses the use of critical materials (e.g., rare earth elements, cobalt, lithium) in vehicle production, including supply chain risks, sourcing transparency, and recycled content. As EV adoption accelerates, this topic has grown in investor relevance.

Supply Chain Management: Evaluates the percentage of active suppliers engaged in sustainability audits or assessments, and the management of environmental and social risks in the supply chain — including labor practices and conflict minerals.

Labor Practices: Covers workforce metrics such as employee health and safety rates, lost-time incident rates, and the percentage of active workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Business Ethics & Competitive Behavior: Addresses legal and regulatory actions related to anti-competitive behavior, bribery, or corruption — a topic of ongoing relevance given global regulatory scrutiny of the auto sector.

The SASB Standards are among the most widely referenced sustainability disclosure frameworks globally, particularly for investor-facing reporting. As of the mid-2020s, thousands of companies across more than 70 countries have disclosed using SASB Standards, with the Automobiles standard adopted by major global OEMs including Ford, General Motors, Toyota, BMW, and Stellantis. The framework's industry-specific approach — with 77 distinct industry standards — has made it a preferred tool for institutional investors and ESG analysts who need comparable, material data rather than broad narrative reporting.

The integration of SASB into the IFRS Foundation in 2022, and its subsequent alignment with the ISSB's IFRS S1 and S2 standards, significantly elevated SASB's global standing. The ISSB explicitly incorporated SASB's industry-based metrics as a key reference point, meaning SASB adoption is increasingly seen as a stepping stone toward IFRS S1/S2 compliance. This has driven adoption particularly among companies with international investor bases or those listed on exchanges in jurisdictions moving toward mandatory ISSB-aligned disclosure (e.g., the UK, Canada, Australia, and Japan).

In the Automobiles sector specifically, SASB's relevance has grown alongside the EV transition, as investors demand clearer data on emissions trajectories, battery material sourcing, and regulatory compliance. However, SASB faces competition from the broader GRI framework (which has wider non-investor stakeholder coverage) and from mandatory regulatory regimes like the EU's CSRD, which may reduce the need for voluntary frameworks in European markets. For North American and Asian auto companies, SASB remains a dominant voluntary standard, though its long-term standalone identity is increasingly intertwined with the ISSB ecosystem.

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) was founded in 2011 by Jean Rogers in San Francisco, with a mission to develop industry-specific sustainability accounting standards that help public companies disclose financially material information to investors. Unlike broader frameworks such as GRI, SASB was explicitly designed with the capital markets in mind, focusing on the subset of ESG topics most likely to affect financial performance within each industry. The Automobiles standard was among the initial set developed, reflecting the sector's significant exposure to regulatory, environmental, and safety-related risks.

SASB spent several years in a research and consultation phase, publishing provisional standards before releasing its full suite of 77 industry standards in 2018 following an extensive public comment process. In 2019, SASB merged with the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) to form the Value Reporting Foundation. A landmark consolidation followed in 2022 when the Value Reporting Foundation was absorbed into the IFRS Foundation, placing SASB Standards under the stewardship of the newly formed International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The ISSB has since incorporated SASB's industry-based metrics as a foundational reference within its IFRS S1 general requirements standard, cementing SASB's role in the emerging global baseline for sustainability disclosure.