SME Sustainability Hub

In support of

Glossary

Learn about the commonly used sustainability terms to enhance your understanding of key concepts.

A
Absolute Emissions	The total emissions emitted by a business and is measured in kgCO₂e.
Absolute Water Consumption	This refers to the total volume of water used by an entity, without considering the context of the usage, such as the size of the entity or the scale of its operations.
Average-data method	Estimates emissions for goods and services by collecting data on the mass (e.g., kilograms or pounds), or other relevant units of goods or services purchased and multiplying by the relevant secondary (e.g., industry average) emission factors (e.g., average emissions per unit of good or service).

B
Base Year	Acts as a reference point with which current and future emissions can be compared to.
Baseline Data	This refers to the data collected over the entire calendar year of the base year.

C
Carbon Footprint	This refers to the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases a business releases into the atmosphere from its operations over a year.
Carbon Neutral	This refers to the idea of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by balancing those emissions so they are equal to, or less than, the emissions removed, as well as accounting for regional or local biogeophysical effects of human activities, such as changes in surface albedo or local climate.
Climate Change	This refers to a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.
CO₂ Equivalent Emissions	A metric measure used to compare the emissions of the different greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential (GWP).

D
Decarbonisation	This refers to the process a business embarks on to reduce its carbon footprint.

E
Emissions Intensity	This refers to the total emissions emitted relative to a specific business activity (e.g., total revenue or gross floor area or units of products manufactured).

F
Fuels (Mobile Combustion)	This refers to fuels burned by transportation devices such as cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, ships etc.
Fuels (Stationary Combustion)	This refers to fuels burned to generate electricity, steam, heat, or power in stationary equipment such as boilers, furnaces etc.
Fugitive Emissions	This refers to unintended gas leaks from the processing, transmission, and/or transportation of fossil fuels, CFCs from refrigeration leaks, SF₆ from electrical power distributor, etc.

G
Global Warming	This refers to the progressive gradual rise of the earth’s surface temperature thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect and responsible for changes in global climate patterns.
Global Warming Potential (GWP)	The index used to translate the level of emissions of various gases into a common measure in order to compare the relative radiative forcing of different gases without directly calculating the changes in atmospheric concentrations. GWPs are calculated as the ratio of the radiative forcing that would result from the emissions of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas to that from the emission of one kilogram of carbon dioxide over a period of time (usually 100 years).
Green Loans	A green loan is a form of financing that enables borrowers to use the proceeds to exclusively fund projects that make a substantial contribution to an environmental objective.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG)	Any gas that absorbs infrared radiation in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), ozone (O₃), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆).

H
Hybrid method	Uses a combination of supplier-specific activity data (where available) and secondary data to fill the gaps.

I
Infrared Radiation	The heat energy that is emitted from all solids, liquids, and gases. In the context of the greenhouse issue, the term refers to the heat energy emitted by the Earth's surface and its atmosphere. Greenhouse gases strongly absorb this radiation in the Earth's atmosphere, and re-radiate some of it back towards the surface, creating the greenhouse effect.

L
Location-based Method	Location-based method reflects the average emissions intensity of grids on which energy consumption occurs (i.e. based on average GEF data). It is useful for showing the GHG intensity of grids where a companies’ operations occur.

M
Market-based Method	Market-based method reflects the emissions from electricity that companies have purposefully chosen (i.e. based on an emissions rate or emissions per MWh of generation facilities associated with contractual instruments such as PPAs, RECs). It is useful for showing the individual corporate procurement actions of a company.
Mobile Combustion	This refers to emissions from the transportation of materials, products, waste, and employees resulting from the combustion of fuels in company-owned or controlled mobile combustion sources (e.g., cars, trucks, buses, trains, airplanes, ships, etc.).

N
Net Zero	This refers to a condition in which human-caused residual GHG emissions are balanced by human-led removals over a specified period and within specified boundaries.
Net-zero Carbon Building	Building that is highly energy-efficient and is powered by on-site and/or off-site renewable energy sources and offsets.

P
Process Emissions	This refers to emissions generated from manufacturing processes, such as the CO₂ that arises from the breakdown of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO₃) during cement manufacture.

R
Recycle	The process of transforming waste materials into reusable form which may or may not be similar to the original product.
Reduce	To avoid waste at source so as to minimise the quantity of waste that needs to be treated or disposed.
Refrigerants	This refers to chemical compounds that are typically found in either a liquid or gaseous state, and readily absorb heat from the environment. It can provide refrigeration or air conditioning when combined with other components such as compressors and evaporators.
Renewable Energy	Any form of energy from solar, geophysical, or biological sources that is replenished by natural processes at a rate that equals or exceeds its rate of use.
Renewable Energy Targets	Renewable Energy Targets focus specifically on reducing Scope 2 Emissions by switching to renewable energy sources, with goals achievable by 2025 or 2030, supported by initiatives like RE100.
Reuse	To use an object or material again, either for its original or similar purpose, without significantly altering the physical form of the object or material.

S
Science-based Targets	Science-based targets provide a clearly-defined pathway for companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, helping prevent the worst impacts of climate change and future-proof business growth. Targets are considered ‘science-based’ if they are in line with what the latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) develop standards, tools and guidance which allow companies to set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions targets.
Spend-based Method	Estimates emissions for goods and services by collecting data on the economic value of goods and services purchased and multiplying it by relevant secondary (e.g., industry average) emission factors (e.g., average emissions per monetary value of goods).
Stationary Combustion	This refers to emissions from the production of electricity or the generation of steam, or from providing useful heat or energy for industrial, commercial, or institutional use, or reducing the volume of waste by removing combustible matter. Examples of sources include boilers, simple and combined-cycle combustion turbines, engines, incinerators, and process heaters.
Supplier-specific Method	Collects product-level cradle-to-gate Greenhouse Gases (GHG) inventory data from goods or services suppliers.
Sustainability-linked Loans	Sustainability linked loans are any types of loan instruments and/or contingent facilities (such as bonding lines, guarantee lines or letters of credit) which incentivise the borrower’s achievement of ambitious, predetermined sustainability performance objectives.

W
Waste Directed to Disposal	This refers to the portion of waste generated by a business that is destined for final disposal methods such as landfilling, incineration, or other forms of waste treatment that do not reclaim material or energy value.
Waste Diverted from Disposal	This refers to the waste generated by a business that is successfully redirected away from final disposal methods like landfilling or incineration without energy recovery, towards recycling processes.
Waste Generated	Measured by total weight of waste generated in metric tons, and is a breakdown of this total by composition of the waste.
Water Discharged	This refers to the total amount of effluents, used water, and unused water released by your organisation.
Water Efficiency Index (WEI)	A performance indicator for water efficiency, and it refers to the amount of water used per business activity indicator. WEI = Total amount of water consumed / business activity indicator.
Water Recycling Rate	This refers to the ratio of the amount of water reused from recycling and from alternate sources of water, against the total water demand by the facility (or part of a facility).