Explore the essence of eco-consciousness with our list of must-know sustainability buzzwords! Discover the terms shaping our planet’s future, from the transformative power of renewable energy to the nuances of carbon footprints. Whether you’re an experienced environmentalist or new to the green scene, these key concepts will help you understand the sustainable world we’re creating together. Let’s embrace a greener vocabulary!
Sustainable Development: A development approach that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
Renewable Energy: Energy derived from natural processes that are replenished at a rate that equals or exceeds its rate of use, such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal power.
Biodiversity: The variety and variability of life on Earth, including all living organisms, the genetic differences among them, and the ecosystems in which they occur.
Climate Change: A change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG): Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation, trapping and retaining heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. The main greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and fluorinated gases.
Recycling: The process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. It reduces the consumption of new raw materials, energy usage, air pollution (from incineration), and water pollution (from landfilling).
Eco-Friendly: Describes a product or activity that has a minimal negative impact on the environment and is sustainable.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A business approach that contributes to sustainable development by delivering economic, social, and environmental benefits for all stakeholders.
Circular Economy: An economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. It employs reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling to create a closed-loop system, minimizing the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution, and carbon emissions.
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance): A set of standards for a company’s operations that socially conscious investors use to screen potential investments. Environmental criteria consider how a company performs as a steward of nature. Social criteria examine how it manages relationships with employees, suppliers, customers, and the communities where it operates. Governance deals with a company’s leadership, executive pay, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights.
Sustainable Project Management: An approach to project management that focuses on delivering projects in a way that considers the environmental, economic, and social aspects of sustainability. It involves planning, executing, monitoring, and closing projects with the aim of minimizing negative impacts on the environment and society, while ensuring long-term economic viability.
Net Zero: Refers to achieving a balance between emissions produced and emissions taken out of the atmosphere, leading to no overall carbon footprint.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product’s life from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair and maintenance, and disposal or recycling.
Sustainable Agriculture: Farming practices that meet society’s food and textile needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Green Building: The practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction.
Water Footprint: The total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the country.
Deforestation: The permanent destruction of forests in order to make the land available for other uses.
Ecosystem Services: The benefits people obtain from ecosystems, which include provisioning services such as food, water, timber, and fiber; regulating services that affect climate, floods, disease, wastes, and water quality; cultural services that provide recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual benefits; and supporting services such as soil formation, photosynthesis, and nutrient cycling.
Energy Efficiency: Using less energy to provide the same service. Energy efficiency brings a variety of benefits: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing demand for energy services, and often saving consumers money.
Biofuels: Fuels produced from organic materials (biomass), including plant materials, animal waste, and other waste materials.
Reforestation: The natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation.