Sector materiality maps

Carbon is central for a cement company but minor for a software company. Data privacy is central for a bank but minor for a steel plant. A materiality map lists, for one industry, the ESG issues most likely to affect its cash flows, risks and value.

These maps are a starting point for research, not a scorecard. They draw on the SASB Standards, which identify financially material topics for 77 industries, and add the Indian rules and disclosures that matter for each sector. A single company may have issues the map does not show, so always check the company's own facts.

The nine sectors at a glance

Structure of each sector page

• Material issues table: the issue, how it reaches the financials, where to find the data, and the metric to track.
• Indian rules to know: the regulations that turn the issue into a cost, a capex need or a disclosure.
• Nuances and mistakes: what analysts often get wrong in that sector.

Using a map

1. Start with the sector page.
2. Check which issues are most severe for this company, for example because of its location, technology or customers.
3. Link each chosen issue to a line in the model (see ESG Integration in Equity Research).
4. Review the map every year, because materiality changes as rules and markets change.