Consumers and End-Users Taxonomy

1. Purpose

This section defines the Consumers and End-Users Disclosure Intent (CDI) taxonomy for sustainability-related disclosures concerning consumers, customers, and end-users of products or services.

The Consumers and End-Users taxonomy captures the semantic meaning of commonly requested information regarding:

  • product and service safety,
  • consumer privacy and data protection,
  • accessibility and affordability,
  • responsible marketing and communication,
  • impacts on vulnerable consumers.

The taxonomy:

  • is framework-agnostic,
  • does not prescribe regulatory compliance,
  • does not evaluate product quality or ethical adequacy,
  • does not determine liability,
  • is intended to be reused across frameworks via Canonical Mapping Packs (CMPs).

Consumers CDIs describe interaction, exposure, protection mechanisms, and governance, not product endorsement or legal judgement.

2. Taxonomy Structure

Consumers and End-Users disclosure intents are grouped into the following domains:

  1. Product and Service Characteristics
  2. Health and Safety
  3. Data Protection and Privacy
  4. Responsible Marketing and Information
  5. Accessibility and Inclusion
  6. Consumer Feedback and Redress
  7. Governance and Reporting

Each disclosure intent:

  • has a unique identifier,
  • represents a single semantic concept,
  • may be narrative or quantitative,
  • may reference canonical data elements.

3. Consumers and End-Users Disclosure Intents

3.1 Product and Service Characteristics

CDI-CONS-01
Description of products or services provided

Description of products or services offered to consumers or end-users.

CDI-CONS-02
Products or services with elevated risk profiles

Identification of products or services that may pose heightened health, safety, or social risks.

CDI-CONS-03
Changes in product or service portfolio

Significant changes in products or services that may affect consumers.

3.2 Health and Safety

CDI-CONS-04
Product or service safety policies

Existence and scope of policies addressing product or service safety.

CDI-CONS-05
Product or service safety incidents

Number or description of incidents involving product or service safety.

CDI-CONS-06
Product recalls or corrective actions

Occurrence of recalls, withdrawals, or corrective actions related to products or services.

3.3 Data Protection and Privacy

CDI-CONS-07
Consumer data protection policies

Existence and scope of policies related to consumer data protection and privacy.

CDI-CONS-08
Data breaches involving consumer information

Number or description of breaches involving consumer data.

CDI-CONS-09
Data security management practices

Processes used to safeguard consumer data.

3.4 Responsible Marketing and Information

CDI-CONS-10
Marketing and advertising policies

Policies governing marketing, advertising, or promotional practices.

CDI-CONS-11
Accuracy and transparency of product information

Processes ensuring product information is accurate and transparent.

CDI-CONS-12
Incidents of misleading marketing

Reported incidents or regulatory findings related to misleading marketing or communication.

3.5 Accessibility and Inclusion

CDI-CONS-13
Product or service accessibility measures

Measures taken to improve accessibility of products or services.

CDI-CONS-14
Consideration of vulnerable consumers

Consideration of vulnerable or sensitive consumer groups in product design or delivery.

CDI-CONS-15
Affordability considerations

Disclosure of pricing or affordability considerations where relevant.

3.6 Consumer Feedback and Redress

CDI-CONS-16
Consumer grievance mechanisms

Existence and description of mechanisms for consumer complaints or grievances.

CDI-CONS-17
Consumer complaints received

Number or nature of complaints received from consumers where tracked.

CDI-CONS-18
Consumer remediation or compensation processes

Processes for remediation, refunds, or compensation related to consumer issues.

3.7 Governance and Reporting

CDI-CONS-19
Consumer-related policies or commitments

Existence and scope of organisational policies addressing consumer protection.

CDI-CONS-20
Organisational responsibility for consumer matters

Assignment of responsibility within the organisation for consumer-related topics.

CDI-CONS-21
Consumer reporting boundary

Organisational and operational boundaries applied to consumer-related disclosures.

CDI-CONS-22
Methodology and assumptions for consumer disclosures

Methodologies or assumptions used in preparing consumer-related disclosures.

4. Taxonomy Characteristics

Consumers CDIs are distinct from Workforce and Affected Communities CDIs.

They focus on organisational interaction with consumers, not regulatory compliance.

They do not assess product effectiveness, legality, or social desirability.

Quantitative disclosures describe counts or occurrences, not thresholds.

Framework interpretation remains exclusively within CMPs.

Deprecated CDIs remain referenceable for historical disclosures.

5. Summary

The CDI v1 Consumers and End-Users Taxonomy defines a stable semantic vocabulary for expressing sustainability disclosures concerning consumers and product or service users.

By separating consumer interaction, protection mechanisms, and governance from regulatory or legal interpretation, the taxonomy enables:

  • cross-framework reuse,
  • jurisdictional mapping,
  • long-term semantic stability,
  • consistent modelling of consumer-related disclosures.

Version: v1.0.0
Status: Frozen
Effective version: CDI v1

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