Glossary of Sustainability Terms

Absolute Emissions

Total greenhouse gases emitted over a specific period.

Base Year

A historic datum (a specific year or an average over multiple years) against which a company’s emissions are tracked over time.

BCorp Certification

B in BCorp stands for Benefit for all. B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency.

Boundary

GHG accounting and reporting boundaries can have several dimensions, including organisational, operational, geographic, business unit, and target boundaries. The inventory boundary determines which emissions are accounted for and reported by the company.

Carbon Intensity

Total greenhouse gas emissions expressed per a unit of size of operation (e.g., turnover, FTE, floor area, or visitors/attendees) for meaningful comparison when the business changes in size.

CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project)

A not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts. It holds the largest repository of greenhouse gas emissions and energy use data in the world.

CDSB (Climate Disclosures Standards Board)

An international consortium of business and environmental NGOs committed to advancing and aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model to equate natural capital with financial capital.

CO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent)

A metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases on the basis of their global warming potential (GWP), by converting amounts of other gases to the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide with the same global warming potential. Often communicated in tonnes of CO2e (tCO2e) or kilos of CO2e (kgCO2e).

COP (Conference of the Parties)

The annual conference of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The COP summits bring parties (mainly governments) together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 by 196 parties, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive)

An EU ESG (environmental social governance) standard passed by the European Union Council on 28 November 2022 designed to make corporate sustainability reporting more common, consistent, and standardised like financial accounting and reporting.

Direct GHG Emissions

Emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the reporting company.

Emission Factor

A factor allowing GHG emissions to be estimated from a unit of available activity data (e.g., tonnes of fuel consumed, tonnes of product produced) and absolute GHG emissions.

ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards)

Standards that define the rules of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). ESRS aim to advance the scope and quality of corporate sustainability reporting and promote sustainable development through transparency.

EU Taxonomy (EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy)

A classification system established to clarify which investments are environmentally sustainable, in the context of the European Green Deal. The aim is to prevent greenwashing and to help investors make greener choices.

GHG Protocol (Greenhouse Gas Protocol)

Establishes comprehensive global standardised frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains, and mitigation actions.

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

A factor describing the radiative forcing impact (degree of harm to the atmosphere) of one unit of a given GHG relative to one unit of CO2.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG)

A group of gases contributing to global warming and climate change. Under the UNFCCC/Kyoto Protocol, these include CO2, CH3, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and NF3, and are expressed in CO2e.

GRI (Global Reporting Initiative)

The official reporting standard of the United Nations Global Compact, making it the default reporting framework for the company’s more than 5,800 associated companies.

GRESB (Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark)

Private and public institutional investors look to GRESB’s annual survey as the barometer of sustainability performance in the commercial real estate industry.

GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council)

An international body which sets criteria for sustainable travel and tourism and is at the forefront of developing a common language about sustainability. There are many certification labels globally and GSTC accredits with a stamp of approval those which meet their rigorous standards.

IASB (International Accounting Standards Board)

The independent accounting standard-setting body of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation.

IFC (International Finance Corporation)

An international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries.

IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards)

A not-for-profit, public interest organisation established to develop enforceable and globally accepted accounting and sustainability disclosure standards.

Indirect GHG Emissions

Emissions that are a consequence of the operations of the reporting company but occur at sources owned or controlled by another company.

IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)

The United Nations’ body for evaluating scientific climate change information.

IR/IRRC (Integrated Reporting aka International Integrated Reporting Council)

A global coalition that promotes communication about value creation as the next step in the evolution of corporate reporting.

ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board)

Established at COP26 to provide a global baseline for sustainability reporting and apply the financial materiality concept.

NFRD (Non-Financial Reporting Directive)

Requires public-interest companies in EU member states with more than 500 employees to disclose certain types of non-financial and diversity information in their yearly management reports.

OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)

A forum where 37 governments collaborate to develop policy standards to promote sustainable economic growth.

Operational Boundaries

The boundaries that determine the direct and indirect emissions associated with operations owned or controlled by the reporting company. This assessment allows a company to establish which operations and sources cause direct and indirect emissions and to decide which indirect emissions to include as a consequence of its operations.

Operational Carbon Footprint

The CO2e of a company’s activities, including offices, depots, admin, IT, and business travel.

Operational Control

The organisation or one of its subsidiaries has the full authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the operation.

Organisational Boundaries

The boundaries that determine the operations owned or controlled by the reporting company, depending on the consolidation approach taken (e.g., operational control approach).

PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials)

A global partnership of financial institutions developing and implementing a harmonised approach to assessing and disclosing GHG emissions associated with their loans and investments.

PRI (Principles for Responsible Investment)

A United Nations-supported international network of financial institutions working together to implement six aspirational principles.

Product Carbon Footprint

The CO2e of a company’s product.

SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board)

Offers disclosure standards for more than 75 industries to ensure information disclosed is relevant to financial performance.