1.

Active transport

Getting yourself from A to B by walking or cycling. Also includes other physical activities like running,
skateboarding and scooting.

2. Agriculture

The practice of cultivating the land or raising stock

3. Agroforestry

Collective name for land-use systems and technologies

4. Attainability

The state of being achievable

5. Aquaculture

Rearing aquatic animals or cultivating aquatic plants for food

6. Biodegradable

Able to break down and blend back in with the earth, given the right conditions and presence of
microorganisms, fungi or bacteria

7. Biomimicry

A form of design that seeks sustainable solutions by mimicking nature

8. Biomass

Plant materials and animal waste used as fuel

9. Biofuel

Any fuel that is derived from biomass

10. Biodynamics

Relating to a system of farming that follows a sustainable

11. Blue economy

Economic activities that create sustainable wealth from the world’s oceans and coasts

12. Business model

The underlying structure of how a company creates, delivers and captures value.

13. Business resilience

The ability of an organization to adapt in a changing environment to enable it to achieve its objectives
and prosper

14. Business transformation

Making bold and fundamental changes to the way business operates, rather than making incremental
step changes to the status quo.
 15. Bio diversity

The diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat

16. Carbon credit

A generic term for any tradable certificate or permit deemed to allow a company, within an emissions
trading scheme, to emit one ton of CO2 equivalent.

17. Carbon emissions

A term often used in place of greenhouse gas emissions (see below).

18. Carbon footprint

Total emissions of greenhouse gases (in carbon equivalent) for an activity or organization over a given
period of time

19. Carbon neutral

Balancing greenhouse gas emissions with an equivalent amount of independently verified carbon
offsets

20. Carbon offsetting

Any activity deemed to reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases by purchasing verified carbon
credits through emissions reduction projects or carbon trading schemes.

21. Carbon positive

Any activity deemed to reduce and/or offset more emissions than it produces.

22. Carbon sequestration

The capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, for example by planting trees

23. Circular economy

An economy where waste and pollution are designed out, products and material are kept in use and
natural systems are regenerated.

24. Climate action

Activities to tackle climate change and its impacts, usually by reducing green-house gas emissions

25. Climate change

A long-term shift in global weather patterns or average temperatures

Rising temperatures can lead to extreme weather such as droughts, sea level rises and retreating
glaciers.

26. Collective Impact

Cross-sector coordination to bring about large-scale change

27. Conservation

The preservation and careful management of the environment and of natural resources
 28. Compostable

Given the right conditions, a material that breaks down completely into non-toxic components that
can support plant growth

29. Composting

A mixture of decaying vegetation and manure; used as a fertilizer

30. Conscious capitalism

A form of capitalism that seeks to benefit people and the environment

31. Conservation of mass

A fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated
system

32. Conscious consumerism

Consumers voting with their wallet – purchasing products and services that are produced responsibly

33. Continuity

The property of a continuous and connected period of time

34. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

A management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their
business operations

35. Crowd funding

The joint effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually online, to support a wide
variety of activities including start-up company funding, disaster relief and campaigns

36. Doughnut economics

An economic theory, represented by a doughnut-shaped diagram, for operating within the

boundaries of social and environmental sustainability

37. Diversity

The condition or result of being

38. Ecological or nature restoration

Assisting an ecosystem to recover to a previous, more biodiverse condition

39. Ecological or nature regeneration

Improving ecological health and biodiversity by enabling, supporting and enhancing natural processes

40. Ecosystem

A system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment

41. Eco tourism

Tourism to exotic or threatened ecosystems to observe wildlife or to help preserve nature

 

42. Electric vehicle

A vehicle that runs on electricity powered by a battery that can be plugged in to recharge

43. Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)

A tool that puts a price on emissions of greenhouse gases with the aim of reducing them It is one of
the government’s main tools to meet our emissions target under the Paris Agreement.

44. Empowerment

The act of conferring legality or sanction or formal warrant

45. Environmental

Concerned with the ecological effects of altering the environment

46. Environmentalism

The activity of protecting the environment from pollution or destruction

47. E-waste

Discarded electronic appliances such as mobile phones, computers, and televisions

48. Environmental management systems

A set of processes and practices that enable an organization to reduce its environmental impacts

49. Ethical investment

The avoidance of investment in activities considered unethical and un-sustainable, in favor of those
that are either considered less harmful, benign or socially and environmentally positive.

50. Fair trade

An alternative approach to conventional trade, based on a partnership between producers and

consumers, to ensure that farmers and workers get a fair share of the benefits of trade

51. Feasibility

The quality of being doable

52. Forestry

The science of planting and caring for forests and the management of growing timber

53. Global warming

An increase in the world’s average temperature due to human activities, such as burning fossil fuels,
that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

54. Greenhouse gases

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water
vapor

55. Greening
The phenomenon of vitality and freshness being restored

56. Greenwashing

Activities, usually marketing, intended to make people believe a company is doing more to protect
the environment than it really is.

57. Hybrid vehicle

A vehicle primarily powered by a conventional internal combustion engine, but is supplemented with
power from regenerative braking.

58. Healthfulness

The quality of promoting good health

59. Integrated reporting

An approach to corporate reporting that integrates financial information and nonfinancial

information into a single document to show how a company is performing.

60. Internationalization

The act of bringing something under international control

61. Interrelatedness

Mutual or reciprocal relation or relatedness

62. Life cycle assessment (LCA)

The process of attempting to measure the environmental impacts of a product or service throughout
its existence

63. Microfinance

A source of financial services for individuals or small businesses lacking access to traditional banking
services, it can be a sustainable means of poverty alleviation by empowering entrepreneurs to build
businesses, support their families and transform their communities.

64. Micro plastics

Small pieces of plastic, less than 5mm in length, found on land and water as a result of plastic
pollution.

65. Modern slavery

An umbrella term for extreme forms of exploitation like human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like
practices, such as servitude, forced labor, forced marriage, the sale and exploitation of children, and
debt bondage.

66. Nature-based solutions

Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature and that may also offer environmental, economic
and social benefits, while increasing resilience.

67. Natural capital

The world’s stock of natural ‘assets’, including geology, soil, air, water and all living things
 68. Nutrition

A source of materials to nourish the body

69. Paris Agreement

A legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by more than 190 countries in 2015

70. Preserving

Saving from harm or loss

71. Product stewardship

A concept where businesses take responsibility for the environmental impact of the products they
make, sell or buy. This involves all stages of the product’s life cycle, including end-of-life management.

72. Protection

The condition of being protected

73. Recycling

Processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away and turning them into reusable material.

74. Recyclable

A product or material that can be collected, processed and manufactured into a new product

75. Reforestation

The restoration (replanting) of a forest that had been reduced by fire or cutting

76. Remanufacturing

Rebuilding a product to its original specifications using a combination of reused, repaired and new
parts

77. Renewable energy

Energy that comes from natural sources that are constantly replenished like wind, water and sunlight

78. Revitalization

Bringing again into activity and prominence

79. Science-based targets

Targets for reducing emissions 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.

80. Shared value

A management principle that seeks market opportunities for business to solve social problems

81. Sharing economy

A system whereby consumers share access to products or services, rather than having individual
ownership
 82. Social capital

The collective value of all social networks; the links and shared values in society that enable
individuals and groups to work together

83. Social enterprise

Businesses that operate to tackle social problems, improve communities or the environment. They
reinvest their profits back into the business or community.

84. Supply chain

A network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute a specific product to the
final buyer

85. Supportability

Aiding the cause or policy or interests of

86. Sustainability

The million-dollar definition!  We believe sustainability is a balance of society, economy and

environment for long-term resilience.

87. Sustainable business

A business that is economically viable, socially responsible and environmentally conscious.

88. Sustainable design

Designing products, services and the built environment in keeping with principles of sustainability

89. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

A collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that
all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.

90. Sustainable procurement

Decisions when buying products and services that include social and environmental factors along
with price and quality

91. Systems thinking

An approach to problem-solving that views ‘problems’ as part of a wider, dynamic system, it is the
process of understanding how things influence one another as part of a whole.

92. Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

An international organization created in 2015 to develop consistent climate-related financial risk

disclosures for use by companies, banks, and investors in providing information to stakeholders.

93. Triple bottom line

Describing the separate but interdependent financial, social and environmental ‘bottom lines’ of
companies

94. Tolerable
Able to be tolerated or endured

95. Value chain

A business model that describes the full range of activities needed to create a product or service.

96. Viability

Capable of normal growth and development

97. Waste stream

The complete flow of a specific type of waste from domestic or industrial areas through to recovery,
recycling or disposal

98. Watersheds

A ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems

99. Zero carbon

A term sometimes used to describe a product or service that creates no CO2 or greenhouse gas
emissions during production and/or operation.

100. Zero waste

A target of sending no waste for disposal via landfill or burning